New Age pianist is a Hollywood player

Just saw this new article about a piano teacher whose student list includes Tom Cruise, Holly Hunter, and other A listers in Hollywood.

She's giving a concert at Border's and guess what? It's New Age piano! Find the article at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07242/813190-388.stm

Composer's Journal

Well, I started the process and I have to say it's going quite well. I've been sitting down at the piano for 30 minutes (at least) each day to do my work.

I much prefer to do it this way rather than have a goal where I tell myself I'm going to complete a piece of music today. It's much more "process oriented" and easier to just be at the piano and allow the music to flow through me.

I now have 3 pieces started.

Tentative titles for the new CD are "Forest Piano" or "Mountain Piano." I haven't decided which one I like best although the title "Forest Piano" is actually already available by another pianist/composer.

Composer's Journal

I've made a decision to release a new CD. And I thought it would be fun to journal about my progress.

The tentative finish date for the CD will be Febraruy 2008.

I don't have a working title yet, but it's definetely going to be "nature themed" oriented. I also know that it will have nature sounds in the background as well.

I've got a few pieces in the works already. Not complete pieces, just a few ideas here and there that I'm going to turn into full compositions.

The CD will probably have between 10-12 tracks depending on the length of each track of course.

This should be a fun experiment as I blog my progress. My plan is to just "show up" at the keyboard for at least 1/2 hour each day.

By the way, if you're interested in viewing only the "Composer's Journal " part of this blog you'll be able to because each post for this subject will have the title "composer's journal" in it

Till next time,

Edward

How To Compose A Theme & Variations For Piano

Recently, I posted a lesson where I show students how to compose a theme and variations for piano. Now, most composers today do not compose using this musical form. That's not to say it isn't still used but … it can sound antiquated if certain harmonies and sounds are used.

For example, in the lesson August Reflections, I use the A harmonic minor scale and 3 chords from that scale to create a theme with 3 variations.

This particular sound has been used for quite a while. I chose it because it does sound familiar and some students wanted to learn something using a minor sounding scale. Notice that the theme itself is quite simple. It consists of two 8-bar phrases that can be called A and B sections.

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Quiescence Music Passes 90 Lessons Mark!

Wow. Ninety lessons. That's a lot of material. It's take quite a while to get to this mark. My main motivation has been my students.

I love presenting these lessons to you. My passion is creating at the piano and if I can pass along what I've learned, I know I'm doing my "job" in the world.

Thank you!!

New Age Piano Music - My Top Picks

When it comes to New Age piano music, I have a few favorites. In fact, there are really just 2 people that come to mind. And both of them have completely different styles. I'm speaking about George Winston and John Herberman.

George Winston literally put New Age piano music on the map. Of course, there were other's before Winston who specialized in this genre (namely Steven Halpern) but it was Winston's album "December" that skyrocketed this style of piano playing into popular culture.

To say that this music was and is different than what most people usually listen to is an understatement. And really, this kind of music shouldn't have been as popular as it was, but when this album came out in the early 1980's it captivated a large audience.

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Composing For Piano - Don't Force, Allow

A student writes: "You always say, 'let the music tell you where it wants to go' but when I try to do this nothing comes. What to do?"

This is an excellent question because it really cuts to the core of my whole teaching philosophy which is - never force or try and "will" music into being. Instead, let it come of it's own accord.

To illustrate this, I'll share with you my own process with "coming up" with material.

Usually, I never have problems with the first 8-bars of music - sometimes called the (A) section. But once this section is down so to speak, the rest of the music (if there is more to come) is usually more difficult for me..

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How To Use Piano Chords To Create Complete Sections Of Music

Everyone wants to learn the "secret shortcuts" that will make improvising/composing music easier. And why not? Do you think professional composers don't use them? They do.

What I'm about to show you will have you blocking out sections of music in no time.

If you've been reading my articles about composition, you no doubt have heard me say that a composition is the art of repetition and contrast. And it's true! But before we get to the contrast part, we have to start somewhere. And that's where "sections" come in.

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