Reading
Compound Time
Advanced Teachers: Talk to me about how to approach teaching compound time is this in relation to any particular piece? For example Greensleeves is in 6/8 and High Five is in 12/8. I would keep the explanation simple to students, but it’s basically dividing the…
Arrangement Copyright and How It Applies To Public Domain Pieces
Hi all, here is a very important message. As more and more pieces come into Public Domain, we see an emerging number of new arrangements of those pieces being made available. I want to make very clear what Simply Music’s position is regarding Copyright as…
TFMM and 16th Notes
I just had an aha moment. I don’t see any 16th notes in any of the TFMM songs. Seems surprising since we start with them in RR. Just wondering if there was a reason for this? Thanks for wondering Joan. And in response to Stephen’s…
Reading Rhythm in Online Lessons
Hi teachers, just curious how everyone is handling the Reading Rhythm process with online students. Are you having them play the tracks to the audio, a metronome, one handed while tapping the beat or having the coach clap? Any preference towards any of these? They’re…
Free Music Notation Software
Hi all, I try to keep you advised about these updates as soon as they become available. Here is an excerpt from an email that I received today from Coda Music: ————– We are happy to announce that Finale NotePad 2005 with support for Macintosh® OS…
Key Signature Flat Not Played
Having trouble wording an answer for a student. He’s perceptive and quick, and he asked me today why there’s a flat in the key signature for First Signs of Winter when there is never actually a B played in the song. How would you explain…
Location Point Example Pieces
In the Reading Notes program, how are students supposed to decode Low C-1 and Low C-2 (pp 18-19) when they haven’t yet learned the location points of bass C and middle C? They’re not decoding it so much as recognizing it. You tell them what…
0246135 Order
Have a random question about 0246135 in Accompaniment 2 (I checked simpedia and here before posting): What is the reason we go in the particular order of notes on the keyboard by skipping up to F# from E and back down to its natural scale…
Portions of Outside Pieces
Just curious if anyone ever hands your students a portion of a song as a reading project (rather than a whole piece). I’m wondering if it would be a good way to expose them to a song (and be able to hit different genres and…
Music Book to Understand Dotted Notes
Quite relieved after todays lesson with my 7 year old. It is my first time ever to take someone that young through RR. She was previously doing well till we started dotted notes last week and she found them really confusing though the RR material…