
The Playground
The Simply Music blog

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…

The Piano – A Common Subject in Famous Paintings
I have spent my lifetime learning and exposing myself to the arts on all levels (paintings, music, dance – any way I could really). Being exposed to so much variety was a greater gift than I knew at the time. I didn’t know how lucky I…

Everyone is Musical – A Video from Neil Moore
You might think musical skills are the province of some especially gifted breed of person, but nothing could be further from the truth. Every human being, without exception, is deeply and naturally musical! Neil explains how that musicality manifests itself in our everyday lives, and…

Simple Things Done Well – Pt2
Previously, I talked about the benefit of making the most of simple activities and valuing the journey as much as the goal. But how? As a Simply Music student, your teacher will be regularly on your case about keeping your Playlist alive. Of course, you…

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…

How Simply Music Began – A Video from Neil Moore
You may not be aware of the many informative and useful videos posted by Neil Moore on our YouTube channel, so we thought we’d highlight a selection of them in The Playground. Some of them are especially useful for teachers wanting to know more about…

Meet The Team – Jose Rivera
We asked Jose Rivera some questions to gain some insight into his role here at Simply Music, what lights him up musically and some facts that make him the person he is. Your full name: Jose Benjamin Rivera When did you start and what is…

A Study in Songwriting – Pt 4: Gordon Harvey
Songwriting doesn’t have to be done balancing pen, paper, guitar and coffee cup on your lap. In fact, most modern pop music is constructed on the computer from the get-go. Gordon Harvey outlines this process through the example of a song by his band Aquiline.…

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…

Neil & Will Henshall from [email protected] – Interview
Will Henshall is a successful songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, researcher and infectious personality. He’s also the developer of [email protected], a program that uses specially-designed music to improve focus and productivity. In this wide-ranging chat, Neil Moore speaks with Will about the science behind music’s ability…