The Playground
The Simply Music blog
So You Want to Play in a Band (Part Two)
Written by: Page Stegner It is not as intimidating as one might think! 15-year-old level 3 Simply Music student Antoine ROCKED the house when he jammed for the first time with my band ‘the Smokin’ Rats’. As Antoine stepped through the front door his eyes grew…
So You Want to Play in a Band (Part One)
Written by: Ray Nelson “I can’t count how many times over my teaching career I have heard students say this. There is such an interest out there to be able to play in a band together with other musicians and yet I have often wondered…
Having the ‘Blues’ Never Felt So Good – Piano Tutorial
From their earliest lessons, Simply Music students know how fun and easy it is to get into real, authentic-sounding blues piano pieces.They also learn that there are lots of ways to vary and develop their first blues projects with cool extra touches. Actually, if you…
Teaching Chords & Accompaniment – A Video from Neil Moore
Chords are one of the most fundamental building blocks of all music and, taught in a particular way, they are incredibly simple to learn on piano. It’s amazing how much is opened up by an easily-developed grasp of chords. Neil describes here, for both students…
Teaching the Melody of a Classical Piece – A Video from Neil Moore
Let’s talk about a famous classical piece, by Beethoven, and give you a taste of how we break the melody of this song into a simple ‘Melody Diagram’ that will have you instantly remember how to play it. We’ll also show you the left hand…
Recording Yourself, Part Three – How To Record Yourself
Credit: http://www.intuneaudio.ca/ In the last two articles, we talked about the benefits of recording yourself and what to listen for when reviewing your recorded efforts. In this installment, we’ll discuss some practicalities of making recordings. Even if you’re simply making a cheap and cheerful recording…
Pride of Place – Songs We Share for National Celebrations
Credit: college.usatoday.com We hope all our Teachers and Students in the United States are enjoying 4th of July celebrations. But why not spread the national pride further afield? We enlisted the help of the wonderful Elizabeth Gaikwad to create some simple accompaniment versions, using the key…
Recording Yourself, Part Two – What to Listen For
Credit: http://sepeusz.blogspot.com.au/ In the first instalment of this series, we talked about the value and benefits of recording yourself. It’s amazing what you’ll notice about your playing when you listen back to it without the distraction of having to actually play. But there can…
Learn Jingle Bells the Simply Music Way
Christmas time has traditionally always been a time for the gathering of loved ones and the playing of music. I felt it would be great to have a collection of carols that anyone in the family could pick up and play, even if they only…
Learn Soulful Grace (Amazing Grace) – The final piece
Hello again, Simply Music community! This is the third and final article in my Soulful Grace series. Here I’m presenting an introduction and an ending for Soulful Grace that, while relatively simple to play, give a quite sophisticated (and gospelly!) sounding result. Let’s begin!…
