Extremely Easy Method for Piano & Keyboard

About the Author

Robert was raised in the country, just outside Notasulga, Alabama (population 916). From an early age, he and his twin brother, Sam, were interested in music. Here are some highlights of Robert's experience in music:

In third grade, Robert, Sam, and another classmate, won third place in the school talent show (the school consisted of grades 1-12), pantomiming the Monkeys' song I'm a Believer.
Before they finished elementary school, Sam had a guitar and Robert a set of drums. They pretended they were in a band, and sometimes included their little brother, Joe, in their group.
In high school, Robert was blessed to have a wonderful band and chorus teacher, Mrs. Brenda Sue Knapp. She was a tremendous source of inspiration, and pushed him to discover hidden talents and abilities.
- Under Mrs. Knapp's training, he learned to read music, sing in a choir, and play the sousaphone (that's the real big marching tuba that wraps around the player's neck).
- His music awards in high school included: Band Player of the Year; First Chair Tuba; Bass Section Leader; Superior Solo Award.
Also during his high school years, he sang in two Southern Gospel Groups.
Being a homeboy, he declined a music scholarship to Livingston University, and chose rather to attend nearby Auburn University at Montgomery, where he studied a little music theory among his business courses.

After that, his musical experience was put on hold until the mid 1980's, when his brother Sam showed him the basics of a simple method for playing piano by ear. Shortly after that, their mutual friend, Terry Ragsdale, who had taught Sam to play, taught Robert some more aspects of this extremely easy method.

Robert was soon taking his entire lunch hour from work to practice on the piano at the small church where he was pastoring at the time. That's the same piano his children practice on today—the one pictured on the front cover of the manual, and at the bottom right of this page!

In 1988, Robert and Gail moved to Mexico. They immediately set out to learn all the Spanish choruses and praise and worship songs they could. This turned out to be a great help in their language learning, but also grew into a strong desire to see the Mexican church raise its level of music in worship.

While teaching at the Bible school in Matehuala, Robert observed a desire on the part of several students, all Mexicans from various parts of the country, to learn to play the piano by chords. In response to that need, he first put the "Simple Method," as he called it, into written form in Spanish in 1993. Soon after, he translated it into English, but only shared it with a few close friends. The original version was never offered on the open market.

The Bible school where he used to teach has long since closed down, but the Christian school they started back in 1993 is still going strong. Over the years, he has had occasion to teach the method to a number of people from the church and Christian school.

Since all the high school students at the Christian school are required to take a music theory course, Robert has been forced to dust off his old textbook from college, and remember some things long forgotten. The advantage is that he has applied some of his knowledge of music theory to the "Simple Method," and the result is the new and improved "Extremely Easy Method."

Currently he is back living in his hometown and leading worship (on the same piano and using this same method) for his Bible study on Sunday afternoons.

School Talent Show - 1966

Robert, Sam, Joe - 1969

Robert as a Teenager

NHS Marching Band - 1976

Rehearsing with Daughter, Elizabeth

2001

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