Curriculum

Mark S. Meritt, any suggestions for starting Tune Toolkit with a student in level 7? Is there a way to accelerate through each project without impeding the layering process? I’ve been through the program a few times with other students but this particular student is…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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I don’t understand the “scale journey on the keyboard.” I know a lot about scales and can play them all, but my understanding is this is playing the scales using 3 fingers of the LH and 4 of the RH starting in various positions on…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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Is the idea with the 3-note comp/improv exercise that the students are to play three consecutive white notes in the RH or can they be any three notes, black or white? I get them to pick any 3 white notes without telling them about the…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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I had a student with extensive prior experience ask the difference between a maj 7th and 7th today so I hope this question makes sense. Is Bb the dominant 7th in the key of F? Cmaj7 is C, E, G, B. C7 is C, E,…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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Why do we teach the 12-bar blues with CFCC as the first 4 instead of the standard CCCC that is everywhere else? Personally I like the F added in as it makes it more interesting. But does SM have a reason? I’m guessing congruency, so…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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Would it work, when there is a month-long break from teaching, to suggest that dedicated students (at the appropriate level) work through Tune Toolkit and The Chord Drill on their own? I have the vaguest recollection from the training on those that “students can work…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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How would I decide whether a student would learn reasonably well using the classic Simply Music approach, or whether he & I should invest in the Gateway program? I don’t think you can really know until you start. It’s always safe to start with Gateway.…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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Question about Acc Var (Accompaniment Variations). Is Var #6 intentionally duplicated to #18? Is this just because we’re working within different song? It’s not intentional but not necessarily an error; Neil just didn’t realize it was a duplicate. Would the same be true for 16…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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Can anyone think of any well known songs that use the Honey Dew chord progression? I would like to demonstrate some to my students when teaching Honey Dew. Justin Beiber’s “Baby Baby” song. Lame but it gets a response every time. Blue Moon “Brave” by…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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I am doing the Blues Improvisation ‘Blues Scales’ and have a question about fingering patterns. In the C scale we use F1 on White notes and F3 on Black notes but what about in other keys? I don’t know if I’ve missed it somewhere… but…

• Last updated 6 years ago
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