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1. Mission and vision
Mission
Pimba Foundation encourages young children to play the piano thanks to a unique, simple musical notation. Recognizable songs that children know from radio and TV can be downloaded for free so that the children can get started with them themselves. Playing the piano yourself is not difficult, but fun.
Vision
Pimba wants to help and support children in their first attempts to play a piano or keyboard themselves. Pimba does this by offering practical information (scores and sound files) and by being a bridge between the child's world and the traditional Western notation system.
The Pimba systematics is aimed at offering children not only (or even initially) intellectual information. Pimba focuses on the whole of music, playing it yourself, experiencing, feeling and understanding the whole that is music.
'Pimba Music Notation' was developed by Anton Treffers. These are scores in a simplified (music) notation in a rhythm-free notation (without bar lines). The child reads the notes and plays the right rhythm because it knows the song by ear.
The songs are made available free of charge to individual children and their parents and teachers via the website www.pimba.nl. Pimba has no musical preference of its own and is genre-free. It offers the child what is stimulating, possible and recognizable, without a preference for style, time or culture.
2. Mode
All beginnings are difficult, also in learning to play music. The foundation believes it can promote learning to play the piano at a young age by providing free appealing teaching materials: songs, music explanations and games. All sheet music always includes at least one link to a sounding example.
The songs are arranged in several ‘levels’. The first level consists of playing material that is written down in letters. The second level uses a rhythm-free notation. In this case, the traditional musical notation only notes which key should be played. All information about measure and rhythm is excluded. The layout has also been adjusted. For example, upbeats are not at the end of a line, but as much as possible in a logical place for a child. As an organizing principle, arcs are used that always join the individual notes together into an understandable part of the whole. This system is also used in the third and fourth levels.
The levels that Pimba follows are not always separated very clearly. Each level contains songs that are a bit ‘too difficult’ and therefore pose a challenge and provide insight into the effort required for songs at the next level. The songs become more difficult on average in the successive levels. In general, a development is followed from a single melody - melody with root notes - melody with chords. Flats and sharps only occur occasionally in the first two levels. From the third level onwards, flats and sharps are used regularly and chord symbols are gradually added to the score with which children can play root notes (or occasionally complete chords). In the fourth level, suggestions are occasionally given for the use of inversions and/or simple chord breaks.
3. Activities
The most important activity for the coming years is to broaden and expand the range of songs on the website. This means adding more songs, also aimed at other countries. We also want to develop possible multilingualism, but the different systems in other countries must be taken into account (for example do-re-mi instead of c-d-e).
Playing and learning coincide in Pimba. The core of the Pimba system therefore lies in offering playing materials that the child can work with themselves and very naturally. The aim is also for children to be able to easily judge for themselves whether a song is worth the effort of learning at a certain level or not.
Tips are added to each song to help the child play the song well, for example in the form of fingerings and study tips. These instructions are never intended to be dogmatic as if this were the only good way to play. The child's own character is also central in psychomotor terms.
(Almost) all arrangements in Pimba have singable lyrics. Singing is often the most direct and intimate expression of our human musical essence. Song lyrics can often be very helpful in (learning to) play melodies. The child sings them along to itself, as it were, which makes many difficulties (playing technique or rhythm) not only disappear but usually do not occur at all.
4. Website
The website www.pimbapiano.com is the means by which we want to achieve our goal. Because we stimulate children to play the piano ourselves, the website is aimed at children in look & feel and will continue to be developed in this way.
We also want to develop the possibility for external persons to add songs to scores and midi files themselves. For this we need to develop a format (notation) and investigate the possibilities of specific software or office 365.
To stimulate more use of Pimba, better visibility is needed. We can achieve this by:
• Improving the CMS and improving findability in search engines.
• Developing visibility and promotion via marcom and social media.
5. Financial
The foundation depends on donations and legacies for its income. Fundraising opportunities will be investigated.
The members of the board are entitled to reimbursement of the costs incurred by them in the performance of their duties. No salary may be awarded to the members of the board.
6. The Pimba Foundation
The foundation was established on July 10, 2020 and registered in the Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce on July 13, 2020 under number 78560160.
RSIN: 861450188
Management
Mr. A.T. Treffers, chairman and treasurer
Mrs. M.Th. Naber, secretary
Mr. F.M. van den Hombergh, member
Mr. Th. Bierman, member
7. Contact
Zuider Buiten Spaarne 104 zwart
2012 AC Haarlem
The Netherlands
E: info@pimbapiano.com
M: 06-25088545
Bank details
Stichting Pimba NL07 BUNQ 2045 2741 36
BIC/SWIFT BUNQNL2AXXX