The Playground

It was interesting to read a recent article by educator Robbie Gennet suggesting that sheet music may not be necessary in music education. Just as enlightening, if not more so, was the reaction in the comments section, a lot of it quite hostile, which prompted…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Oct 11, 2015
• classical, composer, culture, ensemble, learn piano, music education, music lessons, musicians, notation, piano lessons, play, reading music, robbie gennet, sheet music, simply music, solo, teach piano, the playground, tradition

  Your Simply Music teacher will tell you that the real learning occurs more at home than in the lesson. As Neil Moore puts it, coming to a lesson is like a chef going to the market to buy his ingredients – of course that’s…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Sep 28, 2015
• achieve, goals, gordon harvey, music, music lessons, neil moore, piano, piano lessons, practice, practice makes perfect, practice makes progress, simply music, the playground, time

  Music & colour. Of course they have things in common – they can be beautiful, they can trigger memories – but there are other more intriguing connections reported by some people.   Isaac Newton was inspired by music to add to the rainbow. According…

• Written by Gordon Harvey on Sep 13, 2015
• Chromaesthesia, color, colour, music, music and color, music and colour, simply music, synaesthesia, the playground

We have all been there, scrolling on Facebook and a quiz comes up “Which US President Are You” (which is more than pointless for anyone outside the USA!) or “What Fashion Decade Do You Belong To?”, of which my personal belief is that denim on…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Sep 7, 2015
• music quiz, music quizzes, procrastination, simply music

In our most stealthiest of modes, the month of July saw 7 Simply Music teachers conduct an iPod/iTunes drive with the aim of not only collecting iTunes cards and iPods for Music & Memory, but also learning how we can inspire and resource people to…

• Written by Mel Karajas on Aug 31, 2015
• amy levine, digital music, ipods, itunes, jo cenko, kathleen chiu, mara kelland, MP3 players, music, music and memory, music lessons, pam morrison, piano, piano lessons, shuffle, simply music, tessa buck, unmani

  “People are connecting with each other through the neuroscience of singing, their brains are changing, their hearts are opening, and they help one another”   – Tania de Jong   The founder of Simply Music, Neil Moore’s driving belief is that everybody is profoundly…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Aug 24, 2015
• creativity australia, elizabeth gaikwadopera, group music, music lessons, music theatre, neil moore, simply music, sing, sing for good, singing, song room, tania de jong, tedx, the playground, umbrellas, voice

Your full name: Daniel William Kielman When did you start and what is your role with Simply Music? I started at Simply Music in February 2012. I’m in charge of all of the video work that happens at Simply Music, which means a whole ton…

• Written by Mel Karajas on Aug 16, 2015
• daniel kielman, disney, grimes, marathon, mikal cronin, outkast, san franciso marathon, simply music, the beatles

How many times have you embarked on some new project bursting with enthusiasm, only to find that motivation deflated like an old party balloon at the first setback? It’s happened to all of us, and it’s at that moment that we really see what we’re…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Aug 11, 2015
• enthusiasm, journey, Laurie Richards, long term, motivated, motivation, motivational, music, music lessons, musical, peaks, piano, piano lessons, plateau, play, practice, process, robin keehn, self expression, setback, simply music, the playground, valleys

A rock school is a great endeavour anywhere, but in Mitrovica, Kosovo, split by war into two ethnic groups, it has a special dimension. Young people from both sides ignore those divisions and come together in music camps to share the most universal language of…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Aug 3, 2015
• inspirational, inspire, laura hassler, music, music lessons, musicians without borders, palestine, piano, piano lessons, robin keehn, rwanda, simply music

I have always had a heart for people with special needs. So, in 1993 when I had my first child, I was not surprised when I was told he has Down syndrome. It just felt like it was meant to be. I have considered it…

• Written by Guest Contributor on Jul 13, 2015
• downs syndrome, music education, piano lessons, simply music, simply music gateway, special needs