Woody's Music Education™ is proud of its reputation and pleased to have the support of its schools, students, parents, Accredited Woody's Teachers and music professionals.
"I've worked with the Woody's Piano Circle program in a number of settings. Most of these as full class sizes of year 1's and year 2's both in Australia and in Dubai. I found the program to be fun, easy to follow and able to be adapted for your class needs.
In Dubai, I had a music room with a set of 30 keyboards plugged into the floor. I could roam around and check on students as a whole, or split them into groups and have some working on the fun and colourful activities, whilst others played. The children were native Arabic speakers with English being their second language and the language they learnt in. They found the songs catchy and easy to sing along with and would often request their favourites.
Teaching the Woody's program in Australia to classes of 25 has been equally enjoyable even though my resources are more limited. Switching the program to glockenspiel with a couple of keyboards set up in the room for demonstrations and small group work, has been easy and pain free. The children love having their own book, they love the colours, the songs and they especially love Woody the puppet!
Woody's uses a combination of formal theory, percussion instruments, rhymes and rhythms to help teach the fundamentals of music in a fun, practical setting - with scope for differentiation.
Whether you are an instrumental piano teacher or a junior primary class teacher, there is something for everyone in the Woody's program. It is tried, tested and adaptable to your personality and way of teaching."
Jessica is a Primary Music and Performing Arts specialist of 15 years in Australia and the United Arab Emirates, and has taught the IB/PYP curriculum, British Curriculum and Victorian Curriculum. She has worked with Impro Melbourne and the Courtyard Playhouse in Dubai, and is a Teacher, Actor, Dancer, Improvisor, Stand Up Comedian and Writer
Accredited Woody's Teacher
"Woody's Music program has been a great addition to the Performing Arts Curriculum at Balcombe Grammar School. The students really look forward to the lessons and love singing the regular "Woodys Welcome" and "Goodbye Goodbye" songs. They also love the fact that they are using pianos, xylophones and glockenspiels every lesson. The students who already have weekly piano lessons also assist in "tutoring" their classmates and they benefit greatly from this peer mentoring. Parents like the fact that their students are learning how to play an instrument and often report that they are playing the Woody's songs on their pianos and keyboards at home. As a teacher I love how easy the program is to implement. All resources are provided and the support from Bev Woodford is invaluable. It is carefully created to be both developmentally appropriate to the age group, but also sequenced to ensure skills learnt are reinforced and built upon in a logical way. It is very enjoyable to teach lessons where the kids come in with a smile on their face and leave happily singing the songs from the lesson."
Assistant Head of Primary
Balcombe Grammar School
"Bev Woodford was able to inspire me as a young 6 year old with an interest in music. Through her wonderful program for young learners, I was instilled with a passion for playing, and a desire to learn and progress. Over 35 years later, I still enjoy playing, and am proud to call it my career. The musical learning that I was given as I started out certainly helped me develop and grow, giving me a wonderful foundation to further my studies. The passion and commitment in which Bev teaches is something I admire and try to emulate to this day. I couldn't have started out on more assured and friendly footing. I highly recommend Woody's to any new learner, and hope they are as inspired and have as much fun learning as I did."
Luke's achievements include Musical Director of the professional productions of Jersey Boys, Come From Away, Kinky Boots (Helpmann Award nomination), Dedications, The Addams Family, The Rocky Horror Show, Leader Of The Pack (Green Room award for best musical direction), Shout, The Sound Of Music, Grease, Beauty and the Beast (Rob Guest Endowment and Melbourne Zoo), Oh! What A Night, Falsettos, 42nd Street and Eddie Perfect's Up for the Victorian College of the Arts, Floorplay in Atlantic City and Burn the Floor in Las Vegas.
Luke has won Green Room and Helpmann awards for best musical direction.
Luke is currently the Musical Director for the Australian production of Come From Away. Luke was the Musical Director for the Australian production of Jersey Boys, for which he received both the Helpmann and Green Room Awards for Best Musical Direction. He co-arranged the Australian Anthem for the boys to perform at the AFL Grand Final.
Luke is also an actor appearing in productions in Australia and overseas, composer, arranger and the co-creator of the iPhone app Warm Me Up which provides vocal warm-ups to singers worldwide.
Musical Director
"On examining Bev Woodford's Piano Circle and ancillary materials, I am struck by the level of pedagogical depth that underlies all the fun. Bev Woodford brings a lifetime of music educator experience to the design of these materials, and an understanding of the children learning music through keyboard instruments. These music learning materials are so soundly based in musical and educational principles, and yet appear to be games for children - this is the most remarkable achievement, and testament to Bev Woodford's thought and vision."
Peter Hurley is an Author at The Piano Teacher, and a lecturer in Aural Studies and Topics in Musicology at the Conservatorium of Music and the VCA (Victorian College of the Arts) at the University of Melbourne. He is involved with curriculum development and an assessor with the AMEB (Australian Music Exam Board). Peter has lectured and taught at the VCA, Box Hill Institute, Melba Memorial Conservatorium, the VMTA (Victorian Music Teachers Association) and run workshops for the Suzuki Talent Education Association and Yamaha Music Foundation. In addition Peter maintains a private practice of piano students.
Professional Musician
"Woody's Piano Circle is a wonderful way to introduce beginner keyboard students to music. Each lesson plan covers a broad range of topics, including catchy rhymes and beautifully written songs that the students can engage with and chat about. Perfect for small groups, Woody's promoted a sense of unity and teamwork within the classroom; some of the more advanced students learned to encourage and help the rest of the group, which consolidated their own learning process!
It was so rewarding to see the improvement and enjoyment in the students playing each lesson. A focus on seasonal events, such as Easter and Christmas, provided a great point for discussion and it was delightful to see how the students responded to themed songs.
Woody himself was a very popular guest each week; the kids couldn't wait to tell him their stories and to let him hear their playing!
As a teacher, Woody's Piano Circle is structured in a way that takes the stress (and panic!) out of lesson planning. The lesson guide outlined each week's lesson, and the workshop demonstration by Bev was incredibly useful; I learned much about the course itself and the importance of the guidelines, but also about teaching beginner students in general. I could then apply this to my single lessons too!
This program encourages students to work together to improve musicianship, engage with a broad range of theory topics and principles, improve sight-reading and to incorporate a passion for music into their lives for years to come. I could not recommend Woody's highly enough!"
Singing/Piano Teacher, Composer, Performer and Musical Director
"I was thrilled to have the opportunity to teach the Woody's Piano Circle Series program for a period of time with my junior instrumental classes. I found that the children accomplished many piano, musical skills and concepts through fun and structured lesson plans associated with singing, piano/keyboard playing, theory and games. This fun piano program lays down the foundations for learning how to play the piano/keyboard, exposing children to music, developing a love for music whilst working in a team or independently. Never a dull moment, as 'Woody' would join my students weekly in singing and learning their music activities. Congratulations Bev Woodford on your engaging and exciting Woody's Piano Circle program."
Primary/Secondary Piano Teacher in Schools and Privately, and Classroom Music Teacher
"I really, really loved learning piano with Mrs Woodford! Her passion and hard work shined through when she was teaching, and it is absolutely inspiring. I played piano with Mrs Woodford from 7 years of age, right through to when I was 12; successfully completed my AMEB exams up to Grade 4 - and she nurtured the love of music within me. Without her guidance in the earlier years, I don't think I'd still be playing piano today!"
Music Student
"Our family has had Bev teach all 3 of our children through primary school and found her to be so passionate, caring and most importantly, incredibly patient and talented. She has a knack for making every student feel like they were her sole focus, even if it was in a group class.
Bev was a great teacher and always made lessons fun for our kids, which is what worked for them.
Long after our kids finished lessons with Bev, she still had a personal interest in our kids lives and always wanted to hear how they were doing and what they've achieved. This shows her caring nature and we are so very grateful to have found her.
We were welcomed into her home on several occasions and got to witness her beautiful relationships with both her students and their families. We could highly recommend Bev and Woody's music to anyone of any age and level."
Parent of Music Student