Here’s something I’ve been reflecting on this morning. Imagine two musicians make exactly the same mistake. One laughs, learns from it and keeps playing. The other feels embarrassed and wants to give up. The mistake was identical. So what changed? The meaning. It’s easy to think we’re upset because of the wrong note, the difficult piece, the teacher’s feedback or the upcoming performance. But perhaps those things aren’t the real cause. Perhaps what disturbs us is the story we quietly tell ourselves afterwards. “I’ll never be good enough.” “I always mess this up.” “Everyone must think I’m terrible.” Those stories feel true in the moment, but they’re interpretations—not facts. Music has taught me that mistakes are simply information. It’s the meaning we attach to them that creates our suffering. Discussion 🎵 Can you remember a time when the story in your mind was harder than the music itself? 🎵 Has there been a moment when changing your perspective completely changed how you felt about practising? 🎵 What story do you most often tell yourself after making a mistake? I’d love to hear your experiences. I have a feeling we’ll recognise a little of ourselves in each other’s answers.

I’m excited to share that The Mat Creedon Easy Key Method is now available for all members to download completely free. This book is the culmination of many years of teaching, performing, composing, and helping students discover that music is far simpler than most people have been led to believe. Rather than memorising endless rules, the goal of this book is to help you understand the patterns that connect scales, chords, melodies, rhythm, and harmony into one simple system. Whether you play piano, guitar, bass, voice, ukulele, violin, or another instrument entirely, the principles in this book are designed to help you understand music from the inside out. 📥 Download the book here: https://www.skool.com/mat-creedon-school-of-music-4248/classroom/03018c87?md=0babb53e3d2d415da61405526744b868 The download includes: 📄 PDF Version Perfect for printing, music notation, diagrams, and desktop computers. 📱 EPUB Version Perfect for phones, tablets, Apple Books, adjustable text sizing, and interactive glossary features. 🎹 Want to use the Easy Key alongside the book? Build your own free DIY Easy Key here: https://www.skool.com/mat-creedon-school-of-music-4248/classroom/653cd9e8?md=173a2428770d452abe34ead27fd1468c Or explore the professionally printed Easy Key Minis here: https://www.matcreedon.com/easy-key A note about learning: Please don’t feel that you need to read this book from beginning to end in one sitting. Music is a language. The goal is not to memorise everything. The goal is to gradually become familiar with the patterns that musicians use every day. Take your time. Experiment. Play. Ask questions. And most importantly, enjoy the process. I’d love to hear from you once you’ve had a chance to explore the book:

A great question was asked by Linda in our community: “If I already know the note names on the piano, should I use the Numbers Easy Key?” The answer is: Yes… and maybe both. 😊 The Alphabet Easy Key and the Numbers Easy Key teach two different skills. 🎹 The Alphabet Version teaches: C, D, E, F, G, A, B This helps you identify notes, navigate the keyboard, read music, and communicate with other musicians. 🎹 The Numbers Version teaches: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 This helps you understand the relationships between notes. For example: C–G–Am–F can also be understood as: 1–5–6–4 The interesting thing is that while note names change from key to key, the relationships often stay exactly the same. This is why many experienced musicians think in numbers when they analyse songs, improvise, transpose music, learn by ear, and recognise patterns. The Alphabet version tells you where you are. The Numbers version tells you how everything is connected. In my own teaching, I often use both together. One helps us navigate the map. The other helps us understand the landscape. 🎹 Want to learn more about the Easy Key and see both the Alphabet and Numbers versions? https://www.matcreedon.com/easy-key Which version are you currently using—or would you choose Alphabet, Numbers, or both? Mat 🎹

Welcome to the beginning of an exciting journey! Before we start learning together, I would love to get to know each and every one of you. One of the most important ideas behind The Easy Key Method is that music is a universal language, and every genre is a different dialect. This means I don’t want everyone to learn the same songs. I want to help you understand the music that speaks to you. So please introduce yourself in the comments and tell us: 🎵 1. Where are you from? 🎹 2. What instrument do you play (or would you love to learn)? 🎧 3. What three songs would you love to learn using The Easy Key Method? 🤔 4. What is your biggest challenge when learning music? There are no right or wrong answers. Whether you are a complete beginner, someone returning to music after many years, or an experienced musician looking to understand music more deeply, you are welcome here. Your answers will help shape the future lessons of The Easy Key Method. In many ways, you are not just students. You are the founding members helping to create a new way of learning music. I cannot wait to hear your stories, discover the music that inspires you, and begin this journey together. Welcome to the beginning. 🎹❤️ Mat