Yiruma - River Flows in You and How to Play It

Ever since the move "Twilight" hit the big screen it seems everyone wants to learn how to play "Bella's Lullaby," one of the songs from the movie.

Actually, this music is by a Korean pianist and composer named Yiruma and the piece is really titled "River Flows in You."

Most people interested in learning this piece want the sheet music. But wouldn't it be better if you could actually create your very own music like this? It's possible. And it's a lot easier than you might think.

You see, "Bella's Lullaby," or more aptly "River Runs in You" is simple a repeating left hand pattern with a nice melody laid on top. To the uninitiated this seems like it would be difficult to create. But in reality it is quite easy.

The first thing you have to do is get the left hand pattern down. And, like any other pattern in music, this is accomplished by learning the chords first. It appears as if Yiruma is using open position chords in the left hand. This chord structure gives you a nice "open" sound that is used frequently in New Age piano music.

In fact, the piano lesson "Reflections in Water," shows you how to do just that - play open position chords to create your own unique music.

Once you see how easy it is, you'll be amazed. And like anything else, when the door is open and you can understand what's being done, you can apply it to other pieces of music as well.

After looking at "River Flows in You" I noticed that 4 chords are used. They are played in a repeating pattern and it does seem as if the right hand melody was initially improvised. This is how most pianist/composer's go about composing anyway. They allow the music to flow via improvisation and then write out the melody once they're on to something they like.

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 http://www.quiescencemusic.com/ now and get a FREE piano lesson!