Curriculum
Help in confidently teaching Reading Rhythm
I need some help in teaching the Reading Rhythm course. I am beginning my second year with Simply Music and I love it. Now it’s time to start several students into RR. One student is an adult, played in the school band, and is familiar…
Accelerating reading for band student
My shy, gentle 9th-grade girl student who is about mid-way through TFMM has started high school band playing vibraphone with a drill sergeant teacher who expects her to read sophisticated and complex rhythms and notes, and she is struggling. She said “It’s all been fun…
Using SHM audio files
Who makes active use of SM audio in teaching and/or assignments? I’ve been pretty weak on this and could use some ideas–not only what learning activities to do but how to routinize it, how to train students so they know how to regularly use the…
Mashing up blues songs
I did an activity with one of my teenage students today that was really great. I was encouraging him to use the different blues songs to get ideas, mash them up, etc. Then we jammed. I was on guitar and I gave him a few…
Chester Chills Out variation
My 8-year-old came up with a cute but lovely variation of Chester Chills Out: LH the same but play RH “backwards” (top to bottom to top, then bottom-top for tailpiece). It makes excellent harmony. A few of my students caught on really well and love…
Student having trouble playing Night Storm
I have encountered a problem that is new for me. One of my students (8 years old) has trouble with the sets of two fingers in Night Storm. She can tell me which are the three sets of two and what to do with them…
Reading Notes: Identifying location points
I need some reading advice please. Ellen has been with me for 7 years – a hardworking teenager. Getting started in a reading piece is the issue. Once she’s off and running, she gets all the reading strategies she’s been taught in an applied way.…
Arpeggiating chords instead of playing block chords
I have a student who recently quit for financial reasons, but now it seems she was unhappy about the Accompaniment part of the program because she feels the accompaniment part is too simple. She tells me now that she would rather run her fingers up…
Physical limitations and alternate chord fingering
I have a student who has a pinched nerve in her back which has caused sciatic nerve issues. She has mild arthritis in RH 1, 2, and 3 top knuckles. She want to play the B chord with RH 1 3 4 rather than 1…
Praise for Tune Toolkit
Reviewing Tune Toolkit ready to start some students. As I get my head around it and feel my enthusiasm building I want to say a couple of things. I like the rich cross pollination to core SM and the enormous help this program will be…