New Activity - Reindeer on my Roof

This month’s activity comes from Christmas with Jamo, a magical collection of new Christmas songs from Paul Jamieson with Rockin' Reindeers, funky feels, and loads of Reggae & Caribbean flavours. Includes songs about Santa Downunder and a stranded reindeer on the roof.

Purchase Christmas with Jamo.

You may have seen London born Carribean musician Paul Jamieson demonstrating reggae on Music Room 6 Or you may have seen him singing Calypso on Foxtel Or you may have seen him entertaining children at festivals around the country.

Paul’s original collection of new Christmas songs is uplifting, joyous, sometimes hilarious and always full of infectious rhythms and contagious grooves. Your kids will love it ... And YOU’LL love it!

You will find the free track here.

You will also find four demo tracks here.


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URBAN DANCE FOR BEGINNERS

Hi Everyone
Mark Leehy here.

Coming in Term 1 2012
URBAN DANCE FOR BEGINNERS
From the Rewind Dance Crew. A fabulous instruction DVD that will teach your kids the basics of Hip hop and other contemporary urban dance forms.

Stay Tuned

See you next time
Mark Leehy



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The SPACE NOTES - puzzle from Music Craft Book A

This month’s activity comes from the E-book version of Music Craft Book A - currently under development.
It is a puzzle from Unit 5 - Sharps and Flats - and you won't need your coloured pencils this time.

It is a prototype and by the time the E-book edition is ready, we will be making more use of sounds and animations.

In the meantime, why not try the puzzle. It will work on your computer or your iPad. We would love your feedback.

You will find the puzzzle here.

We are also working on paperless and interactive versions of many of our publications which will include embedded music and videos and interactive worksheets and puzzles. These are intended to be used on iPads and similar devices, notebooks, Macs and PCs. We will be trialing one or two titles to start with ... and we'll see where that takes us


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Groove E - a recorder piecefrom Cool Cats Red Hot Recorder Course – level 2

This month’s activity comes from Level 2 of our recorder course.

It’s called GROOVE E and it’s a fun, easy and creative way of introducing the note, LOW E. There is a section for students to create there own rhythms and a mystery question for them.

A really fun feature of this piece is that is in 2 sections: rock and swing.
Loads of fun to play.

You will find

• The lesson page from the book
• The demo track
• The backing track

by clicking here.


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Kooroli - Aboriginal music and movement... this month's free activity

We are so excited about Music Room Book 7 that we are giving you another comprehensive activity to try.
The lesson is song called Koolori (meaning Coroboree)
and we have

Lyrics chart

The vocal audio track

A video clip from the DVD discussing the gumleaf and didge to introduce the song

A video clip of the song presenting the lyrics to help sing along

A video clip on Movement, Beat and Rhythm with the song

Links to a goldmine of background information including more video clips. (Check out the gumleaf competition from the 70s)

Here is Wayne Thorpe's intro ...



You will find the rest by following the links from our facebook page (don't forget to like us ;) or from our website if you are blocked out of facebook.

Look out for more news and activities soon. Enjoy this one - it's also great for history and social studies lessons!

You can order your copy of Musicroom Book 7 here.


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Bumper Activity from Musicroom 7 - rap and hip hop

Music Room Book 7 is now available - and to celebrate, we are offering the first lesson IN FULL for you to try.
The lesson is Rap Rhythm
and we have

Full lesson plan

2 audio tracks - vocals and backing

6 video clips

2 charts
Mal Webb shows you how to Beat Box
Jacqui Yuan shows you how to dance Hip Hop
Rob and Mark demonstrate Rap Rhythms.

This is exciting stuff and and your students will love it!
And it's all there ready for you at ...
www.bushfirepress.com/musicroom

You can order your copy of Musicroom Book 7 here.


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Music Room 7 is ready!

Music Room 7 has just come back from the printers and is ready to send out to you!

We are really pleased that it has all come together so well. A massive amount of work but all well worth it.

If you know and love Music Room we are sure you will get straight in and order. You can do that here.

If you are new to Music Room and want to find out what all the fuss is about, order a perusal copy today. You will see what fantastic value it is for a full year's upper primary music course!

Check out the videos we have already posted in this blog and look out for a free sample activity from Unit 1 Lesson 1. This will be posted in a couple of days.

Intro to Music Room 7 DVD

MUSIC ROOM - Book 7

Not long now!
We just can't wait.

We have posted the introduction to the MR7 DVD. This will give you an idea what you'll be getting with Music Room Book 7 - Upper Primary.

We will also be sending out your free activity later in the week - so look out for it. It is from Unit 1 Lesson 1. You can get a sneak preview in an earlier post in this blog.

You can also pre-order your copy of Musicroom Book 7, or find out more about it, here.




You can order your copy of Musicroom Book 7 here.


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Putin' it Out There from Musicroom Book 7

MUSIC ROOM - Book 7

Just getting the next free activity together.
It will be from the new Music Room Book 7. Unit 1 Lesson 1 - "Puttin' it Out There"

We have a Youtube version of the song from the lesson here for you. When we release the activity, it will include vocal and backing tracks, the lesson, and charts for the activity as well as a bonus classroom version of this video with lyrics projected over the backing track. So look out for it. Like us in facebook so that we can let you know as soon as it is available.



You can pre-order your copy of Musicroom Book 7 here.


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Making the video for MR7

MUSIC ROOM - Book 7

We have had fun making the video tracks for Music Room 7. Just a few little "moments" captured.

It won't be long now - looks like mid June for the launch. The final proof of the book has been passed and it is in the hands of the printers. Post production of the audio and video tracks is coming on well.





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The New Cover for MR7

MUSIC ROOM - Book 7
And here is the finished cover art!

What do you think?
Click on the image to get a better view.

Login with your Google account and leave a comment!
or let us know on facebook.


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MR7 Cover Design

From the crowded desk of Mark Leehy, Publisher at Bushfire Press

Music Room book 7 (upper primary) is in the last stages of post-production and on track for a mid-year release. Among other things, we have been finalising the cover. This is pretty important because, apart from needing to be fun and inviting, it needs to tell the user what to expect inside!

Over the years, the covers of Music Room have been a music room door with a window showing a group of students in their music lesson. The students get older as the years progress. They also progress in their musical explorations – from simple circle work to making music on classroom instruments and found & made objects, to exploring genres & styles. We also had a note pinned to the door on each cover: EVERYONE WELCOME! COME ON EVERYBODY! LET’S GO! LET’S GET THE FEELING! LET’S MAKE A NOISE! LET’S PUT IT TOGETHER! These slogans addressed the general ‘feel’ of each level.

What to do for book 7 … ?
Our artist, Bradfield Dumpleton, was keen to ‘open the classroom door’ and let the kids out. Which is pretty much how all of us had been thinking. And – as the slogan for this level was LET’S PUT IT OUT THERE! it seemed the perfect idea. Now all we had to do was get the actual look right – to give a hint as to the contents.

Here’s Bradfield’s first pencil rough. You can click on it to see it in more detail. Not quite there. Let’s see … hip hop and rhyming techniques are covered in this book … and students are encouraged to bring guitars and keyboards into their work … and the program ends with a musical party …

Here’s the second pencil rough.

Much better. Again, click on the image to see it in more detail.

Stay tuned for the final pic – we’ll blog it as soon as it’s got the green light.



Mark Leehy
Publisher, Bushfire Press

The Last Music Room

From the crowded desk of Mark Leehy, Publisher at Bushfire Press

Hi All

It sure has been a busy term 1 for us here at Bushfire Press. We have been recording and filming material for Music Room book 7 – upper primary. This is the final instalment in the series and has been the hardest but most rewarding level of the program. It was so important to keep up the standard and to keep up the level of student engagement – which, as you know, is trickier with senior primary students. So we retained the services of some wonderful and outstanding experts. The result is a fabulous set of units:

Rhythm & Rhyme - rap & hip hop rhythms & rhyming loops, turnarounds, chords,

Body & Beat - rhythm, movement & choreography, body percussion, found objects

Words & Music - generating lyrics, making melodies, using tempo, creating songs, grooves & colours

Fun ‘n’ Games - a cracker of an ending to the program, with musical puzzles, musical art, listening & singing games, moving games, musical parlour games, battle of the bands … and a class party!

As usual there are 4 audio CDs of music (one per unit) and over an hour of DVD footage – including a premier hip hop crew, an introduction to gumleaf and didgeridu from Gunnai Man (and recent ‘Spicks & Specks’ guest) Wayne Thorpe, the art of beatboxing demystified by vocal gymnast Mal Webb … and a host of dance steps, theory and playing techniques.

We'll keep you posted as we get into production.

See you next time

Mark Leehy
Publisher, Bushfire Press

A Christmas Pageant (then and now)

A Christmas Pageant
(then and now)
A Musical by Lynne Bartlett, Mark Leehy and Kevin O'Mara
Duration: 60 minutes.

A fun-filled journey from Bethlehem to Bondi that takes the audience through the traditions of Christmas from the Nativity, through the origins of the Christmas Tree and carol singing, the legend of Good King Wenceslaus, the coming of Santa Claus ... and ending up with an Aussie celebration!

Carols and Songs: Silent Night, O, Come, All Ye faithful, We Three Kings, Away in a Manger, The First Noel, Joy to the World, Good King Wenceslaus, Jingle Bells, O, Tannenbaum/ O, Christmas Tree, Deck the Halls, The Night Before Christmas, 12 Aussie Days of Christmas, We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Click here for more.

Check out some free activities
O Tannenbaum
12 Aussie Days of Christmas

The famous Bushfire Press Half Price Sale

Massive clearance sale
ex-display and ex-perusal stock –
50% off!
WHILE STOCKS LAST.
Offer closes 12th December.
All titles complete. Some with marked covers.

Late each year we have a bit of a cleanup around here. We find our display merchandise, the few returns we get from perusal requests, and some of the titles we may have a long hand in, and offer them to you at a fantastically reduced price.

This is your opportunity to stock up on music, dance and drama resources.

You can download the catalogue and order from our special half price sale price list.
(You can also find more about Christmas and end of year resources other specials offers in the catalogue).
You will soon see more about this here as well.

Know colleagues who may be interested? Tweet this!

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October Activity: Gamelan Music

This activity is from
Cool Cats Cross Arts Adventures Level 3

Gamelan music

The gamelan is the Javanese and Balinese orchestra.
It uses from a few to several dozen musicians, playing different melodic and rhythmic patterns on tuned and untuned percussion.
Find out more using the links at the bottom of this page.

Some examples of patterns can be heard on the audio file Gamelan Music.
Download scores and mp3 track below
The score and music are from
Cool Cats Cross Arts Adventures Level 3

Gamelan orchestra
Students in 8 groups
Using the score, students make a gamelan orchestra.
Groups 1 - 4 play tuned percussion instruments
using a 1 bar repeating pattern.
Groups 5 - 8 play untuned percussion instruments
using a 1 bar repeating pattern .

Try bringing the groups in one at a time .
Also - have a conductor bring the different groups in and out (except for groups 3 and 7 who must play ALL the time, to provide the pulse).

Students can invent their own 4 beat patterns.

You will find the mp3 track and the page from the book with the score here
and you can purchase Cool Cats Cross Arts Adventures Level 3 here

Know colleagues who may be interested? Tweet this!

Up to 40% off MUSIC ROOM Books 1-4

Purchase Music Room Book 5 @ A$180.00 (+GST) and get up to a 40% discount off Music Room Books 1-4.

Hurry - this offer is only available for Web orders before 30th June

More information here

April 2009 Activity - Space Boogie

THIS MONTH'S FREE ACTIVITY comes from level 4 (upper primary) of our integrated Arts program: COOL CATS CROSS ARTS ADVENTURES
by Mark Leehy & Kevin O'Mara.


This song & activity is from the Space unit of Cool Cats Cross Arts Adventures level 4


We have just re-released the student books for levels 2-4 on CDROM. The CDROMs contain lyrics and student activity pages for music, dance, drama, media and visual art.
They can be used for data projection, enlarging, printing and copying etc. and replace the student books that accompanied the program.

We are giving you part of the level 4 unit 'Space'. We have a CD track and a PDF for a song and dance, 'Space Boogie', great electric guitar, lyrics and movement and dance activities.

This one's great fun and will have the kids really moving!

You will find the activity here

March 2009 Activity - Beautiful Soup

THIS MONTH'S FREE ACTIVITY comes our level 3 (middle primary) of our integrated Arts program: COOL CATS CROSS ARTS ADVENTURES
by Mark Leehy & Kevin O'Mara.


This song & activity is from the Nutrition unit of Cool Cats Cross Arts Adventures level 3


We have just re-released the student books for levels 2-4 on CDROM. The CDROMs contain lyrics and student activity pages for music, dance, drama, media and visual art.
They can be used for data projection, enlarging, printing and copying etc. and replace the student books that accompanied the program.

We are giving you part of the level 3 unit 'Nutrition'. We have CD tracks and PDFs for a great song, 'Beautiful Soup', a percussion arrangement, lyrics and movement and dance activities.

Another great activity to have fun with!

You will find the activity here

February 2009 Activity - The Lollipop Lady

THIS MONTH'S FREE ACTIVITY comes our level 2 (lower primary) of our integrated Arts program: COOL CATS CROSS ARTS ADVENTURES
by Mark Leehy & Kevin O'Mara.

AND IT'S A WHOPPER!

This song & activity is from the Our Local Community unit of Cool Cats Cross Arts Adventures level 2


We have just re-released the student books for levels 2-4 on CDROM. The CDROMs contain lyrics and student activity pages for music, dance, drama, media and visual art.
They can be used for data projection, enlarging, printing and copying etc. and replace the student books that accompanied the program.

To celebrate, we are giving you part of the level 2 unit 'Our Local Community'.
We have CD tracks and PDFs for a great song, 'The Lollipop Lady', a percussion arrangement and movement & dance activities.

We know your students will have loads of fun with these activities - enjoy!

You will find the activity here