arranging
Apprenticeship Workshop
I wanted to share something I did in my studio this semester. I held an Apprenticeship Workshop class for upper level piano, bass, and guitar students of mine. It was designed to teach them how to play in or form their own bands. We met…
Faster Student in Shared Lesson
Sometimes in a shared lesson, one student is ready to move on from a project before others are quite ready. Let’s share some ideas for an extra “filler” project for that student. I’ll start: Utilize one of the Supplemental Programs – assign one project from…
Why Improvise and Compose
How would you explain to 12-14 year old kids why learning to improvise and compose songs is part of the simply music program? How does it help them learn to play songs, if that is their goal? Do you have the Tune Toolkit Program? The…
Reading from a Hymn Book
I have a very motivated adult student who has nearly finished Time for More Music. She is able to figure out what most any piece of music says given enough time. She has a good grasp of intervals and knows what many of the notes…
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…
Composition or Improvisation?
I am wondering if some of us use the words “composition” and “improvisation” interchangeably. My understanding is that only if it is written it is a composition. Is this correct? So when teachers email about “composition” with pre-reading students, do they actually mean “improvisation” or…