Simply Music Piano

The Simply Music Method

In 2006, I made the decision to become a Licensed Simply Music Instructor. I haven't looked back!

After years of teaching traditional piano methods, I discovered this amazing Australian piano method.

My students (kids and adults) couldn't be happier! I couldn't be happier!

I can't even begin to describe the changes in my teaching, my studio, and the morale of my students.

Kids who had to be virtually dragged to the piano to practice now love to play.

People who never thought they'd be able to express themselves at the piano can sit and play for an hour at a time.

I'm not exaggerating! :-)

Of course, Simply Music isn't perfect - I don't believe there's any one piano method for everyone. But it is a revolutionary piano method -- the results my students achieve are light years beyond what they could accomplish using traditional methods.

The fundamental goal of Simply Music is very simple (but profound):

When you think about how so very many people took piano lessons as children, yet how few actually play piano or have music as a companion, you realize how far-reaching this goal is.

There are four main goals for students in the Simply Music program:

• to play a huge repertoire of music, including classical, blues, pop, jazz, and accompaniment pieces,
• to enjoy piano playing as a natural form of self-expression,
• to experience learning music in a highly positive, self-affirming way, and
• to learn to be self-generating; that is, to learn to progress independently.

It's important to understand that this is a playing-based approach, rather than a traditional reading-based approach. What's the difference?

I'll draw an analogy to how children learn language. Kids learn to speak by imitating, babbling, and gradually building a vocabulary. They learn to communicate by being surrounded by people communicating. Kids are fluent communicators by the time they start learning to read.

We'd never ask a child to learn to read the word "cat" before saying it. :-) Think about that! If you had to learn to read before you could speak, most people would believe they just weren't smart enough to speak, or that the whole speaking thing wasn't for them.

Silly, right? But that's what many, many people (maybe even you) believe about themselves and playing music. "I'm just not musical." Or, " I'm not smart enough." But what if it has nothing to do with who you are, and everything to do with how you've been taught?

Simply Music approaches music learning the same way we learn to speak. Students learn to play by playing! You begin playing immediately, both hands on the piano. You build up a musical vocabulary of songs. You express yourself in your playing. And then... after building a vocabulary of 35-50 songs, it's time to learn to read music.

You can already communicate (play) at the keyboard - then you learn to read (written music). Just like you learned to read after you learned to talk. Makes sense, doesn't it?

This curriculum allows students immediate access to piano playing and musical self-expression. It's been life-changing for me as a teacher and for my students!

The Simply Music website is chock-full of detailed information about the philosophy, history, and content of the method. Read everything!

Start with Who We Are, under the "About Us" menu.

Then move to the links on the left, and read The Simply Music Story and the Curriculum Overview (a downloadable PDF file).

The Curriculum Overview will give you a great, detailed picture of how Simply Music unfolds and how it differs from traditional piano teaching methods.

Also, check out In The News, under the "About Us" menu. There are some wonderful videos to watch.

I'm happy to answer any questions you have about Simply Music - just get in touch!

More about Piano Methods

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