Piano Playing Articles

What Works Best in New Age Piano Improvisation

Many students want to know how to improvise. What they really want to know is how to be able to keep an improvisation going.

It's not difficult to begin. You just play a chord or two and that's that. But what happens to many students after a few seconds is they don't know what to do next. They get "stuck." Why? Because they are thinking about what to play. Wrong approach!

For example, in Lesson 12: "Coral Reef," we have 2 chords, A minor and F Major. And with these 2 chords, music is made. This improvisation lasts for a few minutes but could have gone on much longer.

You see, what works best in New Age piano improvisation (or any improvisation) is for the person improvising to be in the moment. This is most easily done when the technical aspects are taken care of (i.e., only having 2 chords to play) and letting go of the need to control the outcome.

Think of building a sandcastle as an example. Children love to build sandcastles. Do they spend years learning how? Of course not! Once they know the fundamentals, they forget about how to do it and focus on the pleasure it gives them. Most adults wait too long before diving in. They're scared that they will fail and that they will discover they have no talent. But talent is not the issue - you're sense of joy and discovery is!

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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George Winston and New Age Piano Playing

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