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  • “I Found Your Keys” Book

    I just reread Laurie Richards’ book yesterday ‘I Found Your Keys’ on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. It is so packed with good information. Every now and then we need a 30,000 ft view of what it is that we are all apart of and why it’s so worth it! Thank you Laurie for writing this!…

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  • Paperless Studio

    Who has gone paper/bookless in their studio? What’s your thoughts? How did you go about the process? Any tips appreciated. Yep Entirely digital using a 13” iPad Pro for scores and 10” for reference book Robin T. what do you do for notes/ record keeping? I’m using a book atm. Cate R. I have a…

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  • Neil’s TEDxTalk

    Hi all, I wanted to let you know that my TEDxTalk has been approved for public release, and is now Live on YouTube. Over the years, many people have said to me that I should do a TEDTalk about Simply Music. And whilst promoting oneself and one’s business is not permitted in a TEDTalk, the…

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  • I-IV-V and Ratios in Accompaniment

    I’ve been working on I IV and V on accompaniment 1 programme with some students and was asked these questions which I couldn’t quite answer with confidence. Care to share your experience and thoughts please? So does the I IV and V only work for songs that only have those 3 chords and not other…

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  • Dreams Arrangements Chord for Small Hands

    If a younger student can’t yet manage the second chord of Dreams Arrangement 1, is there a preference in a three-note version? Fingers 123 (shifting 3) throughout or 135 (shifting 3 and 5) with the 9th omitted for now? I think they both work and even 145 on the sus chord at the end or…

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  • Multilevel Shared Lesson

    This week I took the plunge and tried a different sort of class. I love teaching groups and nearly all my after school students are in group classes. During the day though, I have lots of adults that come one by one. Some are in develpmental levels and some have days that they have commitments,…

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  • Parent Participation Videoconference

    Hi Teachers, here is a conversation I had with a few Simply Music Teachers about: parent participation in class, setting up the expectations & agreements, how to help a child when his/her parents are not in attendance (but a grandparent is), do teens need a parent present, and making sure a child knows that a…

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  • Videos on Social Media

    Question for you social media whizzes. I am just starting to be visible on social media and am trying to post regularly. I posted a video today of a student playing and FB, or instagram or both, suggested I also post as a “Reel” to reach more people I don’t know. Is that a good…

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  • Eliminating Registration Marks in Design Suite Images

    Is there a way to get rid of the markings on the sides of the page (besides upgrading to Adobe acrobat Pro)? They also show up in the business cards of the teacher design suite. There are ways, and it depends on what software you’re using, etc. Two examples: If you simply want to edit…

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  • Slowing Students Down & Rewards

    Please read this post with the mindset that a student is playing too fast and you CAN’T slow them down they are great students and they totally on board for the long term relationship they don’t have any other problems other than slowing down ( if your student needs stickers to just practice then they…

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  • Looking at Hands While Playing

    A new adult student with a small amount of previous experience told me that it’s hard for her to watch her hands because she took a beginning piano class in college with a teacher who insisted that students never look at their hands and would stick a ruler under their chin to push it up.!!!…

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  • Trading-Card-Sized Certificates

    I am always looking for ways to motivate students. While I like the certificates for each level that are available to us, I’m wondering if students actually keep these as a record for all they’ve accomplished. What I would like to have is a trading-size card (can be made from paper) that will fit into…

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