Bessy & Benny School of Bass @ St George’s School for Girls.
SPECIALISED DOUBLE BASS LESSONS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
FROM Primary 4
Is this your child…
In P3, 4, 5 or 6
Likes music
Enjoys activities on and off screens
Always up for a challenge …?
If that’s a YES, read on….
The Bessy & Benny School of Bass is
excited to launch their “school in a school” project at
St George’s School for Girls!
🎶🎶🎶🎶
Who is Bessy?
Bessy Bass is the brainchild of her musician, May Halyburton. May named her first double bass (and subsequently most of the basses she has owned thereafter) “Bessy” as her double bass has always been her BFF!
Bessy Bass, #thebasswithaface is the central character in the “Around the World with Bessy” series of story books with music for all children up to age 12. The young Scottish double bass loves to travel and has adventures with other musical instrument family and friends. Her stories also include the themes of inclusion, kindness and friendship and each one come with a CD or download of her music that integrates into the story.
Bessy has taken her stories throughout the UK in the form of her interactive shows and workshops. Each book has its own show and spin off workshop and Bessy has been invited to perform from as far north as the Orkney Islands and as far south as Kent. She has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe several times, making new friends and gaining sell-out garlands!
As music is a universal language and Bessy loves to travel, it wasn’t long before she made friends with audiences overseas. She has received fabulous letters and drawings from the wonderful pupils from a remote primary school in New Zealand, and in Melbourne, Australia some lovely school children dressed their instruments up as characters from the stories to celebrate “Book Week”!
…AND BENNY?
Benny is Bessy’s cheeky wee brother! He doesn't appear in the stories just yet but he attends the shows and workshops so that the younger audience members can have a try at playing double bass!
BREAKING NEWS!!
Double basses come in a range of sizes so that as with most musical instruments, children can learn at any age!
The Junior School has some new mini basses in varying sizes all ready and eager to meet their new musicians!
“May is an inspirational teacher who really engages the children. They loved meeting Bessy the Bass.”
~ Fiona Penman - Head of Junior School Music at Edinburgh Academy Junior School
Why Double Bass?
The double bass is one of the most versatile instruments and can get involved in most genres of music. So whether you love classical, country, rock, jazz, pop…….etc you can get involved with your double bass. However, it is often classed as one of the “endangered” instruments as it takes a special kind of character to really make it sing!
Have a look at what goes on behind that face on the bass with our founder, bassist and teacher, May Halyburton! 👇
Pretty cool eh?
So, whether your child already has an interest in music or not, this could be for them. They will quickly get a huge sense of achievement as they serenade you with their first tune! Watch their confidence grow as they take responsibility in looking after their new friend and see that proud smile as they learn to play some familiar tunes!
They will also find themselves ready to join the junior orchestra very quickly, where they will make new friends
Why Learn With Us?
We are Passionate & Experienced about all things bass! Whatever your style, we’ve got it covered!
We want to share the incredible life enhancing power of music and the golden opportunities that learning the double bass can offer!
We can’t wait for your child to experience the thrill of ensemble playing and discover just how important they and their double bass are to every orchestra, band or group!
We want to introduce your child to a world where social circles are expanded country-wide and potential life-long friendships are made!
We will help your child progress and make the most of this invaluable life-skill!
We provide EVERYTHING you need to get started and the first lesson is FREE!
For the same yearly cost as 30 of the current 40min individual lessons at St George’s, we will deliver 31 lessons, provide a suitable size of double bass & bow for your child to use throughout their time on this programme, provide music & accessories, give free admission to all our online events and offer a 20% discount in our online shop .
So, for around the price of your daily cuppa, you have EVERYTHING you need for your junior maestra!!
🎶☕️ 🎶
👇👇👇
• We get IT!
We know how important screens are to kids (and grown-ups), and we do sneakily tempt them away for a little while, but we do believe in balance and we are even more aware of the importance of technology since March 23 2020! Some of our activities will continue to be online and we will have exciting trips to other countries via Zoom! Lessons may need to be online for safety but this will be reviewed regularly and will not hinder progress. Online lessons have been proven to be a success overall and for convenience, you may wish to continue with a blend of online and face to face lessons.
• We are a Community
The importance of feeling connected has never been highlighted so much as it has in the last 8 months, so we have an exclusive Facebook Group just for BBSB and their families. This is a private group where we can meet informally and check in on each other. Exciting news, special events, motivational posts, competitions and games will be hosted there as well as shout outs for birthdays etc within our community.
You will have exclusive membership to our online library of playing tips, practise help videos & more!
This of course will be balanced with off-screen practise time and face to face lessons and ensemble playing (following government Covid19 guidelines).
All students will have the option to continue lessons with us when they move to the senior school. Bessy’s Bass Academy offers the same experience as BBSB but at a higher level, suitable for teenagers.
“May Halyburton has taught my daughter for the past seven years. Kimmy has progressed through the grades but more importantly has gained a love for playing. This has developed due to May’s friendly approach to learning which has enabled Kimmy to grow in confidence in her ability. May has encouraged her to develop her musicianship in several different styles and has always been highly supportive in all of her endeavors. Kimmy has enjoyed the lessons from the start. I would thoroughly recommend May as a teacher for any age or level.”
~ Current student’s parent, Edinburgh