Got Winter Blues? Bonus Lesson 'Summer Oriole' will Warm You Up!

Free improvisation - the term alone can intimidate students who have never tried it. But for pianist/composer and online teacher Edward Weiss, the term means freedom of expression and fun.

Weiss explains...

"The idea of sitting down at the piano and playing what you feel is such an alien idea for the majority of piano students. And I don't know or understand why. Especially since all it takes to do it are chords and some guidelines - both of which I provide in the lesson Summer Oriole."

Weiss has been teaching adults how to play New Age piano for over 10 years. The online course he runs now has over 140 lessons and 1100 members. Students pay a small monthly fee to access everything on the course. When asked why he teaches 'New Age' piano, Weiss elaborates:

"New Age piano is a very popular style of music. Millions around the world enjoy the beauty and relaxing effects it has to offer. But there was nothing as far as instruction goes - either online or off. I created a course where anyone who enjoys this style can go and learn how to play it without learning how to read music."

Weiss also adds:

“Most piano students assume they must learn how to read music before they attempt anything creative. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I encourage students to speak the language of music first through chords before learning how to read it.”

The free piano lesson 'Summer Oriole' can be found now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/summeroriole.pdf

The Man Who Sold New Age Music

Remember Windham Hill? It was the preeminent New Age label back in the 80’s and 90’s. And Will Ackerman, former CEO of the first (and best) label for New Age music sold his beloved Windham Hill to BMG. And now, Sony owns it.

Ackerman made a lot of money off the deal. Many millions. But he also made good money (I hope) as CEO of Windham Hill. Which makes me wonder. ..

I wonder why someone who was so passionate about a style of music he literally coined, would sell the label - and along with it, pretty much the entire genre of New Age music.

You see, Windham Hill was a very respected label in the 1980‘s. Ackerman even signed George Winston - and we all know how successful he is. So why would someone abandon a growing genre of music?

According to Ackerman, he was overwhelmed with the administrative details. Understandable. Most ‘artistic types’ and Ackerman’s one of them, don’t like to attend to minutiae.

But why sell something you’ve worked so long and hard for to a conglomerate who not only failed to grow the genre of New Age music, but pretty much buried it and condemned it to an uncertain death?

Why not hand over the reins to someone who could grow and expand this beautiful, healing, and heartfelt style of music the world really hasn’t seen since classical impressionism?

It saddens and angers me when something like this happens.

I place the blame with Ackerman. Sure, he’s entitled to do what he wants and can sell and buy as his heart pleases. But when he sold Windham Hill, he also sold the idea of New Age music as something ‘not worthy’ of attention. Something that could be cast aside and bought out.

New Age music deserves better. Much better. I hope to change this as I write more and more about the genre of music that I love so much.

How to ‘Present’ Your Music to Others or Why You Should Never Apologize

A present. Something you give or offer to someone as a gift. Does that sound like you playing your music for others?

Because that’s essentially what giving your music to others is - a gift. And you’d be amazed how many students belittle and try to degrade this gift by apologizing for it in the following way:

Saying it’s my first piece. This is like saying you really aren’t ready to perform or present your music to others either via concert or video. NEVER apologize for putting yourself out there! Even if it is your first piece. Why? Well for one thing, they don’t know it’s your first piece. For another, the unspoken message is it isn’t good. Both are unnecessary. Be bold. Be confident.

For example, if you make a mistake and it’s in your performance, NEVER apologize for it. Most won’t recognize it (especially in the New Age style) and even if they do, what’s important is how you ‘handle’ the mistake. Move forward boldly and act as if it’s nothing. Your audience will too. Unless it’s a huge flub. If that’s the case, you can redo it if you’re recording a video or audio. If you’re in concert and it happens (and it’s happened to me) take my advice and move on boldly.

Now that I’ve discussed the most common mistake newbie’s make when presenting their music, I’d like to talk about the ‘kind’ of artist you are. Why is this important? Because if you decide to market yourself and your music to the world, the world needs an easy way to categorize you and your music.

So, are you a ‘new age’ pianist? Or does ‘contemporary pianist’ sound better to you? Are you a ‘nature artist?’ If so, and if this is how you want to classify yourself, do it! But do it boldly and stand behind yourself with pride.

Take my word for it … people appreciate it when YOU believe in yourself. Need help with this? Listen to my ‘Affirmations for New Age Piano Playing' Mp3. It will help.

Two Ways to Learn Piano?

I’ll never forget the time one of my college professors talked about types of learners. There are two I’d like to discuss here and they are the A to B learner and the one that learns in leaps and jumps.

The A to B learner, or linear learning for lack of a better term likes to progress from one point to another.

That is, they don’t want to learn anything new unless they get point A down. Then, it’s on to the next point.

These types of learners excel in science and math because these disciplines require a solid foundation based on previous knowledge. For instance, you really can’t do well in a physics course unless you already have a good understanding of basic math.

Then there are those of us who just don’t do well in an A to B world. I fall into this category and I suppose many ‘artistic’ types do as well.

Take music for example. You could actually learn how to play piano going from A to B. And most do. This is what is done in the classical music world. You start with the basics and slowly move from there. Note reading, pedagogy, technique … all are carefully planned out to produce a student who can recreate a piece of music with proficiency.

But … what if you have problems with this approach? What to do? Most teachers only teach a linear approach and this is fine when it comes to learning technique. Yet, for those who like to ‘play,’ growth can seem slow.

And this is where the term ‘leap’ really applies. Because while it seems as if the ‘leaps and jumps’ learner is getting nowhere by playing around, he really is growing and will probably leap right over his linear learning opposite. Why?

Because much IS going on at a subconscious level.

You may feel sometimes as if nothing is happening and that you aren’t growing. Not true. In fact, you probably have already progressed light years ahead of the A to B learner.

Darker Melodies for New Age Piano?

A new student recently asked me about creating a 'darker' sound on the piano.

Traditionally, New Age piano is known for pleasant, consonant harmonies with very little or no dissonance. And that's the way it is for most New Age piano pieces.

Most of them are created in Major keys and stay there. But ... we can also create a 'darker' sound using something called 'modal' playing.

For example, in the video 'Gone, but Not Forgotten,' I use something called the Aeolian mode.

Based on the Aeolian scale, it's simply the white notes A to A. That is, if we start with a A minor chord and build our chords using this scale, we get a dark minor sound. This is also called 'tonality,' a very important concept in music because the sound you get is very much based on how you define it from the beginning.

Another way of looking at this is if you want a 'darker' sound, try playing around with some of the minor keys and modes.

In the video 'Gone, but Not Forgotten,' 3 chords are used ... A minor 7, F Major 7, and D minor 7. I use an ostinato pattern between the hands and improvise.

By the way ... in keeping with my philosphy of not trying to 'come up' with material, I created the music as I always do and then, came up with the title, i.e., I thought this music would work well for the picture and theme of the video!

How to Get Past Creative Blocks

When I first began playing the piano and improvising, there were times when the music just wouldn't flow. No matter what I did, I couldn't make it go any further. Blocked and frustrated, I wondered why this happened. One minute I would be in flow and enjoying the process of playing the piano. The next, I would find myself trying to come up with material

I soon realized that the more I tried to "come up" with something, the more blocked I became. The solution to this particular problem is simple, yet many find it to be frustrating in itself.

The answer is simply to walk away. That's right! If you're playing the piano and it just won't come anymore, I suggest getting up and finding something else to do. Why? Because you can not force play! It's that simple. And that difficult because we want to get back into the "groove." But getting back to this place requires you to ease up a bit.

You see, the creative process is somewhat similar to meditation. Meditation can't be forced or willed into working. It must be allowed to work. So too the creative process. There are times when I won't touch the piano for weeks on end. This used to bother me until I saw that I needed time away - a regenerative period so to speak.

Natalie Goldberg of "Writing Down the Bones" fame describes this lackluster period as composting. Don't worry about losing your creative ability. You never lost it. Just give it time to compost and when you return to the music, you will hear something new and wonderful!

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. Visit www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!

Piano Gardening? Nature and Music Meet at NewAgePianoLessons.com

When ‘New Age’ pianist George Winston came out with his CD ‘December’ back in 1981, it was a new sound for the time. Quiet and contemplative, the music seemed to ring in the air and go nowhere. But it caught on and became popular. Something you wouldn’t think would have happened back in the 80’s when Madonna and Wham were all the rage.

Yet for reasons unknown, the New Age music scene died a quiet death shortly thereafter.

But now, New Age music is making a comeback. Thanks in no small part to the efforts of piano teacher and pianist Edward Weiss.

Weiss runs a website that teaches, you guessed it - New Age piano. And according to Weiss, the site keeps growing and currently has over 7500 subscribers.

Here’s what this ‘New Age’ pianist and teacher has to say about it:

“I’ve always loved music that tries to describe the natural world. New Age music is really the impressionist music of our time. Many adults would love to create in this style but think they can’t because they can’t improvise - a necessary requirement for New Age piano playing. But I teach a simple method that allows them to just sit down and play.”

The course Weiss teaches now has over 140 lessons and comes with a free workbook. Weiss, who also has a bestselling book on Amazon.com ’Free to be Creative at the Piano’ says he knew teaching New Age piano was what he wanted to do as soon as he was able to connect his digital piano to a computer some 10 years ago.

Weiss explains…

“Back in 2000 or so I tried to hook up my Roland digital piano to an old Dell computer. To my surprise, it worked and I’ve been teaching online ever since.”

A free piano lesson ‘Summer Morning’ and report ‘5 Secrets to Playing New Age Piano’ are currently being offered at Weiss’s website http://www.newagepianolessons.com/

Northern Lights? Nature and Music Meet at Quiescence Music

Northern Lights ... that brilliant display of color one normally associates with arctic regions have been seen, in all places in Alabama. But that's not the only place these shimmering waves of light have occured.

People have reported seeing this amazing display in New York, Kentucy, and New Mexico. And that inspires New Age pianist and teacher Edward Weiss.

Weiss has been teaching and playing piano in the 'new age' style for over 15 years so when news broke of this rare natural phenomenon, he got out his keyboard and began composing.

Weiss has this to say about the composing process...

"When something inspires me, I take out a note pad and jot down just 2-bars of melody. That initial melody grows into a full composition. Composing this way has the benefit of allowing me to quickly pen the inspiration. It's than fleshed out more at home."

Northern Lights aren't the only things Weiss is inspired by though as evidenced by a list of the lessons he offers at his website. Titles like 'Coral Reef' and "October Sky' abound as students learn how to improvise and create their own unique new age piano creations.

Weiss remarks:

"I've always loved nature and piano music so combiing the two just seemed the thing to do. And now that I can do it, I have fun sharing what I know with others who enjoy this peaceful pastime."

The video can be viewed on YouTube at http://youtu.be/HyeG0uwMMcE

Stressed Out? Play New Age Piano!

Stress … it affects us all. But it doesn’t have to put a damper on your creativity. At least that’s according to pianist/composer Edward Weiss. Weiss is also the webmaster and creator of NewAgePianoLessons.com - a website that teaches beginning adults how to play piano in the New Age style.

New Age music was extremely popular in the mid 1980’s and is making a big comeback now. When asked why this may be so, Weiss comments:

“I think people always used music to reduce stress. The great thing about New Age piano is that it’s also easy to create on your own.

By actually making music, students get the additional benefit of getting their creative juices flowing at the same time. It’s just a beautiful genre of music.”

The piano course offered at the website includes over 100 piano lessons and comes with a free workbook. Students sign up via paypal and pay a small monthly fee of $19 to access the lessons.

The course has been going strong for over a decade now has been praised by Grammy nominated pianist David Lanz.

Weiss, who also has written a book ‘Free to be Creative at the Piano’ offers his own unique philosophy on playing piano:

“I think many adults want to be able to go to the piano, sit down, and just play what they feel. But there aren’t many (if any) courses or lessons that teach this. Once I could easily do it myself, I wanted to share this beautiful style of music with the world by teaching others how to do it as well.”

Weiss is currently running a 'special' where prospective students can get over 140 New Age piano lessons for $19. A Free workbook is also provided. More information at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/#offer

Free Piano Sheet Music for You - October Air

I'm giving a new lesson this Friday titled 'October Air' and I also had the music for this lesson transcribed into professional quality sheet music!

In this new lesson I explain the importance of melody and how by creating just a simple theme, the entire piece becomes recognizable -- regardless of the harmony used!

Meaning ... you can use simple diatonic harmony, i.e., Key of C Major to create with and the music will not sound like a harmonic wash. Not that there's anything wrong with a harmonic wash. :)

In the new lesson I'll show you how I created this step-by-step and how you can do it as well. Hint ... this entire piece is just an 8-bar phrase repeated twice!

In your new lesson, I lay it out for you and show you just how easy this is to do!

For the note readers among us, here is your free piano sheet music!

Quiescence Music membership expired? Resubscribe now and get instant access to over 140 cool New Age piano lessons plus the new lesson 'October Air' coming this Friday! Visit http://www.quiescencemusic.com/ to rejoin!