The Playground
The Simply Music blog
This blog post was written (with our thanks!) by a Guest Contributor. In our aim to bring you a variety of quality content, The Playground encourages specialists or people with passion for a music related topic to contribute… Guests. Should there be something you feel our audience would benefit from and enjoy in a blog post, please send your idea and outline to stephanie.iadanza@simplymusic.com.
‘Meera’ – More Than Just A Building
For a lot of music teachers, ‘studio’ is simply a clearing in a living room or spare room, and that can be a wonderful, comfortable, welcoming place to play and learn. But for one of our Simply Music teaching community have grander ideas, like a…
You & Your Piano: Caring for Your Piano
For a machine, a piano can sometimes be almost like a living thing. It can seem to have behaviours that change with the seasons and the years and the places it lives. Like a family member, it can behave differently depending on the way it…
You & Your Piano: New or Second-Hand?
Previously we’ve talked about the choice between digital or acoustic pianos, and, if you go acoustic, what kind of piano you might choose. If you’ve come this far, you might be ready for the next question – new or second-hand? Those new beauties look shiny…
You & Your Instrument: Acoustic Pianos
In the first article in this series, we discussed the choice between digital and acoustic pianos. For those considering a digital piano, we included some advice, but as to the purchase of an acoustic piano, we decided that dark art needed its own post. Are…
Growing up Simply – My Childhood Experience of Musicality
I can recall countless fond memories of growing up in a household that was filled with music. I would get home from school and my dad, who was a music educator, would have anywhere from one to ten students in our home. At that time,…
A Study in Songwriting – Pt 6: Mark S. Meritt
Mark S. Meritt continues our series on songwriting, discussing some guiding principles and idea-generating approaches he uses. Legendary musical theatre composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim noted some fundamental principles that guide his work, the primary one being Content Dictates Form. He also said that his…
A Study in Songwriting – Pt 5: Eliette Roslin
Our series of songwriting hints continues with Eliette Roslin, who has taken time out from her amazingly busy life to share the very personal story of her song “Believe”. Eliette sang before she could speak and music has always played an important role in her…
A Study in Songwriting – Pt 3: Jennifer Lee
Simply Music Teacher Jennifer Lee continues the conversation about writing songs with a reflection on how simple projects can be the unexpected beginnings of great inspirations, including some of the wonderful songs on her forthcoming album. Photo by Remo Fioroni For me, I’m certain that…
A Study in Songwriting – Pt 2: Sue Lopez
After our Songwriting Tips from Simply Music Friends – Pt 1 post, we asked contributors to give us a more in-depth insight into their process of creating songs. You’ll find that there are as many ways of writing a song as there are songs to…
Chords – Who, What, Where, How & So What?
Image via Gavin Whitner (http://musicoomph.com) In search of the first chord Have you ever wondered when the first ever chord was played? How did it happen? Where did it happen? What is a chord? And what is its importance in understanding Western Music? This article…
