Simply Music
Encyclopedia
Simply Music is a playing-based music education
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
institution. The program is primarily based on creating, developing and presenting playing-based piano and keyboard programs. The organization licenses its proprietary, Australian-developed programs to trained Simply Music Educators, and currently the method is offered at approximately 600 teaching locations on three continents. . Approximately 12,000 students and families are currently learning with teachers throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. More than 35,000 families in 13 countries, have participated in Simply Music’s self-instructional DVD program. In December 2009 the organization secured trademark rights to offer its program in the United Kingdom and Singapore. Further plans are under development for Simply Music's outreach to extend into Europe and Asia .
History
In January 1998, Simply Music opened its first studio location in Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. By mid-1999, Simply Music had 5 studio locations in the greater Sacramento region.
In January 2002, Simply Music launched a distance-based, Teacher Training
Teacher education
Teacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community....
Program that offered international Licensing opportunities to educators across the United States as well as other countries
By July 2010, Simply Music had over 450 educators in studio locations throughout Australia, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the United States and Canada.
Program
Simply Music first translates entire pieces into simple shapes and patterns. Simply Music does not diminish the importance of learning to read music. Instead, the process is delayed.Composition and improvisation are demystified, by introducing them very early on in the program as something natural and enjoyable. By drawing on some simple principles learned in the foundation pieces and developing these, students learn, through a playful process of experimentation, to create their own unique pieces and arrangements. The accompaniment program equips students with the skills to play in bands and ensembles, opening the door to playing a vast array of popular music quickly.
The Simply Music method was created by Australian music
Music of Australia
The music of Australia is the music produced in the area of, on the subject of, or by the people of modern Australia, including its preceding Indigenous and colonial societies. Indigenous Australian music is a part of the unique heritage of a 40–60,000 year history which produced the iconic...
educator, Neil Moore
Neil Moore (musician)
Neil Moore, the creator of the Simply Music Program, was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1957. The youngest of five children, Neil began taking piano lessons at age seven with his four brothers. Although Neil was taught using a reading-based approach, he didn't learn how to read music until much...
, and first released in January 1998. Proponents of the method assert that Simply Music differs from traditional programs that, most commonly, fall into three distinct categories:
Reading-based methods
The majority of all music education programs fall into this category, whereby students ability to play piano is entirely dictated by their ability to read music.
Technique-based methods
These programs delay the reading process, but concentrate on developing the technique necessary to elevating to adult, concert-level performance
Aural-based methods
These programs focus on developing students' ability to 'play by ear', where their ability to play music is determined by their capacity to establish an aural/physical relationship with the keyboard.
Playing-based Methodology
In contrast to these distinct education approaches, and acknowledging that certain programs utilize a combination of the above approaches, Simply Music distinguishes itself by presenting a curriculum based on a completely different set of principles.
Program Overview
The Simply Music curriculum unfolds over six to ten years and consists of the Foundation Program (unfolding over the first 3 to 5 years), the Development Program (unfolding over years 6 to 10), as well as an array of Special Programs that are woven throughout the curriculum from the earliest stages. Music used throughout the program includes contemporary, classical, gospel, blues, jazz and traditional styles. Students also are immersed in composition, improvisation, developing arrangements and contemporary accompaniment.Foundation Program
The Foundation Program includes Levels 1 through 9, and typically unfolds over three to four years. Accompanying each of the Foundation Levels are Student Home Materials that include DVD, CD and printed material support.Music for the nine Foundation Levels includes many original pieces by founder Neil Moore
Neil Moore (musician)
Neil Moore, the creator of the Simply Music Program, was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1957. The youngest of five children, Neil began taking piano lessons at age seven with his four brothers. Although Neil was taught using a reading-based approach, he didn't learn how to read music until much...
, as well as classical pieces written by Beethoven, Bach, Burgmüller, Mozart and more.
The Development Program
The Development Program also unfolds over three to four years and includes levels 10 through 18. The Development Program differs from the Foundation Program because students have developed both their reading and playing-based skills by this time. The Student Home Materials consist solely of a music book. Students at this level have been taught to read music and have developed playing-based tools. Reading knowledge and skill combined with a solid foundation of playing-based experience enable students to read and evaluate the music, commit it to memory and play with expression. Although sight-reading is not a stated goal of the Simply Music method, many students found that it is a natural outcome..Special Programs
There are a number of special programs that run alongside of the Foundation and Development Programs. These are not supplemental programs, rather they provide critical aspects of the core program . These programs include Composition and Improvisation, Arrangements 1, Accompaniment 1, Arrangements 2, Accompaniment 1 Variations, Blues and Improvisation, Reading Rhythm 1, Arrangements 3, Reading Notes 1, Time for More Music 1, Jazz 1, Accompaniment 2, Reading 2, Time for More Music 2 and Jazz 2 and are introduced in this order:Composition and Improvisation
The Composition and Improvisation Program introduces students to the basics of composition and gives them opportunities to experiment practicing these skills.Arrangements 1, 2 and 3
The Arrangements Programs prepare students for the Simply Music reading program. The Arrangements Programs build on pieces that students have already learned. Pieces are lengthened or changed in some form in the classroom. Students are not given written notes or DVD support for learning these pieces, rather they rely on their classroom instruction as they attempt to recreate the piece during practice at home. The Arrangements begin to build generative skills that students need for reading music.Accompaniment Clues
Level one of the Accompaniment Clues program is generally taught when students are in level two or three of the Foundation Program. In Accompaniment Clues, students are taught the basics of accompanying someone on the piano, playing chords while the melody is provided by the teacher and/or other students in the class. Students are taught ratios and chords throughout this program, and it enables them to build skills to accompany other musicians. The Accompaniment Variations program teaches students more complex accompaniment skills and focuses on rhythm variations in playing.Blues and Improvisation
The Blues and Improvisation Program leads students in developing a more complex blues and improvisation foundation which will be used throughout the program.The Reading Program
While there is no definitive point when Simply Music students begin the reading program, it begins in the first year, with the sight-reading of chord symbols used in contemporary accompaniment. It is then more formally introduced after building a solid repertoire of 35 to 50 pieces. The larger and more fluent the student's repertoire, the easier it is to successfully introduce the music reading process. The goal is to equip students with the ability to progress independently. Not only does this include building a vast repertoire but also having the ability to read and write music, compose, arrange, improvise as well as having an understanding of foundational theory .Reading music is broken down into two separate program, Reading Rhythm and Reading Notes. Students learn to develop a command over quarter, half, whole, eight, and sixteenth notes, ties, dotted notes, and rests., Once rhythm is clearly understood, students proceed to learn to read notes in a non-traditional and highly effective manner which produces strong reading skills.