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Monday, June 15, 2020

Make Music Day - pBuzz Online Events for You & Your Family

I Feel Good with pBuzz 

Online Events for You & Your Family

 

Make Music Day is on June 21
–  FATHER’S DAY !

Make music with your children through a
special and easy online event!

I Feel Good with pBuzz

Join our pBuzz teachers in one of three regional online events

Introduce your child to music – online!

Easy to learn and fun to play, pBuzz is a real musical instrument that young children and adults can play together! 

Join our friendly pBuzz teachers in these regional online events:

  • 12 Noon Eastern Time              Provided by BuskerFest Miami
  • 1 PM Central Time                    Provided by BuskerFest Miami
  • 12 Noon Pacific Time                Provided by the Anaheim Elementary SD

Here’s how:

  1. Get a pBuzz!  One for each child and one for yourself!  Order yours today from any one of our retail dealers.
  2. Register for one of the three online programs where a friendly and encouraging teacher will show you what to do. Seats are limited so order your pBuzz and register early.  (https://linktr.ee/MMDpBuzz)
  3. On June 21st, gather your children and your pBuzz instruments, and sign in with the link provided. Follow along and, by the end of the program you will play along with everyone to James Brown’s I Feel Good. You and your children will have a great time and make memories playing music together!

All registrants will also receive information about other songs and resources for pBuzz.

pBuzz is affordable, colorful and fun! It provides opportunities to participate in music creation, while learning important social and educational benefits, including:

  • Helps develop language and reasoning skills
  • Focuses on continuous improvement
  • Provides activity for physical coordination
  • Inspires a sense of achievement
  • Provides for active learning engagement
  • Teaches societal cooperation and respect
  • Inspires emotional development.
  • Prepares children for future music participation including band, orchestra, choir and modern band curriculum.

Learn more about pBuzz and all the pInstruments at www.pPlayMusic.us.


Thursday, June 4, 2020

Students as Teachers: Teach Your Family to pPlay with pBone!

With instrumental students at home, they really do have an opportunity to expand their musical prowess.  One way is to teach their siblings, parents or even grandparents how to play an instrument.


True, it’s not the same as having a qualified music teacher providing guidance (but it could lead to that).  The most important reason for encouraging your students to teach is that so music remains as strong and vibrant activity that the entire family enjoys regularly.

Warwick Music Groups makes high quality plastic instruments because they are ideal for beginners of all ages. Much less expensive than “real” brass instruments, pBone, pTrumpet and the like are designed to be musical, durable and affordable.  Plus each of these instruments comes with two mouthpieces, making it even easier to share the experience.

The first lessons are about moving air and making a buzz.  We’ve got a good video on how simple this can be.  Next, students can teach the positions (or fingerings) by using our slide and fingering charts, or by just following the leader. For brass instruments, moving air, creating the buzz, learning fingerings or slide position can be easily taught by someone who already knows how instruments generally work.

Partials (harmonics) can be identified as low, medium, high (and extra high) and practiced together.

The most difficult part of basic instrument learning, arguably, is learning standard notation.  For informal teaching, student can do what horn groups in pop/rock bands generally do.  They don’t necessarily write out every part using regular notation. Instead, they understand the rhythm and line by listening to each other.  Using non-traditional notation, such as Brass Tabs, makes it easier.  Think about guitar tabs.  There’s no rhythm indicated just fret and finger positions.   We’ve got some simple pep and cheer tunes, as well as pop/rock tunes.  Students can even write their own.

Learning on pBuzz, pBone, pTrumpet,  pCornet or for smaller children, pBuzz and pBoneMini makes the adventure fun, accessible and affordable!

Students can be the teachers at home with these example resources:

  1. A pBone (each has two mouthpieces!), or pBuzz, pTrumpet, pCornet
  2.  How to Buzz  - an instruction video for all pInstruments
  3.  Learn the positions or fingerings by following the leader.  Brass Tab Slide Chart
  4.  Learn the partials together (Low, Medium, High, Extra High)
  5. Use songs formatted in Brass Tabs, then write your own.
  6. Practice together.  Record and post for your friends.