Simpedia

Sue L., California

This is an aside, not a direct answer, regarding those who resist Accompaniment. I have one student in particular who is grudgingly learning acc. As I get him on the reading track, I’m going to revisit Accompaniment and have him learn to play the melodies of those songs with his RH and play the chords with the LH. I have done this with other students as a way of bringing Accompaniment back with a different twist. I have also used Arrangements as reading practice, although I understand this is not their primary purpose.

Stephen R., California

I don’t see either of those programs as optional. Having an understanding and foundation of chord knowledge will benefit the student for the rest of their life. The Accompaniment program is really one of the hallmarks of the curriculum. Students learn to sight read chords, plus having the ability to “see” chords helps them in reading music, arranging, and comp/improv. The Accompaniment program is important for getting into fake books/lead sheets and is important for the blues, Accompaniment Variations, Accompaniment 2, and Jazz programs later.

Everything’s foundational. Arrangements and variations help students to generate, compose, and improvise. They deepen the learning experience and keep the playlist alive and fresh. Teach everything. When we don’t, students are missing all the important benefits of those programs that will serve them years later.

Anna J., Canada

My students don’t get a choice. I tell them they don’t necessarily have to like everything I teach them, but my job is to create well rounded and balanced musicians, and each stream is an important component of that!

Cheri S., Utah

Timing and dosage are flexible for different students, but I don’t think the streams themselves were designed to be optional.

Chords are pretty basic to any music training. Traditional piano students learn chords too–a few at a time, and mostly as theory. In Simply Music, we learn how to use chords, something I never learned even at the college level. Chords are the basis of music theory, and Accompaniment 1 is a more fun and useful way to learn and practice them. Also, I can’t imagine where anyone would really go with Comp & Improv without that hands-on experience with chords. Just one more example of how all the streams interrelate.

As far as arrangements, who wouldn’t want to learn a cooler way to play a song? Plus, it opens students’ minds to the idea that songs are adaptable, not set in stone. And it gives them a chance to really internalize tools, without relying on videos to remember. Students also learn cool patterns and techniques they can use in their own compositions.

The way the streams all overlap and complement each other is the beauty of Simply Music. You only experience that if you trust, jump in, and teach/learn them all.

Stephen R., California

We learn to “apply” chords right away. We learn to voice chords based on three basic shapes and inheriting new types. Honestly, this is unheard of in most traditional environments. To be able to immediately form a Db13 or and F11 chord. Also regarding arrangements, I love being able to show a student how a piece can get developed over time. Sometimes, with some adults, I follow up Dog with the arrangement and they get wowed by that. Teaching students pieces like Dreams 3 or Night Storm 3 is very rewarding for them and expands their technique with those new patterns.

Heidi M., Canada

I totally agree with and understand the value and importance of this, for those and other reasons (my own experience included, even prior to SM). I must have misunderstood something I heard someone say in the previous beta version that sounded like it was optional. So I’m glad I asked again here! So important to ask again to make sure I understand! I explained to my student yesterday about it being compulsory and she has agreed to start it…especially after I explained the reasons.

Jacqui G., Canada

Part of my training materials were two large white binders labelled “Foundation” and “Special”. Accompaniment, Arrangements, Comp & Improv were in the “Special” binder, so I assumed they were optional. As a result, my first students didn’t get into these until the middle of F2. Now I start teaching chords right from the Basics lesson, ans start giving the students simple Accompaniment pieces as soon as they have done Honey Dew. There is a timeline chart that shows where the various streams are introduced into the Foundation and Development programs, which I use in the SIS to illustrate the fact that Accompaniment, Arrangements, and Comp/Improv are part of the program. Period. End of story.