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Avoid These 3 Common Mistakes - When Improvising
Mistake #1 - Thinking about what you're going to play A lot of students think there should be some kind of preparation before improvising on the piano. They are right! There should be some thought as to the sound, tonality, key - but once these choices are made the thinking should stop and the playing should begin. Mistake #2 - Worrying about whether it's good or not Are you concerned with how your music sounds? Many students are. This mistake is prevalent among newbies at improvisation. They play a key or two and then think it stinks. Nothing will stop the creative flow more than thinking that what's coming out of you is not good enough! Good is in the ear of the beholder. That beholder is you so stop judging the product and focus on enjoying the process of being in the moment. This is why people learn to improvise in the first place. Let go and let the music tell you where it wants to go! Mistake #3 - Thinking that you don't know enough to improvise This mistake is really an oxymoron because the more you know, the more likely it is that you will experience blocks. If you do not have a lot of formal music knowledge don't let that stop you. All you need to know in order to improvise is chords and the scale the chords came from. That's it. And the good news is this is easily learned. Some students create unnecessary problems for themselves because they beleive they need to know this or that before they can begin. This is just an excuse to avoid jumping in the water. It's also a way to avoid the act itself because once you begin to play you may tell yourself you really don't know what you're doing. Trust me. You know enough and you know enough to begin now. 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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5 Sure Fire Ways to Get Radio Play for Your ?Independent? Music! You have to find radio airplay time if you're going to be heard and we're not just talking the local college campus. The trick is called promotion. Now that doesn't mean you just put your press kit in an envelope with a demo and hope they take pity on you. Perhaps you call a station and they give you the standard pitch of, "Send it and if we like it we'll put you in rotation." After a few months of never hearing your music, you automatically think you're not worthy. Arranging for New Age Piano A while back, I wrote an article that compared flower arranging to music arranging. While this may seem a world apart, it really isn't. Guitar Humidification Problems with humidity can lead to heartbreak for the classical (or other) guitarist. Excessive humidity or dryness can ruin an instrument probably quicker than you think. You Cant Force Play A student once asked me; "How come sometimes the music comes freely while other times, I feel blocked and can't play?" Bang on Your Drum All Day Long - Without Annoying Your Neighbors! Bang! Bam! Bang! Have you always wanted to play the drums, but are afraid your neighbors would call the police on you? Modal Theory for Guitar Players - Part 1 Introduction Origin of Erik Saties Gnossiennes The 'trois Gnossiennes' (1890) is a set of dance-like pieces of similar character, like the earlier composed 'trois Sarabandes' (1887) and 'trois Gymnopédies' (1888). The 'trois Gnossiennes' were first published by Satie as a set through Rouart, Lerolle & Cie. in 1913. Singing: The Tonic of Life Most people these days would associate singing with the popular music they see and hear on the radio and tv. This can make you feel like its beyond you, like it's some form of high skill that you need to be born with. A natural talent if you like. In fact singing is much more a part of our everyday lives than you might realize, and it can be a tonic for an improved state of mind and recipe for stress reduction and better health. The Piano Parent Trap! "My 6 year old daughter really loves the piano and wants to learn to play, but when I try to help her she gets very upset with me. What should I do?" A Guitar Lesson to Help You Develop Your Vision Have you ever done any of the following? 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. Dance Musics Most Popular and Enduring Theme: The Declaration of Independence It all started with Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" in 1979, perhaps the biggest fluke in popular music history. To follow up her hit "Never Can Say Goodbye", Gloria's label issued a song called "Substitute". The track bombed. Everyone hated it, including the radio DJs and the public. Then DJs started to play the B-Side track "I Will Survive" and the rest is history. Top 50 Music Quotations Discover the phenomenonal complexity of music and reflect on the way it can positively influence your life with this sound collection of riveting quotes... The Need To Perform I can't believe how much of the year has gone by, but all the same, it's unbelievable how much I've grown through the year and most of it, from demolishing my need to perform. Improvising On The Piano: Jazz Musicians Do It -- Why Not Other Styles? Why jazz piano improvisation? Creating Your Own Unique Music Have you ever dreamed of penning your own compositions? Writing music has been a dream of mine for the longest time. And it's a dream I am fortunate enough to have realized. The Revolution has begun - and it will not be Televised The new Artist Development Paradigm In reflecting on the world of the Music Business in 2004, there were some very profound and dramatic changes that changed the nature of the Music Business itself. 2004 will always be remembered as the year the 'Big Five' became the 'Big Four' and don't be surprised if you're reading at this time next year and we're telling you about the 'Big Three'! Beside the Sony/BMG merger, 2004 will also be remembered as the year labels utilized aggressively utilized video games as a marketing vehicle for the launching of many of their artists. Learning How To Improvise Those of you who have been reading my articles for some time now know that I believe improvisation to be the cornerstone of musical creativity. Why? Because without the ability to just play, we become stifled and the "real" music that is within each of us withers and dies. New Age Piano and Improvisation There are so many areas in life where one must do things right. Thankfully, art is an area where great discoveries are made by making mistakes! Getting the Best Performance From Your Artist So now you've decided to record your songs. Good for you, except that you will need people to play the instruments for which your music calls for. If you can play all the instruments on your own, then all the better. You will have less people to argue with! Other wise, you will have to hire (read: bribe with beer/food/hockey tickets) session musicians and vocalists to play and sing for you, putting you in the producer's chair.
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