Simpedia

Robin Keehn, Washington

Now that’s an excellent question. This will be your first challenge–no, you should not read the music to learn the pieces. What you want to do is to learn them they way your students will. Really it is not very different from learning to teach Foundation Level 1 in the Teacher Training Program, but rather than watch Neil on the videos, you are going to listen to his verbal instructions. Sit at the piano, without the music in front of you. Get out your tablet or laptop and listen to him tell you exactly what to do and do it, step by step.

Honestly, when I first started teaching, this was the most challenging step for me. I could read the pieces or play them by ear, but the only way to learn to TEACH the Arrangements is by learning them yourself as playing-based pieces. If you don’t learn them by listening to the audio, then you won’t be able to teach them as playing-based pieces.

Remember, it is just learning a new way of learning so take your time and be patient 🙂

Melani M., Georgia

Your concern is very common for us teachers when we first encounter this method of learning. But if you give it a chance and listen to the audio recordings you will find that you will very easily “memorize” the songs. I have found that if I listen to a part of the recording, and then play it on the piano, I “think” through the piece and I have actually “learned” it. Compare this to when I look at the music, play through the piece, then put the music away, I have no idea how to play it. It is an entirely new way of thinking about the piece of music.

Applying the principles I have learned from the recordings, often I find myself coming up with my own “tricks” to remember a section even while I am teaching it. Remember, too, that we will not be teaching an entire piece at one time, in most cases. The “small dosage” approach makes the pieces infinitely easier to digest.

Jump in with both feet and give it chance… you will love the way you (and your students) learn the pieces. Show them the music later, and they will be amazed at what they have accomplished, too!

Cheri S., Utah

I’m really new too. The very first time I listened to the arrangement audio recordings, I was totally confused. It was such a completely new way of learning and of thinking about music that it almost felt like he was speaking a foreign language. But it didn’t take very long to start getting the hang of it. It really helps to do everything while he’s talking, to stop the recording and play through each new part a few times, and sometimes to rewind a section.

As he points out, you can listen to the recording as many times as you want. I’ve found it super helpful to go back to the recording several times, over the course of a few days, as I’m learning a piece. So even after I understand a new accompaniment pretty well and can process it on the piano, I still go back to the recording again the next day, playing along as he talks. These additional times through the recording really solidify the song for me, plus I pick up something new–maybe I’m ready that time for one of the embellishments or maybe I notice a new detail about how to teach it.

Amy Y., New Mexico

I agree with Melani, don’t go over too much material all at once. Take little steps and don’t move on until you understand and can play what you need to. Don’t do what I did at the beginning… listen to the instructions for the whole song before going to the piano… Also there’s the audios from the teacher workshop series that you can order for arrangements 1 & 2. They are great additional resources.

Finally, don’t cheat yourself by going to the music as tempting as it may be. Stick with the process, in the end you’ll be glad that you did and in the process will have learned more of the “new way of learning.”

Bernadette A., California

When I first started, I didn’t know how to play or read music. I began the SM program and because I wanted more, I shifted over to the arrangements.  It never occurred to me to read the music but just to learn it by listening. There were times when it took mental effort to understand what to do but I can say that after switching my learning over to right-brain thinking (seeing the shapes/sequences/patterns), I have learned all the arrangements, can easily explain it to students, still know it after all these years, reverse engineered it back on to the page (and subsequently self-corrected any mistakes that I had made), etc.

It wasn’t easy, but I can definitely say it’s worth it because you add all these songs into your repertoire to be able to teach your students. As with learning arrangements, it takes extensive muscle memory (which most of my students do not want to exercise), but I remind them of the value that it will bring when I ask them to memorize a tremendous amount of music off of the page and put it into their hands. I never have battles with this because I’ve asked them to do the mental hard work up front. Of course, it would have been nice to have a teacher show me but I didn’t have that luxury, only Neil’s wonderful accent 🙂 You can do it Nancy.

Sandy L., Nebraska

You have received excellent replies, and I hope you enjoy learning the arrangements pieces from the audio recordings rather than from the page.

You mentioned that it seemed a contradiction to the method, and yet I think you will find that it is the essence of the Simply Music method. This is the real deal–no sheet music, no video, just you, the keyboard, Neil’s voice giving instructions, and the patterns you see unfolding before you.

I don’t know who all of your students are or will be, but someday you might encounter one like me. I had such an aversion to written piano music that I would feel actual stomach-churning, heart-racing anxiety to see printed music propped up on a piano, especially if I thought anyone might ask me to play it. Needless to say, I would also steadfastly refuse, saying I really couldn’t play, which was indeed true, but shouldn’t have been after 8 years of lessons. As you learn from the audio recordings, imagine that you are such a student–shaking and sick to your stomach when presented with written music.

But now, you get to learn this way. All visual stress has just been removed from you–not even a video is there. You are safe. You can relax and enjoy the piano and the music with absolutely no fear. It’s you and the keyboard and Neil’s voice explaining how to play the song. How wonderfully free! You can do whatever you need to over and over until you understand.

Envision yourself as such a student, or as teaching such a student and I think you will get it just fine. Release all the music-reading, even if you are really good at it, and immerse yourself in this new process. I think you will end up loving it.

I was a bit disappointed when I got to arrangements 3 and Neil didn’t explain much, except to say work it out from the page. But, by this time, I can now read arrangements 3 the Simply Music way, so even that is okay–no more stress and strain. I still wouldn’t want to try to read an unknown piece of music in public, but I can play what I have learned with Simply Music in front of other people. I’ll get there. It’s a process, not an event, after all.

Vee S., Flordia

Along with all the other advice what also helped me is Gordon Harvey’s Teacher Workshop audio recording’s on arrangements. With both Neil and Gordon I had no problems and I am not a great notation reader so I had to totally rely on the audio.

Nancy W., North Dakota

Thank you so much for responding and encouraging me! I am so terrified and I guess so afraid of failing. I do fine if it’s just me but what if I fail in front of students of which I only have one so far and we haven’t even started lessons yet! I freeze up when in front of others and feel so inadequate. Thanks! I will try just the audio and try to relax and trust.