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!

Latest News


ABC News

Getting to Carnegie via YouTube
New York Times, United States - 23 hours ago
That second option is the main feature of a new marketing project by Google to bolster the organized presence of classical music on YouTube and promote the ...
Classical musicians get shot at fame on YouTube Reuters
YouTube Symphony Orchestra: Google sees a future in fancy music of ... National Post
Thomas signs on for YouTube symphony project San Francisco Chronicle
The Associated Press - Digitaltrends.com
all 353 news articles

eJamming Inc. Inks Licensing Deal with MTV Networks Music Group
MarketWatch - 10 hours ago
Jeff Yapp, executive vice president of program enterprises for MTV Networks Music and Logo Group, said, "The combination of interactivity and music speaks ...
eJamming inks licensing deal with MTV Networks CNET News
all 11 news articles

WHDH-TV

BSO launches its own music download service
Boston Globe, United States - 17 hours ago
Four albums of music created under the baton of BSO music director James Levine will be available in February. (Michael J. Lutch) By Geoff Edgers After ...
BSO offers music downloads at its Web site Boston Herald
Marketing style leaves maestro miffed Toronto Star
all 12 news articles

How Does This Sound? Motorola Introduces MOTOROKR EM35, Delivering ...
MarketWatch - 8 hours ago
A device designed for supreme audio performance both as a mobile device and music player, EM35 delivers an exceptional audio experience for both music and ...

Grammy Museum takes a broad, hands-on approach
Los Angeles Times, CA - 24 minutes ago
But those pieces are vastly outnumbered by technology-centric stations, some of which are designed to educate visitors about music from different eras and ...
Harman International Technologies Featured in New GRAMMY Museum MarketWatch
Grammy Museum: highlights for January Los Angeles Times Blogs
The GRAMMY Museum(SM) Officially Opens Its Doors to the Public on ... MarketWatch
MarketWatch
all 25 news articles

Gigwise

Chris Brown, Britney Spears, Coldplay, Leona Lewis And Alicia Keys ...
MTV.com - 8 hours ago
They include mild-mannered Chris Brown — whose videos and interviews were reportedly seen 43 million times on the on-demand Music Choice TV service. ...
Coldplay & Leona Lewis Top iTunes Sellers People Magazine
Top iTunes sellers released WNDU-TV
Coldplay, Leona Lewis Are Tops on iTunes TheCelebrityCafe.com
Gigwise - Contactmusic.com
all 169 news articles

New York Times

Music Review | Lost Dog New Music Ensemble
New York Times, United States - 1 hour ago
The Lost Dog New Music Ensemble, from left, Miranda Cuckson, on violin; Laura Barger, on piano; and Emily Brausa, on cello. By STEVE SMITH Community is a ...

Ars Technica

Online seen claiming 41 pct share of US music market
Reuters - 22 hours ago
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Digital music sales account for 18 percent of the US music market and that figure will grow to 41 percent in five years, ...
Report: online to be larger piece of shrinking music pie Ars Technica
Report: US Digital Music Sales Growing; Not Supplanting CDs Digital Media Wire
Music Industry Decline Accelerates U.S. News & World Report
WiredPRNews.com (press release) - FMQB
all 23 news articles

Exclaim!

Music retailers report bleak sales on Black Friday
Reuters - 20 hours ago
By Ed Christman NEW YORK (Billboard) - Music merchandisers weren't sharing the general optimism of most retailers during Thanksgiving weekend. ...
Kanye and Guns N’ Roses fail to prop up music sales during holiday ... Prefixmag
all 13 news articles

Stream Music From Where You Aren't to Where You Are
PC World - 2 hours ago
I forgot to pack my iPod, but no worries: I'm listening to the music library stored on my home PC. No, I didn't bring along a tin can tied to a really long ...

Resources