Music Information

Piano Chords and New Age Music


There are basically two ways you can compose a piece of music. The first and most traditional way is to write out the melody and then harmonize it. Some call this working from the top (as opposed to the chords on the bottom.) The second approach is where you create some kind of rhythmic harmonic pattern and improvise (or compose) the melody on top. Now, which one is best for New Age music?

The answer is neither approach. Each has its own merits and own special benefits. For example, if you start with a pattern in your left hand and improvise a melody with your right, you are doing what most new age composers/improvisers do. This is what George Winston does most of the time. He has chords he sets to a certain rhythm and does his thing with that amazing right hand of his.

This is the style that I have been playing, but I've recently lost interest in it. Not because it isn't good but because I don't feel like playing that way anymore. Currently I'm leaning towards a softer sound that comes from leading with the melody first. What I do is get the first 2-bars down and then improvise the rest till I fill up 8 measures. This way I can vary the chords and patterns without it sounding very repetitive (minimalism). It's actually another style. You can call it melodic while the other one (Harmony approach) is more textural. IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR MOOD!

Don't let one style freeze you into something where you can't maneuver artistically! Remember that your feeling must come first. Everything else is secondary. Let your feeling lead you and your creation will be truly inspired, however, if you try to mold what you have to say into a specific style, the result may be less than satisfactory.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!


MORE RESOURCES:

SlashGear

Yahoo To Reimburse Customers Of DRM-Protected Music
InformationWeek, NY - 3 hours ago
By Antone Gonsalves Yahoo on Friday said it would reimburse customers who bought music that can no longer be easily played as a result of the Web portal ...
Yahoo: Burn Your DRMed Tracks to CD Now PC World
Yahoo! Music Closing Shop and Pulling DRM License Key Servers ... eHomeUpgrade (press release)
Yahoo Music Store shutters, leaving customers in the cold The Industry Standard
Laptop Logic - Digitaltrends.com
all 53 news articles


Wall Street Journal

Rolling Stones sign long-term deal with Vivendi's Universal Music
Los Angeles Times, CA - 2 hours ago
The Rolling Stones, the world's top-earning music act last year, have signed a long-term, exclusive worldwide contract with Vivendi's Universal Music, ...
Rolling Stones Depart From EMI To Join Universal Music Group Wall Street Journal
Swimming with Universal's 'killer shark' Telegraph.co.uk
Rolling Stones Blow to EMI Sky News
E! Online - Independent
all 271 news articles


Michael: Music helped my depression
The Press Association - 8 hours ago
It is his first tour in the US in 17 years and the 45-year-old pop star told Good Morning America it was his music which got him through the years of ...


ITV.com

Music bosses told: Pump up the incentives if you want to beat pirates
Scotsman, United Kingdom - Jul 24, 2008
By Craig Brown MUSIC labels will have to make it worth fans' while to download legally if they want to stop internet piracy, industry experts warned last ...
UK Proposes Music Flat Tax PC Magazine
Britain moves against illegal file sharing ZDNet
UK talking about taxing music downloaders Paste Magazine
Slashdot - IAM Blog
all 532 news articles


Wis. girl dies at Detroit Lakes music festival
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - 51 minutes ago
For the second year in a row, a person has died during the 10000 Lakes music festival near Detroit Lakes. Becker County Sheriff Tim Gordon says a ...


Is LA county the new center of the white power music industry?
Los Angeles Times, CA - 7 hours ago
"This is the center of the `white power' music industry, right here in Los Angeles," said Amanda Susskind, director of the Pacific Southwest region of the ...


CBC.ca

Music fans frustrated by waits getting to Pemberton site
Vancouver Sun,  Canada - 5 hours ago
PEMBERTON - Concertgoers are showing up at the site of the Pemberton Festival this morning full of frustration, confusion and relief. ...
Pemberton braces for 40000 music fans Canada.com
Pemberton music festival kicks off Friday CBC.ca
What the music festival of the summer means for the Village of ... Pique newsmagazine
Vancouver Sun - Vancouver Sun
all 39 news articles


LA Times Music Blog
Los Angeles Times, CA - 5 hours ago
Curated by music supervisor and KCRW DJ Chris Douridas, the compilation segues from melancholic beauty like Patrick Watson’s “The Great Escape,” Cat ...


Yahoo Becomes Latest Site to Mute Music Purchases
Washington Post, United States - 8 hours ago
The e-mail Yahoo sent out yesterday to customers of its Yahoo Music online store could not have surprised anybody who's been following the music-download ...


Report: MySpace could work with Amazon on music service
CNET News, CA - 9 hours ago
Amazon.com could become the e-commerce engine behind the MySpace Music service expected to launch in September, according to a report on TechCrunch. ...

Music - Google News

home | site map
© 2006