Piano Music, Perfectionism, and Self-Expression
Is your heart in the music? If so, it won’t matter what you play so much as what is received through your playing. Do you still think you need to learn 43 chords to sound good or are you concerned with the joy of expressing yourself through this wonderful instrument called the piano? People who sound like they know what they are doing may indeed know what they are doing but does that mean you want to listen to the music?
Let’s look at pop music for example. Here is a music that is produced so tightly and carefully that nothing is left to chance. Not a crackle or hiss, not one static spot on the entire 3 to 4 minutes
...one note with the next chord in the sequence.Chord progressions are based on a particular scale, and the notes of each chord are usually taken from the notes of that scale. The most frequently used chord progressions are based on ...
It’s like a sporting event - exciting and enthralling while you are there but once over let down and perhaps even a little depressed. Now most (but not all) pop music is like that. It gets you hooked up for a few minutes, gives you a feeling, usually of excitement, then its gone. New age music on the other hand is a more sincere and heartfelt expression, and as such, mistakes are allowed.
Id like to share something with you. When I recorded both “La Jolla Suite” and “Anza-Borrego Desert Suite” I made mistakes. “La Jolla Suite” was recorded live so I couldn’t
...other peoples music. Guitarists do this all the time. They'll sit around in front of the stereo strumming along to their favorite songs trying to figure out the chord changes.Eventually they get it and can play these songs. Pretty impressive ...
No, I decided that a “wrong” note here and there wouldn’t kill what was heard and might even make it sound more authentic. So if you hear a mistake it may sound like I don’t know what I’m doing. Perhaps not. But that doesn’t concern me. What concerns me is one thing and one thing only - am I present at the piano. Am I there
...chord structure is used by most jazz and contemporary piano players.Second, it uses both hands right away! When you first finger this chord structure, it will stretch your hands out completely. In fact, you will be playing more than 2 ...
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!