
The Playground
The Simply Music blog

The Neuroscience of Creativity By Anna Abraham – Book Review
Credit: David Cassolato I will start with a little story. In 2007 I was beginning University studies and surfing the internet one weekend, when I came across a piano teacher’s blog. This teacher was on about this great new discovery. After teaching for many years…
- Written by Guest Contributor on Apr 11, 2023
- Anna Abraham, book review, Creativity, music, music education, music neuroscience, piano, playing-based, simply music, The Neuroscience of Creativity, the playground

The War of Art By Steven Pressfield – Book Review
I looked everywhere for the enemy and failed to see it right in front of my face. Sometimes things that should be obvious aren’t. Sometimes an obvious thing only becomes obvious after someone states it in such an articulate and relatable manner that its essence…
- Written by Guest Contributor on Mar 8, 2023
- book review, Creativity, music, music education, music neurology, piano, playing-based, simply music, Steven Pressfield, the playground, The War of Art

This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel Levitin – Book Review
By Rebecca Harding This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel LevitinThis Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel Levitin is a fascinating and in-depth exploration into the neurological processes that make us love and connect with music. Levitin,…
- Written by Guest Contributor on Feb 8, 2023
- book review, Daniel Levitin, music, music education, music neurology, piano, playing-based, simply music, the playground, This Is Your Brain On Music

12 Notes by Quincy Jones [Book Review]
Quincy Jones may well be music’s all-time greatest multitalent. From jazz trumpeter to band leader to arranger for the likes of Frank Sinatra, conductor, composer, Broadway and Academy Awards director, producer for the likes of Michael Jackson, record company executive, impresario, educator, activist and more,…
- Written by Gordon Harvey on Nov 30, 2022
- 12 Notes, book review, Creativity, gordon harvey, music, music education, piano, playing-based music education, Quincy Jones, simply music, the playground

The Molecule of More by Daniel Lieberman & Michael Long
Book Review By Katie Schmidt Welp, if I were a psychology professor, I would definitely make this book a requirement for all my students. Although I am not said professor, I do wish all of us would read this book. It gave me a much…
- Written by Guest Contributor on Oct 21, 2022
- book review, Creativity, Daniel Lieberman, katie schmidt, Love, Michael Long, music, music education, piano, simply music, the playground

Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Book Review
Mihaly reading his book ‘Flow’ War is horrific. There’s no getting away from it. But sometimes out of the horror there’s a contribution to the world that wouldn’t be here otherwise. Such is the life’s work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The study of what he has…
- Written by Guest Contributor on Sep 23, 2022
- book review, Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, music, music education, piano, playing-based music education, simply music, the playground

A World Where Everyone Plays by Bernadette E. Ashby – Book Review
A World Where Everyone Plays is a collection of stories of how Simply Music has impacted people’s lives. Each chapter is written by a student, teacher or loved one. The stories vary from a ten-year-old student, to a professional circus clown, to a retired teacher,…
- Written by Allison Gray on Aug 8, 2022
- A world where everyone plays, Bernadette Ashby, book review, music, music education, piano, playing-based music education, simply music, the playground
The Musical Brain – Documentary Review & This is Your Brain on Music – Book Review
Documentary Review by Elizabeth Gaikwad The Musical Brain – Writer/director Christina Pochmursky, producer Vanessa Dylyn, Matter of Fact Media For me this is one of the most interesting documentaries made about the scientific evidence that music and emotions are fundamentally wired into the brains of…
- Written by Gordon Harvey on May 30, 2012
- book review, books, Elizabeth Gaikwad, gordon harvey, media, music education, piano, piano movies, simply music

Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks – Book Review
Oliver Sacks is a neurologist and author known for his books exploring the strange and remarkable world of people with brain damage. In the 1960’s he published Awakenings, a study of his work with post-encephalitic patients who, after decades of immobility and non-communication, could be…
- Written by SM Admin on Apr 1, 2010
- book review, books, experience, memory, music, oliver sacks, piano, simply music, the playground