The Playground
The Simply Music blog
Gretta has been a part of the Simply Music team since 2011. Based out of Melbourne, Australia Gretta is a recording artist, songwriter & touring musician releasing music under Gretta Ziller. She is a black coffee drinker, a Chihuahua owner and has more indoor plants than places to put them! You can check out Gretta’s music via her website, www.grettaziller.com.
How does music affect your brain?
Neil shared this video with the Simply Music teachers a few weeks ago but we wanted to share it with you too. In this episode of Tech Effects, we explore the impact of music on the brain and body. From listening to music to…
Have You Met Maddalena Casulana?
Have you met Maddalena Casulana? Born 1544 in Italy she was the first woman to publish her own musical compositions! Women’s roles in the early 1500s largely centred around domestic duties and a constrained societal existence with the expectation that they would live humble, demure…
New Years & New Resolutions
I think we all have fallen into the trap of setting new year’s resolutions that don’t last a week, especially when it comes to playing & practicing our instruments. I know I definitely have! I personally find it hard to follow through with my good…
Seasons Greetings & Merry Gravy Day
From all of us here at Simply Music we wish the very best and a safe and happy holiday season … and a Happy Gravy Day Australia! Gravy Day you ask? The 21st of December has become synonymous with Gravy in Australia. Paul Kelly’s ‘How…
Holiday Reading List
Whether you’re looking for a new book to read or a present for someone this holiday season, we’ve compiled a list of books for you! Some we have read and some are on our own ‘to read’ lists! If you’ve got any recommendations please leave…
Have you met Diana Krall?
I’m sure if you’ve even stuck your toe into the pool of modern Jazz, you’ve heard of Diana Krall! The Canadian jazz pianist, songwriter & singer, known for her contralto vocals, she has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15…
Have you met Hazel Scott?
Hazel Scott was a Trinidadian-born jazz and classical pianist, singer, and actor. She was a critically acclaimed performing artist and an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. Scott was a child musical prodigy, receiving scholarships to study at the Juilliard School when she was…
A 5 second history of…. Sound Recordings
The first sound recording was reportedly captured in Paris by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville in 1860, nearly two decades before Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone call (1876) or Thomas Edison’s phonograph (1877), Scott recorded the sound on his ‘Phonautograph’. The Phonautograph was made to study…
Choosing an Instrument – How to Pick your Piano
Did you know that piano sales have increased this year!! The New York Times reported a resurgence in ‘at home music making’ with sales of digital pianos increasing by 30% and acoustic pianos increasing in the used market! Which begs the question … should you…
Have you met Martha Argerich?
Born June 5, 1941 Martha Argerich is an Argentine-Swiss classical concert pianist. She made her concert debut at the age of 8 and is considered to be one of the greatest pianists of the recorded era!! Here’s a video of her playing her signature…
