The Playground

March 29, 2017 isn’t just any ordinary day when it comes to the world of Piano. A worldwide group of likeminded individuals decided that because this day is the 88th day of the year it would only make sense to designate it Piano Day. The…

• Written by Daniel Kielman on Mar 28, 2017
• create, daniel kielman, Innovative Keyboards, music, music education, piano, piano day, play, self expression, simply music, the playground

Our voice is the original musical instrument – portable, always available, universal and versatile. Instruments created entirely new worlds of sounds. With those new sounds came different layers of music, no longer strictly melody but now additionally rhythm, harmony, accompaniment, dynamics and texture. However, that…

• Written by Daniel Kielman on Mar 14, 2017
• Beatboxing, create, daniel kielman, improvisation, music, music education, piano, self expression, songwriting, the playground

The 21st century is a great time to be a music lover. But it’s not such a great time for musicians. Not all of the new ways of finding and listening to music pay the artist well. If you care about the people actually creating…

• Written by Daniel Kielman on Mar 1, 2017
• Artists, Consumer Trends, daniel kielman, music, music education, musicians, piano, simply music, support, the playground

In our last discussion about the diversity of Jazz, we cast a very broad net to show how varied music can be under the jazz umbrella. This time I thought we could explore just how varied can be the interpretations of just one song. I…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Feb 15, 2017
• Autumn Leaves, create, gordon harvey, music, music education, musical, musician, piano, simply music, the playground

We’ve already shared our favourite songs from seasonal celebrations, so for something different, we thought we’d celebrate the seasons themselves, with some of our favourite songs for each season. See which ones transport you to another time of year. Here in Melbourne, it’s almost a…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Dec 22, 2016
• gordon harvey, music, music education, piano, seasonal songs, simply music, the playground

  Karen Nisenson was recently the subject of a video podcast with Tim Topham. This wide-ranging and entertaining chat gave Karen the opportunity to discuss the philosophy and methodology of Simply Music Gateway, the groundbreaking new program being developed for those on the autism spectrum…

• Written by SM Admin on Dec 22, 2016
• learn, music, music education, music lessons, piano, simply music, the playground, Tim Topham, Tim Topham TV

Some human beings just can’t get enough creativity. It’s not enough to have the most amazing music machine to play, now it seems there’s the irresistible urge to get visually creative with it as well! Perhaps inspired by the wonderful Play Me, I’m Yours project,…

• Written by Stephanie Iadanza on Nov 2, 2016
• art, create, music, Music & Art, music education, Painted Pianos, piano, play piano, simply music, stephanie iadanza, the playground

  Simply Music Founder and Executive Director Neil Moore has devoted decades to the possibility of music as a lifelong companion. He has spoken to countless parents who share this vision but are still echoing outdated mindsets that don’t encourage that wonderful relationship with musical…

• Written by Neil Moore on Oct 21, 2016
• coaching, method, music, music education, neil moore, piano, piano lessons, play piano, Relationship Conversation, simply music, SoundCloud, teach piano, the playground

Welcome to A Way of Listening, an occasional series where we look at music from a range of angles designed to open you up to new listening opportunities and hopefully teach you a little along the way. It’s a big, exciting musical world when you…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Oct 4, 2016
• Fred Hersch, gordon harvey, Hiatus Kaiyote, Lalah Hathaway, listening, music, music education, piano, Rosa Passos, Sarah Vaughan, simply music, Snarky Puppy, Stephane Grappelli, the playground, Yehudi Menuhin

In previous posts we have discussed some benefits, learning value and methods of recording yourself, mostly from the perspective of developing your own playing. But what if you feel the urge to share your work? The playing field of recorded music has never been flatter. No…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Sep 20, 2016
• BandCamp, CD Baby, gordon harvey, itunes, music, music education, piano, Sharing Your Recordings, simply music, SoundCloud, Spotify, the playground, YouTube