The Playground
The Simply Music blog
Walk Before You Run
How many things can you think of that have nasty side effects? Medicines. Technologies. Political policies. Even just things we’ve said or done to people we know. How many times have you been thrust into a role or responsibility you weren’t ready for? How many…
Simply Music Student – Peter Amstalden
If your feet aren’t tapping and your jaw hasn’t dropped when you hear Peter Amstalden play a rag, you just weren’t listening. To hear this self-effacing fourteen-year-old play is as inspiring as it is to hear him speak about his experience as a music student.…
Learn Four Chord Songs
I remember hiring a car on a holiday a few years ago. We could only tune the radio to one station, playing popular music, and as the songs cycled by, I started to realize that maybe a third of them featured the same four chords,…
Using Digital Software for Composing Music
Today I want to talk about some of the benefits of using digital software for composing music. First off, I would like to acknowledge that I began sequencing music on my father’s old “Ensoniq SQ-2” keyboard. I learned the keyboard in and out, and taught…
Bebot, Bloom, iRealb – App Review
Here are three more apps to add to the ever-growing list of innovative music resources in the post-PC universe. Bebot Normalware iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch $1.99 Bebot is your friendly robotic creative companion, with a lot of power in his circuits. Boot him up and you’re…
Seasonal Selections
‘Tis the season to drag out the carols and traditional songs. But do we mindlessly mouth the well-worn words of all those all-too-familiar Christmas standards? We asked the Simply Music staff to tell us about their favorite seasonal songs, and discovered a treasure trove of…
Music Therapist Dr. Katrina McFerran Interview with Gordon Harvey
Dr Katrina McFerran is a music therapist, researcher and a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne. Author of many works including Adolescents, Music and Music Therapy, she has a special interest in reaching adolescents through music, but she has wide experience of many aspects of…
Simply Music Teacher – Elliette Boumeester
Since her beginnings as a Simply Music student, Eliette Boumeester has grown and expanded her musical horizons in multiple directions, including becoming a singer-songwriter and one of the youngest ever Simply Music Teachers, much of it happening under the cloud of serious illness. She tells…
The Art of Coaching
The term “Coaching” brings many things to mind but perhaps the most common is the image of a professional sports coach—like Vince Lombardi or soccer coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. Professional sports coaches train athletes to perform at their very best. They spend time each day…
Simply Music Student – Bradley Hughes
Bradley is a Simply Music student who has acquired music as a life-long companion. He is a musician, a composer, an accompanist and an arranger – all by age 16. Bradley is also a very respectful, imaginative and dedicated student. Bradley began simply music lessons…