|
||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
| |||||||||||
|
Zen and the Art of New Age Piano
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/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!
|
|
|
|
The Various Countries - A Rant About Country Music It is no secret that over the past couple decades country music has struggled with it's identity far more than any other genre in the industry. At this point nobody can really claim to be a country music fan without being questioned what kind of country fan? The answers being seemingly endless, I've broken them down into a few main categories (but really, there could be so many more). Formation of a Song (Recording) As industry insiders, we sometimes forget that when discussing the recording process, the rest of the world really has no idea what we are talking about. Hopefully this will provide an explanation of the song formation process in layman's terms so that there may be less disconnect between the professional and the consumer. Creating Your Own Compositions The idea of actually creating a complete piece of music to play frightens many students. They just don't understand how someone could come up with something, put it down on paper, and call it their own. How to Create an Original Melody Here's a method I use that works. First, sit down at your piano or keyboard and just improvise. I suggest improvising first because music that is created in this way is at its freshest. It's not adulterated or thought up. It is pure inspiration. Now, there will come times during improvisation where you may say to yourself, "this is nice and I'd like to develop it." You see, now you have an original melody to develop. The First Step and Most Important Thing in Learning Guitar Most of the guitar lovers playing guitar for few years but still unsatisfied with their progress. They feel like still stand at the starting point and can't enjoy their playing. This mainly caused by most of them don't build up a strong foundation at the begining. I found that some of the guitar learners even just playing guitar for one to two years but are more better than so many that playing for over five years. This is the foundation problems. Me myself was an example when I started playing guitar long time ago. Why New Musicians (Rappers) Fail: Three Reasons and Solutions Despite the title of this article, the purpose of it is actually to HELP new emcees AVOID some common traps on their journey to learning how to rap better. You can come up with a million reasons why new rappers fail?or why any artist fails for that matter, but we've boiled the list down to three specific to new emcees. Chords or Melody First... Which is Best? There are basically two ways you can compose a piece of music. The first and most traditional way is to write out the melody and then harmonize it. Some call this working from the top (as opposed to the chords on the bottom.) The second approach is where you create some kind of rhythmic harmonic pattern and improvise (or compose) the melody on top. Now, which one is best for New Age music? Right Hand Guitar Playing Tip This lesson can open for you a secret of high-speed guitar playing. If take the given technique for 2-3 weeks you'll feel progress in high-speed playing of complex passages. Thomas Jefferson and the Chinese Gong While Richard Nixon's diplomatic visit to China may have created a minor thaw in Sino-US relations, he was not the first President to try to get in sync with the Chinese. Thomas Jefferson preceded him by close to two centuries. One Way to Improve Your Music Journalist Relationship Boy, I really detest how some people do websites. Bands are some of the worst. Seems like any band that wants to look "professional" feels they must create a website using pop-ups and flash. Why? Cuz that's what the Majors do? How to Organise a Gig or a Live Music Event - the Budget Three times in the last month I've been asked the question, "what do I need to do to organise a gig?" In reality, when this question is asked it can mean several things: How do I find a venue? How do I sort out the PA? How do I get an audience? And so on. People are Turning to Meaningful Songs for Emotional and Spiritual Relief: A New Breed of Aspiring Songwriters Is In The Making. What are the Sacrifices of the Solo Singer Songwriter in Today's Changing Culture? Social Networking and Music: MySpace Puts It All Together in a Virtual Community Today's music fan interacts with a "community" that is far larger than anyone ever dreamed possible before the widespread personal use of the Internet. This social networking is changing the way people market and sell music and it's doing so on a global scale. How to Compose Your Own Music Using 8-bar Phrases Some people think composing is this miraculous thing that only genius's do. What a myth! It's a skill that can be learned. What can't be learned is the intuition that guides the creative force. What can be learned is the technique. And the most important part of composing technique has to do with THINKING IN PHRASES. Five Great Practice Ideas I Learned From My Piano Students! Sometimes the teacher learns more from the student than the student does from the teacher. Hopefully, not too often, but today I would like to share with you some great practicing ideas that have come from my piano students over the years: Review: The Dissociatives - Self Titled In 1994 Daniel Johns and his group Silverchair were catapulted into the mainstream by winning a demo competition in Australia. Their single 'Tomorrow' is still widely regarded as one of the defining songs of the early 90s. Now, before you rush out to buy The Dissociatives you're going to want to sit down before I break this next part to you; This cd is not silverchair, it sounds nothing like silverchair, and you are only seeing comparisons because Daniel Johns is in both of these bands. It is best to keep these 2 entities separate, or you will probably end up enjoying them both a lot less. An Interview with Angus Young of ACDC - Why He Plays a Gibson SG Steven: Maybe more than any other guitarist ever, you're inextricably linked to the Gibson SG? What was the evolution that brought you to this particular instrument? Music, the Spiritual Connection All through the age's music and spirituality as served hand in hand. As for instruments, the earliest is presumed to be, percussions from noisemakers to drums. The King of the Delta Blues Singers - Robert Johnson Still Stands at the Crossroads Probably the most enigmatic Singer and Guitarist of the twentieth Century is now one of the most revered and respected of all Musicians who make up the Genre of the 'Blues'. I speak of course about the wonderful Robert Leroy Johnson. Born in 1911 in Hazelhurst, Mississippi, in a Deep South plantation, he, in his pitifully short life, has become one of the founding Fathers of the Blues. Downloading MP3s Made Easy The MP3 movement started out with a huge audience of music enthusiasts on the internet. The MP3 digital music format has had, and will continue to have, a huge impart on how people, gather, listen to and share music.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
