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Piano Chords and New
Age Music
By
Edward Weiss
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?
The answer is neither approach.
Each has its own merits and own special benefits. For example, if you
start with a pattern in your left hand and improvise a melody with your
right, you are doing what most new age composers/improvisers do. This is
what George Winston does most of the time. He has chords he sets to a
certain rhythm and does his thing with that amazing right hand of his
This is the style that I have been playing, but I've recently lost interest in it.
Not because it isn't good but because I don't feel like playing that way anymore.
Currently I'm leaning towards a softer sound that comes from leading with the
melody first. What I do is get the first 2-bars down and then improvise
the rest till I fill up 8 measures. This way I can vary the chords and
patterns without it sounding very repetitive (minimalism). It's actually
another style. You can call it melodic while the other one (Harmony
approach) is more textural. IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR MOOD!
Don't let one style freeze you into something where you
can't manoeuvre artistically! Remember that your feeling must come first.
Everything else is secondary. Let your feeling lead you and your creation
will be truly inspired, however, if you try to meld what you have to say
into a specific style, the result may be less than satisfactory
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.
Visit http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html
for a FREE New Age piano lesson!
Article Source:http://www.EzineArticles.com
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