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 of the bench during trios with my brother and sister…

• 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, 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!…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Sep 28, 2012
• amazing grace, coaching, jennifer lee, learn, music, piano, simply music, soulful grace, teaching, tutorial

I spend a lot of time investigating online articles about music and its role, and which examine our musicality. In many cases they may be discussing research, which usually serves to confirm that we are innately musical, but I often find the comments left by…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Jul 29, 2012
• coaching, gordon harvey, music, musician, performance, piano, simply music, the playground

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 terror at the prospect. You’ve probably experienced the feeling –…

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

How many things can you think of that have nasty side effects? Medicines. Technologies. Political policies. Even just things we’ve said or done to people we know. How many times have you been thrust into a role or responsibility you weren’t ready for? How many…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Apr 8, 2012
• coaching, learning, lessons, mark meritt, music, piano, play, simply music, speed, the playground, time, walk

The term “Coaching” brings many things to mind but perhaps the most common is the image of a professional sports coach—like Vince Lombardi or soccer coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. Professional sports coaches train athletes to perform at their very best. They spend time each day…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Dec 16, 2011
• art, coaching, lessons, music, piano, play, robin keehn, simply music, students, teachers, the playground