The Playground

Written by: Page Stegner It is not as intimidating as one might think! 15-year-old level 3 Simply Music student Antoine ROCKED the house when he jammed for the first time with my band ‘the Smokin’ Rats’. […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on Aug 8, 2023
• 12 bar blues, coaching, group music, learn piano to play in band, music, music for bands, page stegner, piano for band, play in a band, simply music, smokin rats, the playground, tutorial

Written by: Ray Nelson “I can’t count how many times over my teaching career I have heard students say this. There is such an interest out there to be able to play in a band […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on Jul 11, 2023
• accompaniment, chords, coaching, how to play guitar, how to play piano, keyboard, music, music lessons, musical journey, musicians, piano in a band, play in a band, ray nelson, simply music, tutorial

Connection, Awareness & Practice If you’re not telling a story with your playing, not conveying an emotion, you might even say it’s not music at all. Last month Simply Music Senior Teacher Laurie Richards wrote […]

• Written by Laurie Richards on Jun 2, 2023
• coaching, Laurie Richards, music, musical communication, self expression, simply music

From their earliest lessons, Simply Music students know how fun and easy it is to get into real, authentic-sounding blues piano pieces.They also learn that there are lots of ways to vary and develop their […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on Mar 3, 2021
• blues licks piano tutorial, blues piano licks tutorial, blues piano pieces, blues piano riffs, blues projects, coaching, how to play blues licks on piano, Laurie Richards, lessons, music, piano, piano tutorial, player, simply music, simply music method, the playground, tutorial

Jerry Jeff Walker, who passed away recently at the age of 78, is remembered as one of the artists who brought country music out of the backwoods and into the mainstream. He was very prolific […]

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Nov 5, 2020
• Jerry Jeff Walker, Mr Bojangles, music, music education, piano, simply music, the playground

Chords are one of the most fundamental building blocks of all music and, taught in a particular way, they are incredibly simple to learn on piano. It’s amazing how much is opened up by an […]

• Written by SM Admin on Dec 12, 2018
• accompaniment, chords, Chords & Accompaniment, coaching, neil moore, piano, simply music, teach piano, teaching, tutorial

Let’s talk about a famous classical piece, by Beethoven, and give you a taste of how we break the melody of this song into a simple ‘Melody Diagram’ that will have you instantly remember how […]

• Written by SM Admin on Jul 24, 2018
• music education, musicians, neil moore, piano, piano lessons, simply music, simply music piano, the playground, tutorial

Credit: college.usatoday.com We hope all our Teachers and Students in the United States are enjoying 4th of July celebrations. But why not spread the national pride further afield? We enlisted the help of the wonderful Elizabeth […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on Jun 24, 2016
• 4th of July, accompaniment, america, australia, blog, canada, chords, coaching, music, national, national pride, national songs, new zealand, piano, pride, simply music, the playground, tutorial

Halloween is just around the corner, so we thought we’d share some musical tricks and treats to get you in the spirit 😉 How about some ghoulish new lyrics to Night Storm? Here are some […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on Oct 18, 2015
• halloween, music, musical, simply music, spirit, the playground, treat, trick, trick or treat

Usually at this time of year in The Playground, we like to provide some playing projects for festive season songs. This time around, we thought we could continue the conversation about sharing your music by […]

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Nov 21, 2014
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