The Playground

Neil shared this video with the Simply Music teachers a few weeks ago but we wanted to share it with you too.   In this episode of Tech Effects, we explore the impact of music on the brain and body. From listening to music to…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Feb 4, 2021
• brain, music, music education, music research, piano, research, simply music, the playground, video

Have you met Maddalena Casulana? Born 1544 in Italy she was the first woman to publish her own musical compositions! Women’s roles in the early 1500s largely centred around domestic duties and a constrained societal existence with the expectation that they would live humble, demure…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Jan 29, 2021
• composer, italy, madrigal, music, music education, piano, simply music, the playground, Women in Music

I think we all have fallen into the trap of setting new year’s resolutions that don’t last a week, especially when it comes to playing & practicing our instruments. I know I definitely have! I personally find it hard to follow through with my good…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Jan 17, 2021
• accountability, beginnings, challenge, music, music education, new resolutions, new years, piano, simply music, songwriting, the playground

From all of us here at Simply Music we wish the very best and a safe and happy holiday season … and a Happy Gravy Day Australia! Gravy Day you ask? The 21st of December has become synonymous with Gravy in Australia. Paul Kelly’s ‘How…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Dec 20, 2020
• music, music education, piano, simply music, the playground

Whether you’re looking for a new book to read or a present for someone this holiday season, we’ve compiled a list of books for you! Some we have read and some are on our own ‘to read’ lists! If you’ve got any recommendations please leave…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Dec 4, 2020
• Blues, books, jazz, music, Music Books, music education, music history, piano, Reading List, recorded music, simply music, the playground

Think of the word “jazz” and chances are you’ll picture something like a smoky bar with a small group of guys hunched intensely over their instruments. Or perhaps a concert hall with an ensemble of tuxedo-clad men swinging through Tin Pan Alley standards. What you…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Nov 19, 2020
• album review, Diana Krall, jazz, jazz pianist, jazz singer, music, music education, piano, piano player, Review, simply music, the playground

I’m sure if you’ve even stuck your toe into the pool of modern Jazz, you’ve heard of Diana Krall! The Canadian jazz pianist, songwriter & singer, known for her contralto vocals, she has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Nov 12, 2020
• Diana Krall, Female Piano Player, jazz, jazz pianist, music, music education, piano, simply music, Songwriter, the playground, Women in Music

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 but he will always be remembered for one song: Mr…

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

Intro: Music of the last hundred years would sound completely different without the Blues. You may have a certain picture in your mind when you think of blues music, but you may not realise how diverse the genre actually is, and how it has seeped…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Oct 22, 2020
• Blues, music, music education, piano, Robert Relly, simply music, teach piano, the playground

Hazel Scott was a Trinidadian-born jazz and classical pianist, singer, and actor. She was a critically acclaimed performing artist and an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. Scott was a child musical prodigy, receiving scholarships to study at the Juilliard School when she was…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Oct 14, 2020
• 'The Hazel Scott Show'." ... she was also known for playing 2 piano's at a time!!, classical music, female, female musician, music, music education, musician, pianist, piano, piano concerto, piano player, piano. She was prominent as a jazz singer throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In 1950, she became the first African American to host her own TV show, simply music, the playground