The Playground

Every four years when the Olympics comes around, one of the tunes that always finds itself on high rotation is Vangelis’ uplifting anthem, the theme from Chariots of Fire. It’s pretty simple to work out […]

• Written by SM Admin on Jul 29, 2012
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Hello again! This is part two in the Soulful Grace series. If you read my first Soulful Grace article in the previous issue of The Playground and spent some time learning the arrangement I presented there, […]

• Written by SM Admin on Jul 29, 2012
• amazing grace, arrangement, chord, jennifer lee, music, piano, playing, simply music, soulful grace, the playground, tutorial

  Amazing Grace is a beautiful song. And, as is apparent from Neil’s introduction of it in both the foundation materials (Levels 1 and 2) as well as in the variations, it’s also a wonderful […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on May 30, 2012
• amazing grace, arrangements, chords, groove, jennifer lee, learning, lessons, music, new, piano, recording, sheet music, simply music, the playground, tutorials, variation

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 […]

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Apr 8, 2012
• chords, learn, music, piano, simply music, songs, teach, the playground

Elizabeth Gaikwad is the creator of the very popular Songs For Children 1 program, as well as the forthcoming Duets 1 and Songs for Children 2. Just for the festive season, she has put together […]

• Written by SM Admin on Dec 16, 2011
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Some of the most memorable songs have been among the simplest – a single voice accompanied by just a strummed guitar or simple chords on a piano can concentrate the attention on the way the […]

• Written by SM Admin on Sep 24, 2011
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The Glee phenomenon has been one of the biggest musical stories of recent times. This runaway television success has spearheaded a rediscovery of songs you can really sing, and has reminded many people that a […]

• Written by SM Admin on Dec 20, 2010
• chords, Don't Stop Believin, Glee, journey, learn, simply music, tutorial

This song hit the radio in 2003 and I loved it. My kids couldn’t believe that Dad would even listen to something that played on ‘their’ radio stations. My son Paul bought a compilation album […]

• Written by SM Admin on Sep 20, 2010
• david bremner, learn, music, norah jones, piano, play, simply music, song, the playground, tutorial