The point of this post is to talk about the fact that, though we would all very much like to be, we are not musical savants or have savant-like abilities. Find out about a musical savant in this video.

But don’t let this discourage you from taking up the piano. In lessons, I will show you how to play and impress your friends and find joy for yourself. But it comes with hard work and persistence.

The most important thing in the Simply Music programme is possibly the repertoire playlist that we review every week in lessons. I have given you all little speeches on where we are headed with the S.M. Curriculum and I test your growing knowledge every week when I ask you to play me random things. There is always method in my madness.

But I have noticed in 5 years of befriending the S.M. programme that the hardest thing of all is the repertoire review. So here’s a couple of tips:

  • Watch the assigned videos and not more – IE do not watch ahead.
  • Play your repertoire at least once a week. The current song[s] should be played 4 times a day at least.

? Also this year, I want to place more emphasis on the Composition and improvisation at the piano. This is an area I know is scary to most of you and you push against it. Don’t worry we will start small and I don’t bite!

But by the end of the year I want you all to have at least 5 compositions to your names and be able to play them from memory and on recall. I plan to notate them too so we can learn to read them later.