The Playground

Although he’s spent quite a lot of time in the USA and elsewhere, Paul Kelly is not necessarily a household name worldwide. Here in his native Australia, this everyman poet is an unofficial Living National Treasure, one of our most loved musicians, for his unforgettable…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Dec 18, 2018
• create, gordon harvey, Gravy, How to Make the Gravy, music education, musicians, Paul Kelly, simply music, simply music piano, songs, songwriting, the playground

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.…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Feb 7, 2018
• create, gordon harvey, music, music education, piano, simply music, songwriting, the playground

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…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Jan 31, 2018
• create, jennifer lee, musicians, simply music, singer-songwriter, songwriting, teachers, the playground, women songwriters

March 29, 2017 isn’t just any ordinary day when it comes to the world of Piano. A worldwide group of likeminded individuals decided that because this day is the 88th day of the year it would only make sense to designate it Piano Day. The…

• Written by Daniel Kielman on Mar 28, 2017
• create, daniel kielman, Innovative Keyboards, music, music education, piano, piano day, play, self expression, simply music, the playground

Our voice is the original musical instrument – portable, always available, universal and versatile. Instruments created entirely new worlds of sounds. With those new sounds came different layers of music, no longer strictly melody but now additionally rhythm, harmony, accompaniment, dynamics and texture. However, that…

• Written by Daniel Kielman on Mar 14, 2017
• Beatboxing, create, daniel kielman, improvisation, music, music education, piano, self expression, songwriting, the playground

In our last discussion about the diversity of Jazz, we cast a very broad net to show how varied music can be under the jazz umbrella. This time I thought we could explore just how varied can be the interpretations of just one song. I…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Feb 15, 2017
• Autumn Leaves, create, gordon harvey, music, music education, musical, musician, piano, simply music, the playground

Some human beings just can’t get enough creativity. It’s not enough to have the most amazing music machine to play, now it seems there’s the irresistible urge to get visually creative with it as well! Perhaps inspired by the wonderful Play Me, I’m Yours project,…

• Written by Stephanie Iadanza on Nov 2, 2016
• art, create, music, Music & Art, music education, Painted Pianos, piano, play piano, simply music, stephanie iadanza, the playground

  Here in the Information Age, there’s no end to the opportunities to learn stuff. Trouble is, there’s no end to the stuff we ought to learn. How do you narrow all the available information about your favourite subjects down to the nuggets you can use in your…

• Written by Mel Karajas on Jun 12, 2016
• create, infographics, knowledge, music, simply music, the playground, visual

Credit: Fabrizio Paterlini – The Art of the Piano Creating your own original music is one of the most beneficial aspects of studying an instrument and being a musician, even if you’re not especially interested in becoming a composer or a songwriter, and even if…

• Written by Guest Contributor on May 22, 2016
• benefit, compose, composition, create, enjoy, fun., improvisation, improvising, mark meritt, mark s. meritt, original, piano, simply music, the playground, toolkit, tune, tune toolkit

With my Simply Music students, I do a lot of improvisation and composition. It’s one of my favourite aspects of being a musician, having been writing songs and creating instrumental pieces for most of my life. One of the most enjoyable and challenging things I do these…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Mar 27, 2013
• create, improvisation, improvise, kat koppett, mark meritt, mark s. meritt, mop and bucket, music, simply music