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

The first sound recording was reportedly captured in Paris by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville in 1860, nearly two decades before Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone call (1876) or Thomas Edison’s phonograph (1877), Scott recorded the sound on his ‘Phonautograph’. The Phonautograph was made to study…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Oct 7, 2020
• History, invention, music, music education, music history, piano, recording, simply music, sound, sound recording, study, the playground

Did you know that piano sales have increased this year!! The New York Times reported a resurgence in ‘at home music making’ with sales of digital pianos increasing by 30% and acoustic pianos increasing in the used market! Which begs the question … should you…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Sep 24, 2020
• acoustic, digital, instrument, keyboard, music, music education, new piano, piano, second hand piano, simply music, the playground

Born June 5, 1941 Martha Argerich is an Argentine-Swiss classical concert pianist. She made her concert debut at the age of 8 and is considered to be one of the greatest pianists of the recorded era!!

 

 Here’s a video of her playing her signature…

• Written by Gretta Dunn on Sep 16, 2020
• classical music, female, female musician, music, music education, musician, pianist, piano, piano concerto, piano player, simply music, the playground

For a lot of music teachers, ‘studio’ is simply a clearing in a living room or spare room, and that can be a wonderful, comfortable, welcoming place to play and learn. But for one of our Simply Music teaching community have grander ideas, like a…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Sep 9, 2020
• australia, Building, music, music education, Music Studio, piano, Simply Music Teacher, studio, Tags: Simply Music, teacher, the playground, unmani, Victoria

Tim Ringgold, Author, Musician & Board Certified Music Therapist, sits down with Neil Moore and discusses music and it’s transformative healing powers. From the pitfalls and pain of extreme adversity, and what the power of music can do to revive us. Tim works with many…

• Written by SM Admin on Jan 15, 2020
• music, Music & Addiction, Music & Recovery, music education, Music Therapy, piano, simply music, the playground, Tim Ringgold