Simpedia

Kym N., California

Those are the questions I had when I first started teaching the program. I am still looking for sharing from experienced Simply Music teachers who have taught long enough to see the accomplishments of their students.

At the FIS, I have already told the families that if they want their kids to be concert pianists (who usually begin their competition life at young age) or taking exams, this is not the kind of program for them. I asked them if it is important for their kids to be major in music in the future. I haven’t seen one who didn’t shake their heads. I would also mention that the exam doesn’t really help their kids to get to college. However, if they play piano in a band and as a community service, that will add to their college resume.

So, as long as the “lifelong enjoyment and companion” is the common ground for both sides, I think it’s fine. I sometime will tell them about careers like composers or song writers (since SM focuses on composing and improvising a lot) and as a piano teacher (contribute financially during the college years). These couple ideas are quite appealing to the parents.

I do hope we can collect some SM graduate’s success stories in their careers other than purely just lifelong companion even though this the most important still.

Patti P., Hawaii

I’ve had a few students go on to music in college in my pre Simply Music days. One of them is now a composer with a master’s degree. In her case it was pretty obvious that music was her life her entire high school career. She sang in the opera chorus, played viola in the school orchestra, took viola lessons along with piano, and was composing since she was young. She was classically trained with a very strong theory background as well. Another one was a wonderful musician, but aspired to be a writer. She did continue music in college, but not as her major. She’s now a professional musician.

I can’t answer for Simply Music students because I haven’t been teaching it long enough to experience that rare student who is dedicated enough to music as a career to major in music in college. The only thing I can address is the advantages to having a Simply Music background, projecting that onto my own college career.

I think I would have been behind the curve in terms of classical music experience, very much above the curve in all other areas. I already had extensive experience in accompanying, but from a reading point of view rather than chord charts and lead sheets. Zero experience in jazz, although I would have liked to have had that so I could play with the jazz band.

I think a great deal of what you need as a music major depends on which area of focus you are interested in. If it’s classical performance, I’d say that’s one area a student would be somewhat behind in experience. I think if I had a student who was seriously considering a piano performance major, I would switch them to private lessons, an hour each week, and they would need to meet the expectation of practicing several hours a day. I found out when I got to college (performance major) that my 2 hours a day in high school was pretty minimal. I think this would require some careful conversations with the student, and I’d want to know this is the student’s goal, not the parent’s.

Any other major, I’d continue with Simply Music, and give the student the best broad-based piano education I could.

Robin Keehn, Washington

Thought I’d jump in here. I’ve been teaching Simply Music since 2003 and I’ve really seen a lot. I have had several students who have been extremely motivated and hard working and who I believe, without a doubt, would do very well in piano studies at college. I had one student accepted into Berkeley School of Music (but he didn’t go due to family circumstances). My other students who would do very well are only in their early teens so college is at least a few years away.

My point is that Simply Music is wonderful preparation for college music studies. Once students have completed the Reading Program, you can bring in any music that they want to play. If they are motivated to play classical music, then you can focus on that. You don’t have to learn the pieces before they do–you don’t have to love the pieces that they play. Your role is coach–providing guidance, helping them identify the strategies that they can use with the pieces and to apply the learning tools they know. You have to have been working on your own generative skills to guide them in this way. You have to be able to look at any piece of music and see for yourself where the patterns are, the sentences, if the notes in a phrase make up a chord or are a melody line. Given that you keep your skills sharp, then you can guide and direct students to a high level of play.

I have had several students who have taken on pieces such as Clair de Lune, Hungarian Rhapsody, Fantasie Impromptu, One Winged Angel, Grand Sonata Pathetique, and excelled.

I would reassure your students that anything is possible….it will depend on the commitment and motivation of your student, his/her coach, and your own commitment to developing your skills.