Category Archives: Courses

Let The Children Play – 30th October 2015

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Egham, Surrey

A one-day course for Early Years Music Teachers

Tutor: Lucinda Geoghegan

Let the children play – experiencing music skills though singing games

Date: Friday, 30th October, 2015 10.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m.
Location: The Jurgens Centre, Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey TW20 0QR

This course will be a “hands on” music course, with participants actively engaged in playing a variety of singing games. These games form a springboard for musical learning, helping children to experience musical skills including beat, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, tempo and the development of inner hearing. Other topics covered will include:
how to develop the child’s ability to sing in tune; listening skills; how music forms the basis of holistic learning.
Participants will be given a handout of all music covered in the session.

“Lucinda is inspirational – her enthusiasm is catching” – participant on the 2014 NYCoS Summer School

Course fee: £65.00 if application and payment received by 26th September, 2015
£70.00 if application and payment received by 17th October, 2015
£75.00 thereafter
N.B. full payment required upon booking, of which 50% is non-refundable in the event of cancellation by applicant up to 23rd October, 2015 (100% non-refundable thereafter).

Application Form

For further information, please contact:
Nikhil Dally
Winches Cottage, Church Road, Shepperton, Middx. TW17 9JT
e-mail: nikhil@dally.org.uk
tel. 01932 241196
www.dally.org.uk/steppingnotes

AGM 2015 – 20th September 2015

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The BKA AGM and Workshop day will take place on Sunday 20th September at Chetham’s School of Music, Long Millgate, Manchester M3 1SB. The day will run from 11:30am to 4:30pm.

Programme for the day (in the Baronial Hall)
11.30 – Arrival and coffee
12.00 – “DoReMi Piano Method” by author and BKA member Helen Russell
12.30 – Lunch (provided – donations towards the cost will be appreciated)
13.30 – AGM
14.30 – “Making It Really Work” by Paul Harris: writer, composer & creator of ‘Simultaneous Learning’
16.00 – Choral Singing, led by BKA Trustee Nicky Woods
16.30 – Close

AGM Agenda
1. Present/Apologies
2. Minutes of the AGM 2014 for adoption
3. Trustees’ (Chair’s) Report 2015
4. Treasurer’s Report 2015
5. Independent Examiner’s Report 2015
6. Election of Officer & Trustees
7. Any Other Business
Members are asked to notify any “other business” items by Monday 14th September to the BKA Secretary: Cyrilla Rowsell, 10, Lapwing Close, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 8TD secretary@britishkodalyacademy.org

BKA members are entitled to attend all the events of the AGM and Workshop Day. Anyone not currently a member is welcome to come and join the BKA on arrival, paying a year’s subscription (£30.00) and thus qualifying to attend and participate in full (including voting at the AGM).  If you have not renewed for the July 2015-June 2016 year then you can renew or join online at https://kodaly.org.uk/membership/join-us/

Chetham’s is within easy reach of all main train, bus and road links.

Parking

There is no parking available within Chetham’s, except by prior arrangement for elderly or disabled patrons. There are several public car parks within a few minutes walk.

Public Transport

By train: Chetham’s is situated opposite Manchester Victoria station where direct services run from across the North-West. Manchester Victoria is a 10-minute direct tram journey from Manchester Piccadilly.

http://www.chethams.com/about-chets/how-to-find-us
http://www.chethams.com/about-chets/how-to-find-us

Kodály In The Klassroom – 12th and 13th March 2016

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Farnborough, Hampshire

A practical weekend workshop on the application of the Kodály principles to classroom music teaching (Early Childhood and KS1 – easily adapted for KS2)

Tutor: Len Tyler

Location: Farnborough Grange Infants School, Moor Road, Farnborough, Hants, GU14 8HW

Who is this workshop for?
Anyone interested in classroom music teaching (preschool and primary). There is no need to be a music reader. This workshop is also suitable for instrumental teachers who want learn the Kodaly principles. Very useful for “whole class” teaching.

What will the day feature?
• Use of the basic Kodaly principles.
• Lots of songs, routines, and handouts.
• Examples of easy to produce resources.
• Loads of practical ideas (all tried and tested)

Comments from previous delegates
• Everything was marvelous and extremely useful
• All very exciting as my first experience of music teacher training. Loved the practical exercises
• Having done pre-school music for the last 10 years, and being a professional musician there were surprisingly quite a few things that I hadn’t thought about
• So many great ideas. It was all useful to me
• Len was excellent in how he explained the course. Good to listen to and very precise. I enjoyed it immensely.
• I found Len very inspiring and helpful.

Cost
£100 (including £25 per day per person discount under the “bring a friend” scheme – otherwise £150)
Single day attendance by arrangement (£80/£55)

Application Form

For more details
Phone: 01276 504666
Email: enquiries@lentylermusicschool.co.uk
Website: www.lentylermusicschool.co.uk

BKA Supported Courses are set up independently by highly skilled and experienced BKA members under the auspices of the BKA. The course fee includes a BKA registration fee which the student can redeem as a voucher for the same amount if attending another regular BKA-run course within one calendar year (i.e. within the next twelve months). Alternatively, the amount of the fee can be redeemed against one or more year’s membership of the BKA starting from the 1 July 2016.

BKA2015 – Just Listening

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I managed to catch up with a couple of BKA first timers, Cilla and Chris, over some delicious lasagne this lunchtime. I asked them how they were getting on. Chris said the course so far was brilliant.

We talked about that morning’s choir session with Dr. Árpád Tóth. Remembering how nervous I was at my first BKA choir session I asked how they’d got on. Cilla told me it was a privilege just to be in the room. When she started to feel out of her depth she just closed her eyes, listened and enjoyed. By tomorrow’s choir session she will have had a couple of musicianship lessons with Miranda Zwalf under her belt. I suspect by the end of the week all our newbies will be singing with confidence and joy!

More News from the Kodály Summer School

  • BKA2015 – Al Fresco Improvisation - What better way to start the BKA’s Summer School at the leafy University of Leicester than singing al fresco. The session was Choral Improvisation with the amazing Dr. Árpád Tóth. Those of More →
  • BKA2015 – The Simplest Things - Every BKA residential course starts each morning with a vocal warm up and choir session. This year we are split into two groups. SATB choir with Dr. Árpád Tóth and SSA with More →
  • BKA2015 – Just Listening - I managed to catch up with a couple of BKA first timers, Cilla and Chris, over some delicious lasagne this lunchtime. I asked them how they were getting on. Chris More →

BKA2015 – The Simplest Things

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Every BKA residential course starts each morning with a vocal warm up and choir session. This year we are split into two groups. SATB choir with Dr. Árpád Tóth and SSA with David Vinden.

This morning even in the simple warm up I had a wonderful spine tingling moment. We were a few minutes into our warm up and David asked us to sing a simple unison tonic on do. Then while one half of the room held the do the other half harmonised with the dominant on so. Softly we were encouraged to really tune into each other and hear that perfect fifth. Then a third note was added, you guessed it… mi. So far so good. But the tingle came when we switched from solfa to an oo sound. The effect was amazing. Such a simple tonic triad, carefully prepared and accurately executed, sounded so beautiful. From the gasps around the room I realised I was not the only one to feel the magic.

More News from the Kodály Summer School

  • BKA2015 – Al Fresco Improvisation - What better way to start the BKA’s Summer School at the leafy University of Leicester than singing al fresco. The session was Choral Improvisation with the amazing Dr. Árpád Tóth. Those of More →
  • BKA2015 – The Simplest Things - Every BKA residential course starts each morning with a vocal warm up and choir session. This year we are split into two groups. SATB choir with Dr. Árpád Tóth and SSA with More →
  • BKA2015 – Just Listening - I managed to catch up with a couple of BKA first timers, Cilla and Chris, over some delicious lasagne this lunchtime. I asked them how they were getting on. Chris More →

BKA2015 – Al Fresco Improvisation

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Choral ImprovisationWhat better way to start the BKA’s Summer School at the leafy University of Leicester than singing al fresco. The session was Choral Improvisation with the amazing Dr. Árpád Tóth. Those of us lucky enough to attend last year’s summer school knew we were in for a treat, the rest of us were sat with a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

Well the first improvisation was the location! Making the most of the beautiful evening, we moved outside to sing with the accompaniment of the wind swooshing through the leaves of the weeping willow. It was a really magical experience and Árpád’s infectious enthusiasm soon had us making the most beautiful vocal sounds by listening and responding to each other.

More News from the Kodály Summer School

  • BKA2015 – Al Fresco Improvisation - What better way to start the BKA’s Summer School at the leafy University of Leicester than singing al fresco. The session was Choral Improvisation with the amazing Dr. Árpád Tóth. Those of More →
  • BKA2015 – The Simplest Things - Every BKA residential course starts each morning with a vocal warm up and choir session. This year we are split into two groups. SATB choir with Dr. Árpád Tóth and SSA with More →
  • BKA2015 – Just Listening - I managed to catch up with a couple of BKA first timers, Cilla and Chris, over some delicious lasagne this lunchtime. I asked them how they were getting on. Chris More →

Kodály Method – 11th and 18th October 2015

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Waterloo, London SE1 7HT

A course in sight-singing and general musicianship based on Kodály methodologies, suitable for musicians or teachers wishing to improve their aural musicianship and to gain insight into the Kodály philosophy.

Tutor: Selena Kay

Location: Morley College, 61 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7HT

This course will run over two Sundays in October in Central London (Waterloo).

Sun 11th Oct, 10:30-17:00
Sun 18th Oct, 10:30-17:00

Full fee: £85
Senior fee: £70
Concession: £70

Full details: Kodály Method Weekend Workshop

 

Teaching Musicianship at the Piano (Part 1) – 26th October 2015

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Shepperton, Middlesex

A one-day course for teachers of children aged from 8 years

Course tutor: Nikhil Dally MACantab, CertAdvStudiesGSMD

Dates: Monday 26th October 2015
Location: Winches Cottage, Church Road, Shepperton, Middx. TW17 9JT

The object of this course is to help you to teach a “different” kind of piano lesson:
not conventional private classical piano lessons, in that their principal emphasis is not on learning to play correctly classical pieces written out note-for-note in absolute-pitch standard stave notation. Rather, their emphasis is on continuing the style and methods of the Stepping Notes Music School for the 2s to 8s (singing, movement, relative solfa, relative notation and chord symbols, scale and harmonic analysis), but gradually applying these tools to the piano.

“Thanks for yet another fantastic course. I always come away from your courses inspired and excited and encouraged and full of imaginative and innovative ideas.”
– Eleanor Bartlett

By these means, you will learn how you can help your children to learn to:
– write and improvise piano accompaniments to songs
– “play by ear”
– play from chord symbols
– transpose pieces at sight
– compose for the piano
– accompany others effectively
– play the piano in vocal and instrumental ensembles

In order to get the most from this course, you will need to:
(1) have a working knowledge of basic relative solfa; and
(2) be familiar with, or be willing to familiarise yourself with, some simple children’s songs, some of them from the Colourstrings repertoire (therefore you may need to purchase some books or CDs in order to do so).
If you are unsure about any of these things, please do contact Nikhil first to discuss this. Thank you.

Course fee: £65.00 (including a simple vegetarian lunch)
N.B. There are very limited spaces on this course; you are advised to apply early!

Piano Teachers Course Application Form

“I loved the logical progression of the way you built up musical understanding. We were taught it and demonstrated it such that it all made perfect sense.”
– Emily Keyte

The course tutor:

Nikhil Dally received first-class honours in music from Cambridge University, and studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music. Nikhil founded the Stepping Notes Music School in 2000. He designed the Stepping Notes curriculum himself and teaches all classes, for children aged 2 to 8. The school now has about 100 students on its roll, and recently won the award for Best Local Activity with What’s On 4 Little Ones. Nikhil is increasingly in demand to lead workshops for teachers on the Stepping Notes approach. Recent engagements include a series of workshops at the Colourstrings International Summer School and the British Kodály Academy Summer School, a workshop for the Dalcroze Society Professional Development Day, a training session for teachers at the Len Tyler Music School, four INSET courses for Bracknell Forest primary school teachers, and a course for the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Singapore. Stepping Notes teachers’ courses are regularly over-subscribed.

For further information, please contact:
Nikhil Dally
Winches Cottage, Church Road, Shepperton, Middx. TW17 9JT
E-mail: nikhil@dally.org.uk
Tel. 01932 241196
Website: www.dally.org.uk/steppingnotes

Miranda Zwalf

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Miranda-Zwalf

Miranda, BA; LRAM; DipRCM; CSAK (Colourstrings); C.K.M.E (Dist); won an Exhibition Scholarship at the Royal College of Music and every prize available to flautists. Miranda also has a degree in French from London University. She studied with Geoffrey Gilbert in the U.S.A. and performed at festivals there including Aspen and Grand Teton.
Miranda has worked with the Balearic Symphony Orchestra, played in ‘Les Misérables’, and was for several years Assistant Principal Flute in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. She has taught Kodály on the String Training Programme at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and is currently teaching at the Stephen Perse Foundation in Cambridge.
Miranda is a lecturer in Kodály Musicianship at Birmingham Conservatoire and has taught for the British Kodály Academy, the Dalcroze Society, Colourstrings and NYCoS. She delivers In Service training in Kodály principles applied to instrumental and classroom teaching, and has published A Sound Beginning in Flute Playing – a Kodály based flute tutor. Most recently Miranda has developed PitchWizard, an App for sight singing which is now commercially available.