The Playground

I’m just learning to take baby steps into improvisation. And I have a secret to tell you. But first, let me tell you where I’m coming from and what my personal experience with music has […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on Mar 31, 2016
• classical music, composition, Eastman, ensemble, improvisation, Julliard, literature, musician, Oberlin, patti phears, Peabody Conservatory, piano, playing, simply music, technique, the playground

  I was a beginner when I started Simply Music lessons. I had a lot of confidence issues with my musicality. I had tried to play the piano on my own for about a year and just couldn’t […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on Mar 27, 2013
• coaching, confidence, kevin meyer, music, piano, playing, simply music, the playground

  “Teamwork, Teamwork, how ‘bout it?” Being a musician promotes versatility as it teaches many musical and real-life skills, such as cooperation in playing as a team, traditionally called ensemble playing. Ensemble playing in Simply […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on Dec 4, 2012
• coaching, ensemble, janita pavelka, music, performance, piano, playing, simply music, teamwork, the playground

  My first memory of playing the piano with others is sharing the bench with my two older siblings. Since I was the youngest in the family, I would get to sit on the end […]

• Written by Guest Contributor on Sep 28, 2012
• coaching, duet, family, group, janita pavelka, music, musical, performance, piano, playing, recital, simply music, student, teacher, the playground

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

Who likes to perform in front of others? I don’t see many hands up. It seems like there’s a rare breed of person who just loves an audience, and the rest of us recoil in […]

• Written by Gordon Harvey on May 30, 2012
• chopin, coaching, gordon harvey, learning, lessons, music, performance, piano, playing, simply music, the playground

The piano’s exact birth date is lost in the haze of history. All we know is that it was invented by the Italian harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700. He developed his new […]

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Sep 20, 2010
• create, gordon harvey, learn, music, piano, playing, simply music, Stuart & Sons, the playground