Piano Playing Articles

Piano on the Right-Side of the Brain

(Submited by: Edward Weiss )

Some of you may remember a book titled "Drawing on the Right-Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards.In this book, Betty Edwards tried to teach you how to see differently. She reasoned that once you could look at something with the eyes of an ... Read article

Piano Chords and New Age Music

(Submited by: Edward Weiss )

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 ... Read article

The 2 Styles of New Age Piano Playing

(Submited by: Edward Weiss )

Believe it or not, there is actually a hard and a soft way to play New Age piano. Two different "schools" or styles that have made their appearance in the last 20 years or so.The first style made popular by George Winston introduces a more ... Read article

How To Play Piano Using Chord Symbols

(Submited by: Duane Shinn )

Chord symbols (for example, Fm7, Cmaj7 or G6) are a type of notation used frequently in jazz and other areas of modern music to notate chord progressions and changes. This type of notation differs from that of classical music in that chord ... Read article

Play Piano As Fast As Possible!

(Submited by: Ron Worthy )

One of the rules of practicing we all hear over and over is "Be sure to practice slowly." (I'm guilty of this too!) Often the result of this is a feeling of inhibition, which leads to tedium. Picture yourself filled with excitement and ... Read article

How I Compose a Piece of Music

(Submited by: Edward Weiss )

A number of people have asked about my own methodology for creating a complete piece of music at the piano. At the risk of oversimplification, the steps are as follows:1. I sit down at the piano without any thought of creating something ... Read article

Arpeggios and New Age Piano Playing

(Submited by: Edward Weiss )

Chopin used them extensively. So did Beethoven and Mozart. Arpeggios are beautiful and are perfect for the New Age piano style too!You can hear them in George Winston's music. David Lanz uses them in many of his compositions, and of course ... Read article

George Winston and New Age Piano Playing

(Submited by: Edward Weiss )

The first time I heard George Winston play back in the early 1980's I was blown away. I didn't know why I liked this music. All I knew was that it made me feel good and that was enough. I didn't even play piano back then but something ... Read article

Learn Piano the Easy Way!

(Submited by: Edward Weiss )

There are essentially two ways to learn piano - note reading or chords. For those who want to spend years learning how to play other peoples music, note reading is the way to go. For those who want to create their own special music, chord ... Read article

Arranging for New Age Piano

(Submited by: Edward Weiss )

A while back, I wrote an article that compared flower arranging to music arranging. While this may seem a world apart, it really isn't.In flower arranging, the goal is to create a pleasing whole using different flowers, colors, textures, ... Read article

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