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Piano Music - How to Begin and End a Piece
How do you begin a piece of music? That's a question I'm often asked. The answer I usually give is that you begin as soon as you start playing - that is, if you're trying to "compose" something, the piece begins the moment it has energy and is something you want to capture. If it's an improvisation, the piece begins the moment you set your fingers on the keys and hit the first note. It's like free flow writing and writing a chapter to a novel. The writer can both improvise and enjoy the process or can structure the ideas more - or, as I like to do, combine both procedures into one. I start out by improvising - always. Then, if I want to memorialize a musical idea, I write down the first two bars of melody along with the chord(s) I'm playing. I throw this on a chart and voila - the idea remains fresh until I want to either expand on it, or ignore it completely. If the idea is a rhythm pattern I write down (Left hand = whatever the pattern is) so I can remember it later. I never stop improvising though because that would stop the flow and who knows what could come out of it. Don't forget that an improvisation is a piece of music in and of itself. There is really no need to impose structure on something as beautiful and organic as spontaneous expression. In fact, these spur of the moment fantasies are often more inspiring than any contrived composition. There is something more alive to them because there IS more life to them. Endings pose another problem, namely the problem of when to stop playing. For improvisation, the answer is when energy (inspiration) starts to wane down. That's a good time to bring your music to an end. You'll know when this is happening when you become bored. That's the sign it's time to stop. Composition is a different story. The form of the piece already dictates when you should stop. For example, an ABA form tells you to play the A section once or twice, go to B, back to A then bring the piece to an end. Of course the amount of repetition and contrast is a personal decision but the form establishes both beginning and ending. It's a nice safe way to say that yes, I have a piece of music here. Now, improvisations can have form as well. The big difference is that you don't consciously think about putting the music into a predefined shape. But for some unknown reason, most improvisations do have symmetry - that is they take on a form of their own. I don't know if this is because of human beings innate rhythm (heartbeat) or what. Even Zen flute music, which may be the most freely inspired improvisation style around has some structure. You can hear it in the phrases. Beginnings and endings. Don't worry too much about them. What's important is where you are emotionally while you play. Become aware of that and all your problems are solved. 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!
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Structure Of A Successful Music Website Ideally each page of your website should serve a specific purpose. The main purpose of the sales page for your cd is to sell the cd. If have a page with Google Adsense, the main purpose is to generate money by to get people to click on the advertisement. If its not an important part of the process, don't load up the page with unnecessary things like animations or sounds. This will only distract visitors from achieving the task laid out for them, ie. buying your product. How Can You Make A Rock Vocal Sound Better? Admit it... you were expecting a magic answer to this one. You were going to get advice on what plug-ins and effects can turn an ordinary vocal into that of a true rock god. Or goddess. Music Downloads: Free & Low Cost Ways For Musicians To Get Their Music Known All Over The World Music downloads are highly compressed audio files transferred onto a personal computer from an Internet website or P2P (peer to peer) program. From IPOD's to MP3 players galore, music downloading is seen as the fastest way for a musician to get his or her work out to the public. Many musicians have developed world-wide followings by adding downloadable music files to their web sites. Reaching For The Soul Zone Every searching artist wants to get there. It's that magical place where something takes over, you know, when something bigger than you whispers in your ear and says "Relax - I'll take it from here!" Making Music As A Lefty Author Interview with Ryan Thomson, seacoast New Hampshire resident, and author of a new book advocating left handed violin playing by lefties. - Playing Violin and Fiddle Left Handed. Try Some New Music! Stuck in a music rut? A Quick and Easy Composition Method Here's the method I use every time I want to capture an idea. I draw out 8-bars (or measures) first. Why 8 bars? Because it is an ideal framework to work in. Eight bars of music are enough to generate a complete musical sentence and can usually be repeated once or twice. Next, I improvise and see what comes up. THEN I will write down the chords I am playing and the first 2-bars of melody. ADIRONDACK versus SITKA SPRUCE Both of these timbers make great soundboards on flat top acoustic guitars. They have had popularity at different times in history heres the story so far. Avoiding Injuries When Playing Guitar To avoid any sort of injuries when playing guitar a common sense approach is recommended. Just what do I mean by that? 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. Polychords and the Jazz Improviser: How to Practice & Apply Polychords to Improv In the world of music, many Jazz improvisers and Classical composers eventually venture into exploring poly-harmony within their respective art form. Poly harmony is the simultaneous sounding of more than one harmonic concept. The preponderance with poly-harmony began the late 19th-early 20th centuries with classical composers as Stravinsky and Debussy. About sixty years later, jazz musicians as John Coltrane and Richie Bierach incorporated such ideas into their music. The benefits of learning poly-chords will enhance an improviser's repertoire of harmonic concepts. Thus they can create harmonic colorings that can influence a listener's outlook. This article will focus on how once can practice and incorporate tertian polychords into their improvisational styles. Many of the examples and references within this article will make use of the seventh chord and triad. One should to explore other tertian harmonies such as ninths, elevenths, and all other similar formulations. Protocol for Piping a Formal Dinner: A Ceremonial Guide for Highland Bagpipers It is believed that the custom of dining in began in the monasteries, was adopted by the early universities, and later spread to military units when the officer's mess was established. British officers of the 19th century were drawn from the aristocracy, and while they considered themselves gentlemen, they were not necessarily men of means; third and fourth sons had little chance of inheriting title and lands under primogeniture. While the pooling of resources may have been out of economic necessity, the regimental officer's mess maintained the social stratification of English society and ensured that the traditions of gentlemanly conduct were maintained and inculcated to junior officers. The primary elements are a rigidly formal setting, espirit de corps and the camaraderie of peers, a fine dinner, traditional toasts to the head of state and military services, martial music and the attendance of honored guests or speakers. Today, although the purpose of a dinner may be to observe an appointment, promotion, retirement, or some auspicious occasion, a central theme of such events is a ceremonial focus upon the history of the host organization. Right-Hand Techniques for New Age Piano Recently, I had a student ask me to offer some techniques for using the right hand. Usually, it's the left hand that causes the most difficulty but I had to think about it because up till then, I really did not have any "techniques" for the right hand. George Winston and New Age Piano Playing The first time I heard George Winston play back in the early 1980's I was blown away. I didn't know why I liked this music. All I knew was that it made me feel good and that was enough. I didn't even play piano back then but something about this music seeped into me almost haunting me. The way he let the notes ring out and wasn't concerned with pop flavorings. A new sound for the time. How to Buy an Electric Guitar For most of us, making any major purchase, such as a new refrigerator, or a new car, is a cacophony of options and confusion; do we want the silver one or the black one? How much can we afford to spend? Will it last over time? If nothing else, we at least know what we need these appliances to do: the microwave needs to make the food hot quickly, the car needs to get us from one place to the other without breaking down. When confronted with the purchase of a new guitar, even experienced guitarists can have trouble deciding what exactly they want and need. However, if you follow a few simple suggestions, you can make your guitar-buying experience a whole lot easier. 1. Determine your price range: you can spend anywhere from $99 to $20,000+ on a guitar, so make sure to work out your budget before you go into the store or start shopping online. Quality guitars are available at all different price ranges, so don't feel that you have to break the bank to get what you need. Play Piano in the New Age Style It's not what you play, it's how you play it. These words summarize the art of piano playing in general and New Age piano playing in particular. You could take 2 chords, and, if you were in the moment and in flow, communicate the utmost emotion and power. How to Become a Filthy Rich Record Label Mogul Let me guess, you love music and would do anything to be able to enter into the fabulous life of the music business? Better yet, you would love to become the next record mogul like P.Diddy or Clive Davis. How to Create Hip, Mature, and Lush Harmonies [correction] Rarely is a chord played with its tones contained in a single octave, the root on the bottom, the third in the middle, and the fifth on the top. The Future for Independent Record Labels Small independent record labels are facing a different fight today to obtain a share of the music industry. The best possible means in which small labels were able to get their CD's sold vanished in 2003 when Southwest Wholesale Records and Tapes closed the doors. The ability to have their music placed in a position to be sold along the same shelves as the major record labels is becoming increasingly more difficult. The absence of competition on the shelves has generated an increase in profits for the major labels. What can smaller more nimble labels do to compete with the major labels? Piano Playing is Easier than You Think When You Understand Musical Form Form is the key that unlocks the musical map of a song or a musical compostition. Like a house has rooms, so a song has rooms or sections.
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