Have you ever marveled at how artists can quickly sketch out a beautiful landscape scene and convert it into a full-fledged painting? I have and I’ve always been jealous of their ability to do so.

I’ve often wondered why music couldn’t be more like this. Of course composers know how to go about creating a complete piece of music, but I didn’t want to spend years learning theory and harmonic analysis. I didn’t want to study form and compositional technique. Not because I was lazy or unmotivated but because there had to be a simpler way of taking what I felt inside and turning it into a piano improvisation or composition.

Fortunately for me, I discovered my own unique method for quickly creating what I love to create and that is New Age piano music.

A few chords and a Key to play in are all I needed to begin quickly creating my own unique piano journeys. You see the problem most aspiring composers have is that they think they need to learn everything that was ever written about how to compose music. This isn’t necessary and only serves to delay the experience of jumping in the water and trying it first hand.

My method is really simple – improvise first and let the music tell you where it wants to go. That is, let go and allow the music to flow through you. I ALWAYS START WITH IMPROVISASTION because this is where the raw creative energy is. If something strikes me as particularly nice, I’ll draw out 8-bars on a sheet of paper. It doesn’t have to be notation paper either. I just use a blank composition journal I bought at a Borders bookstore to do this.

After the 8-bars is drawn, I’ll write in the first 2-bars of the melody to remember the initial idea. I then use the chords from the Key I’m working in to complete this small 8-bar section. Working within 8-bar sections is, I think, the best way a beginner can actually complete a musical phrase. It’s a very attainable goal and works very well.

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/pianolessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

When I first heard this technique applied over 15 years ago, I couldn’t believe my ears. How could so much music be coming out of one piano? Turns out, what I was hearing was something called an ostinato. Ostinato simply means repeating pattern and is used frequently in all kinds of music.

But it really shines for the New Age piano genre. Just listen to George Winston’s piece Rain to get an idea of what can be done with this technique. He uses a very large chunk of the keyboard to create a beautiful left-hand ostinato pattern while the right hand improvises. And what music! You’d swear it couldn’t be just one piano but it is!

Now, ostinatos can be used to create a staccato sound (as in the Winston piece Rain) or they can be used gently as in the lesson piece Winter Scene.

Here we use 2 chords to create a nice harmonic background. Once the left hand is set, so to speak, the right hand enters in with an improvised melody. And that’s all that is required to create a full piece of music!

An ostinato pattern can use as much or as little of the keyboard as the player desires. In fact, if you just play a repeating bass note you’ve created an ostinato pattern. The lesson Winter Scene uses suspended chords that are broken up. Winston’s piece Rain actually uses a left-hand arpeggio pattern – yes, an arpeggio can be turned into an ostinato too!

Once we have the ostinato pattern, we can create a harmonic loop. We can chart out the chord changes on a piece of paper and notate our pattern for future use. Ostinatos are great because they quickly give you the entire background and mood of the piece. We then paint our melodies on top of this background to create our aural canvas!

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/pianolessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

I’ve had a few piano teachers over the years. And I can’t say that they really helped me. Why? Because I can learn technique pretty much on my own.

What I needed was for someone to help me TRUST MY OWN INTUITION and act as a mentor guiding me to my desired goal, which at that time, was to create my own music.

Think of a visual artist as an example. This artist may be able to understand and apply different techniques to create a pleasing work of art, but the art itself won’t have that special X factor that only comes when an artist fully trusts their own intuition.

Intuition is the most confusing thing for someone without it to develop. That’s because they’ve had a long time not trusting in themselves and their own unique talent and ability.

Nothing is more important for without the ability to trust yourself, you really won’t be able to hear the intuitive voice that is always present and is always willing to guide you – if you let it.

The first step to accomplish this trust in yourself is to switch from a product oriented attitude to a process oriented one. You must let go of the need to produce something that is good or bad. Instead, allow for mistakes and experimentation. Improvise and start out by using simple means. A few chords, a scale, some brief instruction are all that is required.

You must be able to play! Children trust themselves and their power of intuition without exception. They haven’t learned how not to. I like to use the analogy of finger-painting as an example of this.

Put finger-paints and paper in front of a child and watch what happens. They can’t wait to get started in exploring this world of color and form. They’re not concerned with good or bad. What they are concerned with is pure joy. And this comes from their ability to suspend judgement and just play!

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/pianolessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

Have you ever listened to your favorite pianist and wondered why their music felt so alive? What was it you wondered. Was it technique? Maybe, but probably not. Technique can allow you to play difficult passages. It can’t give you the X factor that careful listeners can discern.

Perhaps it was the personality of the performer that drew you in. Personality is great but will only take you so far as a pianist. After all, if they can’t see you, it’s just the music that’s heard.

So what is it? What is it that makes one pianist sound alive while another sounds like they just don’t have it? You may think it’s how much someone has practiced or how many years of conservatory is under the belt. It’s none of these. The best players, the ones whose music has something otherworldly about it, have relinquished control of their egos and allowed their higher source to take over and guide them! That’s it.

They may not say it, but if you notice, the best players never take full credit for their playing. In fact, most players at this level will say nothing unless pressed to. You see, once the ego is out of the equation, the player is free! And once free, the music is allowed to flow and move through the player as if? yes – as if it is something coming from another world – or at least a higher place.

To make your piano playing come alive, you must let go and allow the music to take over. I know I keep saying this but only because it’s true. As soon as you think that you are a good player or even a bad one, you’re setting yourself up to fall. Certainly, it’s OK to have a healthy does of self-esteem and admit that you feel good about your playing but…

Here’s an interesting tidbit. Do you know why Mozart only wrote first drafts and never scribbled anything out? It’s because he trusted himself so much that he knew that his first drafts were the best ones. That is, he learned to get out of the way and let the music speak through him.

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/pianolessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

So, you want to learn the piano. But you don’t want to spend years learning how to read music.

That’s understandable. Learning piano doesn’t have to be the hard chore so many believe it to be. In fact, it can be quite easy IF YOU START BY LEARNING CHORDS!

For example, in the lesson Reflections in Water, available below, we have four chords and a scale to create music with. We don’t need to read music and we don’t need piano tabs either. All we need is to learn how to finger one chord position and play the C Major scale. Then we can use these materials to create music with.

Learning piano this way is infinitely easier (and more rewarding!) than learning how to note read because we create it ourselves!

Once we have the chords under our fingers, we can explore the piano in a way that may never have been possible for you before. Many piano students don’t believe they have talent or skill to improvise but this is simply not true. All that is required is the desire to try it. Once students jump in the water, they can’t wait to take a swim and then they’re hooked!

Learning piano without years of lessons is not difficult. All it takes is the ability to learn a few chords and then experiment with them.

Now, if learning classical repertoire is your goal, then of course you’re going to have to learn how to read music. But reading music is not necessary in order to play the piano. Learning chords 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/pianolessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

I’ll never forget the time I was giving lessons to this one student. Talk about difficult. She just couldn’t get it. And the it I’m talking about is not reading music or playing Beethoven or Bach. I’m talking about improvisation.

No matter what I showed her she just froze up.

I then realized something. This student really wasn’t having problems getting the technical aspects down, i.e., chords. The problem was she didn’t think she could do it! It was all attitude.

I then had a lightbulb moment. If the basic problem with most adult students is not technique but attitude, then I had to come up with a different approach to reach them. And that approach turned out to be mentoring.

Listen, what people really need is to believe in themselves. If this aspect is missing, no amount of technique or theory will help. In order for me to be helpful, I had to act as a therapist so to speak… gently guiding students to believe in themselves!

Once they could do this, the rest was a piece of cake. Look at it this way, if you don’t believe or have the slightest faith in your own abilities in anything be it writing, painting, whatever, your chances for success are slim indeed!

What I did to help these shaky students was basically a two-fold procedure.

First, they needed to relax and not worry so much about what was coming out of them. Performance anxiety can happen even when we play for ourselves. The critical parent shows up even when we’re playing alone. I had to help them overcome that critical parent first.

The second prong was simply to build up their confidence by showing them how easy it could be to create once that critical voice was eliminated. They watched me play and saw that I didn’t care if I made mistakes or if the music was good enough. My mentoring allowed them to see that the joy of the process was far more important than any product they could come up with.

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/pianolessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

Do you recall the day you traded in your guitar for a job at the bank or gave up your piano lessons to become a doctor? Have you been thinking about rediscovering your musical roots as soon as your retirement kicks in? Are you still hoping that some day you?ll get to dust off your sax and join the local jam session? If this sounds all too familiar, you?re not alone. In fact, it?s more common than you think for people in the latter stages of life to get the itch to return to their musical beginnings.

Like most closet musicians, you likely arrived at a turning point in your life where you had to decide between the certainty of a job and the uncertainty of a life in the music business. And, like the vast majority, you chose the more stable path. Do you ever wonder though, what it would have been like if you had enough courage to pursue the other path – even if it would have totally freaked your parents out?

As a professional concert pianist I have people say to me all the time that they would give anything to do what I do. A lot of these folks wish they just could turn back the clock and get another shot at it, even if it might not have been the responsible thing to do.

That?s why I?m so grateful for the path I have chosen, not only because I love it but because, I never have to worry about what I might have missed. The truth is; I love music and what it does for my soul. I wake up every day with excitement because I really don?t know what?s going to happen or where I?ll end up. That to me is a gift, not a liability. The only thing certain in my life is uncertainty and that I can always count on.

But, our society is not programmed to think in these terms. We?re groomed in school to play it safe, get a job and pay the bills. It?s definitely the easy thing to do but is it the right thing? I think we were all born to learn something new and exciting every day. For most people who go to the same job day after day, a job they most likely hate – how is this learning?

Many people find themselves at a turning point in their latter years when they think to themselves, ?What exactly happened to my dreams?? But, then you think to yourself, ?I got married and had kids, it would have been completely irresponsible of me to follow my dreams because so few actually make it.? That?s true, except why couldn?t you have been one of the few?

In any case, I often say to people, ?Why don?t you quit your job now while you still can?? To my mind, living every day in a situation you hate will only lead you somewhere you don?t want to go. It?s important to choose a goal in life that you really are passionate about because, that?s what will make your life exciting and challenging. Anybody can get a job.

But, even if you absolutely cannot give up your job, why not take up music seriously at the same time? For now, start practicing in secrecy. Then eventually you?ll be good enough to perform for others. And, if you?re passionate enough, you may even get to be the performer that you?ve always admired from a distance. You know, the one you?ve often cheered for with mixed delight and sorrow because, you know you could have been that person?

The good news, it?s not too late!

Take my friend Bruce for example. With three years left to go to his retirement as a bank executive, he reintroduced himself to blues guitar. Shortly thereafter he reunited his high school band and now they?re actually booking themselves for dances, concerts and private functions.

And, my friend Mary Ann is doing the same thing. She had a music degree in classical piano which, she eventually gave up to become a family doctor. Now, several years later she?s formed a jazz quartet with some friends and another doctor on drums, and the band performs at least 5 nights a month around town.

These are just two examples of people who understand that they can have it all; both a successful professional career and a life in music. Like them, you don?t have to wait for your retirement to get back to doing what you love.

So next time you feel the need to rejuvenate your life with music, come on out of the closet. Because, the truth of the matter is the only thing stopping you, is you. Take my advice and start living your life the way you want and not the way everyone else expects of you. Live the rest of your life doing what you love because, the only risk in life is not taking one.

Paul Tobey is a professional concert pianist who is well-known for his motivational music seminars and popular free piano music downloads.

All right, folks, here you go: My 12 reasons why you should start learning how to play the piano. Immediately. As in today. This very minute.

Okay, fine, finish this article first, THEN get started. And yes, I know that there are more than just 12 reasons to play the piano. But I happen to like the number 12.

1) Everyone should play at least one instrument. I truly believe that. Every person on Earth should be able to sit at SOME instrument and be capable of making beautiful music.

2) Playing the piano makes you feel (and look) sophisticated. Truly. No matter who you are or how many warts you have, you’ll just exude class the second you begin tickling those ivories.

3) Piano playing keeps your brain active. It’s very hard for your brain to rot when you consistently throw it the musical language to interpret.

4) You won’t run out of things to do when you’re bored. There’s always a new way to play, always a new approach to playing, and always, always, ALWAYS a new song to learn. (See number 8.)

5) Family members can live vicariously through you. I’m semi-serious about that. The reason I began taking piano lessons (back when I was 10) was because of grandparents who didn’t play, and over the years I’ve had numerous relatives enjoy playing through me. (I live to serve.)

6) People will automatically assume you’re a genius. Honestly, I’ve heard this a lot. People uttering He/she plays the piano in the same tone reserved for He/she has an IQ of 174. You just can’t help but admire someone playing an instrument.

7) Piano playing is good for your hands. Indeed it is. I probably have stronger hands/fingers than most people I know. And have you ever noticed the hands of a pianist? Beautiful, long, tapered fingers. Chances are that if you’ve ever admired someone’s hands, they play the piano.

Pianists never quit learning. There’s absolutely no way to memorize every musical piece on earth. You could learn 10 new songs a day for the rest of your life without scratching the surface of songs out there.

9) Piano playing is FUN. Really. It’s one of the funnest things I do. Think about it, why would so many of us do it if it weren’t a blast?

10) Deep down, everyone wishes they played the piano. Have you ever read other people’s New Year’s Resolutions lists? If you haven’t, then you’re just not nosy like me. No, seriously, if you haven’t, I’ll tell you which wish consistently pops up: Learn to play the piano.

11) Piano playing is SATISFYING. It’s truly one of the most satisfying things you can do. (Right after touching your nose with your tongue. Or so I hear.) There’s no feeling like playing a difficult song and playing it flawlessly. Quite an ego-boost.

12) Everyone loves a musician. ‘Nuff said.

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Please visit my website, The Piano Pages, for more articles, free piano lessons, piano sheet music, tips, products, and lots more. Also, feel free to send me comments, questions, or hate mail at: emily@thepianopages.com

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Whenever someone uses the word composer, inevitably, the names of Beethoven, Bach, and other classical personages come to mind. This can be very intimidating to those who want to record their musical thoughts and ideas down.

In fact, comparing yourself to ANY composer will be detrimental to you. Why? Because you will always have to live up to someone’s expectations of what is good music or what is not good music. This comparison trap will lead you nowhere and will result in a drying up of the creative spirit. The solution to this trap is to begin where you are and for most of us that means begin EASY!

I’ll never forget the first time I tried to compose something. It was for classical guitar. I tried to create something original and it took me 2 hours just to write out 4-bars of melody. Of course, I didn’t know what I was doing. There has to be some kind of method that works for you. Now, the method I use today has been very easy to work with because it gives me the freedom to compose AND improvise at the same time. I compose using 8-bar phrases.

To do this all one has to do is write out 8-bars on a sheet of paper. Any paper will do. It doesn’t have to be music paper or manuscript. In fact, I just use a spiral bound journal with ruled lines on it. Whenever I want to memorialize an idea, I draw out 8-bars very quickly. I then improvise and allow myself the freedom to play anything that comes out of me. If I try and think something up, the music will usually wind up sounding forced or contrived – qualities that music is better off not having.

Once the idea (either melodic or textural) appears, I write out the first 2-bars so I remember what it is and use chords to quickly fill in the 8-bar section. After this is completed, I may draw another 8-bars and see what else comes. If nothing more is coming at this particular point, I put the journal away and come back to it later on. This method has served me well over the years and is an excellent starting method for beginning composers.

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/pianolessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

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We all want to be in the moment. That’s where real transformation takes place. For some, walking gets them there. Others like to play sports or watch movies. For me, it’s playing the piano. When I’m in the moment, letting the music speak, it’s like the world is new again.

The notes flow out of the piano into the air and I know that something magical is taking place. It may last a minute or a half-hour. No matter how long it lasts, I know that I’ve been transported to a special place. Many musicians know of this place – especially musicians who know how to improvise. There is no planning – only spontaneous invention.

Zen music in particular has an ethereal quality that seems to grow organically. It starts and ends yet there seems to be no starting or ending point. The music just is – like a living being it just is there. It’s like a fine perfume in the sense that it lingers in the air but does not overwhelm or grow tiresome.

Any instrument can be used to create this kind of music but certain instruments lend themselves more readily to it. Flutes, the harp, the piano, the Japanese Koto – these instruments are often used to create atmospheres that linger delightfully but really do not want to go anywhere. Here in the West, we are used to a music that must pursue an ending course. We must have a climax or a big finish or we are not satisfied. Like a fireworks show, it begins and ends with a bang.

There can be a struggle between creating a music that comes from spirit or making music that pleases the crowd. We can be torn between pleasing the ego or pleasing ourselves. To play piano in the new age style is to understand a music that isn’t planned but allowed to become. Once this concept is understood, the music will flow.

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/pianolessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

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