The Harmonica Orchestra Curriculum
Harmonica Orchestra is a fully packaged online music learning program designed for students in 2nd-6th grades. The course takes between 6-10 weeks, in ten 40-60 minute sessions.
Rehearsal Videos and Songbook – Teachers and students are provided with ten Rehearsal video lessons which present the main concepts of the program. These lessons correspond directly with the Harmonica Orchestra Songbook that each student receives. Each Rehearsal is 15 to 25 minutes long.
Play Along and Harmonica Orchestra Extra Videos – In addition, teachers and students receive 15+ Play Along videos for all the songs presented and Harmonica Orchestra Extra Lessons for further exploration. Students can participate with these videos by practicing together or independently. These videos are between 5 and 15 minutes long.
An instrument and a book for each and every student.
Each student in your class will receive their own Harmonica Orchestra Songbook and their very own harmonica, which can be taken home, or easily stored at school.
The Songbook corresponds to the video lessons. Students are able to refer to the written notation while they watch Jason play along with them on screen.
Training videos for teachers as well as instructional videos for students.
No prior music experience is necessary! The Harmonica Orchestra program includes an introductory training video for educators, and then teachers are encouraged to learn to play along with the students.
This introduction for teachers and administrators demonstrates the teaching in the Harmonica Orchestra videos. (5 minutes)
View a sample of a full Rehearsal video. (26 mins)
An excerpt from Harmonica Orchestra Rehearsal #5: Repertoire and the Gift of Music. (5 minutes)
Play Along video for “Frère Jacques”. (3 mins)
Bring Jason into your classroom.
While the Harmonica Orchestra program can work as a fully self-contained video program, it is also possible to bring Jason McInnes into your classroom as the Orchestra Director:
Consultant
Jason is able to meet with the lead teacher(s) either through email, phone call or virtual (Zoom, Google meet, Webex, etc.) ahead of time and make sure that everyone feels comfortable as the program starts off. He is then able to support teachers as the program progresses and answer student questions in ways that work for the classroom teacher.
Virtual Classroom Visits
Jason is available to consult as above and attend a set amount of virtual visits with classrooms. This is a great option for kick-off days, mid-session check-ins and preparation for culminating events/or program wrap-ups.
In-person Classroom/School Community Visits
Bring Jason to your school! In addition to the above consultations and virtual visits, many options are available for Jason to participate in the Harmonica Orchestra culminating event. Recording sessions, during school and evening concerts, presentations during an “arts week” or any number of ideas can be explored.