The Playground

When your teacher has been a choir accompanist, singer, classically-trained pianist, conductor, classical piano teacher, singing coach, guitarist, violist, flautist, trumpeter and Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Clown College alumnus, you know your musical voyage will be an adventure. Jy initially learned piano…

• Written by SM Admin on Sep 20, 2010
• community, jy gronner, music, piano, simply music, studio, teacher, 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 music machine to overcome the limitations of the keyboard instruments…

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

This song hit the radio in 2003 and I loved it. My kids couldn’t believe that Dad would even listen to something that played on ‘their’ radio stations. My son Paul bought a compilation album of hits of ’02-’03 and I immediately ‘borrowed’ it to…

• Written by SM Admin on Sep 20, 2010
• david bremner, learn, music, norah jones, piano, play, simply music, song, the playground, tutorial

Simply Music is all about music as a lifelong companion. Not necessarily a calling or a career or a life-force, but occurring in a way that our musicality becomes an everyday friend, a natural part of how we express ourselves in the world. Sometimes, though,…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Sep 20, 2010
• anneka hoorn, composing, lessons, music, piano, play, ronen, simply music, student, the playground

Firstly, let me start by extending a heart-felt “welcome” to you. Thank you for taking some to check out this first edition of Simply Music’s newsletter, “The Playground”. This has been a project that has taken quite some time to bring to fruition, however, we…

• Written by SM Admin on Apr 6, 2010
• community, neil moore, piano, simply music, the playground

“That was really good. Is there any way that I could buy the score for Constellation of Snow?” the mom asked after the student concert. She was a classically/traditionally trained musician. “Well, uh, no,” my girlfriend, another Simply Music Teacher, replied hesitantly. “That is his…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Apr 3, 2010
• lessons, music, piano, simply music, student, the playground

It was a tribute to the life-changing power of music (as well as the wonders of the internet) when the world was charmed by the story and the voice of Susan Boyle when she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent and showed…

• Written by SM Admin on Apr 2, 2010
• britain's got talent, les miserables, lessons, method, music, piano, recording, simply music, susan boyle, the playground

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