Piano Playing Articles

New Age Piano Tricks

One of the things that makes New Age piano so enjoyable is that it's easy to get started.

One of the "tricks" of the trade is to play an ostinato pattern in the left-hand while the right improvises a melody. Just listen to George Winston's lovely piece Colors/Dance to hear an excellent example of this technique.

He uses just two chords in the beginning. But just look what he does with them! He maintains interest for a good couple of minutes before any contrast is introduced. Remarkable! And not as easy to do as many people think!

The artistry in this is how he maintains interest. The improvised right-hand melody carries the music through and propels listener attention forward. The left-hand however, is just playing the same ostinato pattern.

Complicated? Hardly. A beautiful piece of music? Absolutely. And all that's required is the ability to trust your intuition. Trusting intuition is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING A TEACHER CAN HELP YOU LEARN! Why? Because when you trust yourself, you allow the music to come as it should - naturally and easily.

Technique can be taught by most anyone and can be learned readily. However, the ability to trust yourself is something that takes a bit of introspection. Most of us have an internal critic that tries to condemn any creative effort. We must learn to listen to what we say to ourselves and allow for the creative impulse.

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!

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