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/

Move Over Classical Piano lessons, New Age a Hit for Spring

When most people think of taking piano lessons, the names Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart spring to mind. But not anymore. At least that’s according to Edward Weiss.

Weiss is a pianist, composer, and webmaster of NewAgePianoLessons.com - an online site that teaches, you guessed it, New Age piano.

When asked why he teaches piano in this style, Weiss responds:

“It’s a very freeing style. You don’t have to read music. You don’t have to spend years playing the ’masters.’ The whole idea is to just learn a few chords and then jump in and improvise. Something I’ve always wanted to do and now that I can, I enjoy teaching others how to do it.”

The course Weiss teaches now has over 1000 members and keeps growing at a steady pace. Students receive over 100 New Age piano lessons when signing up and also receive a free workbook.

When asked why he thinks so many people want to learn this style of piano playing now, Weiss says:

“I think people just get tired of playing other people’s music - no matter how good. They want to create on their own and the New Age style helps them do just that.”

Weiss is currently offering a free piano lesson and book at his website http://www.NewAgePianoLessons.com

How To Be Creative at the Piano

So you want to be more creative when playing piano. Many students wish they could just sit down and improvise their own music but don't know how to begin.

They think if they can't play a fugue like Bach, they are untalented. Or, they think the music that comes out of them must be sophisticated or it's not worth anything.

Fortunately, there is a style of piano playing that bypasses this academic snobbism and allows the beginning (and advanced) student to be more creative.

The New Age piano style is geared towards improvisation and creativity specifically because it requires very little in the way of technical know-how. What it does require is the courage to just sit in front of the piano and allow for the creative act; allow being the important verb here.

Many students wonder why they have problems improvising. When I explain to them that the problem is not with technique but attitude, they look at me surprised. After all, aren't they willing to learn? Of course! But they must first shun the "creative genius" persona and be willing to let go and let the music tell them where it wants to go.

Once students understand that they aren't in charge of creating music, they begin to have that knowing inward smile. They have discovered that the secret to being creative at the piano is to release all expectations of good or bad and focus on the process. Then they can relax and fully enjoy all that music has to offer.

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

Learning Piano by Listening to Other Pianists

When I first heard New Age pianist George Winston play
piano, I wondered to myself, "how does he do it?"

But it wasn't until I started creating my own music that the answers started to come. You see, if you've never played the piano before, it's almost impossible to understand what somebody else is doing on it.

After a while, I began to notice that the left-hand played a much bigger part in creating Winston's sound than the right.

The reason I wanted to know all this in the first place is because if I could figure out what he was doing, I could get the same sound myself. But that was only the beginning.

Soon, I could hear much more than chord changes and left-hand patterns. I began to listen for the "form" of the piece ... how the composer uses the tools of repetition and contrast.

In Winston's case, he will create a 4 or 8-bar phrase and loop it - improvising melody on top. This "method" really intrigued me for it seemed like an easy way to quickly "get down" music on paper. And it is! Instead of focusing on melody as the forward momentum that propels interest and the composition along, Winston creates an aural background and then changes that to create contrast. A perfect example of this is his piece "Rain" where a gentle background mood is first created. He then follows this with a thunderous section - all played with the left hand.

Now, another way composers compose is by leading with melody. Here the melodic idea takes center stage and I can think of no other person to learn from better than John Herberman. Listening to his music you hear how he uses repetition and contrast.

The first 8-bars is a complete theme for many of his pieces. This is followed by a contrasting section of 8 or 4 bars followed by repetition of the first section again.

All of this can be heard when you listen to music. A good idea when listening to dissect a piece is to listen for certain things. For example, you may say to yourself, "I'm listening for the form" and then focus on how the pianist is using form to create the composition. Other questions to ask are "What sound is being used?" Major? Minor? Modal?

Soon, you'll be able to understand the materials your favorite artists are using and then use them yourself in your own unique way.

Quiescence Music on the Radio!

In my never ending effort to promote my piano lessons site, I've decided to try some radio advertising. And it's going to be at solopianoradio.com.

Talk about a perfect market/message match. I've also purchased a new domain name - newagepianolessons.com

It's a lot easier to remember and spell then quiescencemusic.com

When I first came up with the piano lessons idea, I think newagepianolessons.com was already taken. But I've got it now!