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.

When I began to play piano, I wanted to know how he did it. How did he create this music? I read somewhere that his method was to create the chords first, then improvise a melody over them. Great, but what chords and how do you know where and when to play them?

I then realized that George wasn't really doing anything radically different than most classical composers who think in sections. Composing is all about using the techniques of repetition and contrast. Now in most of Winston's music, there is a lot of repetition going on with the contrast coming from the melody. The chords are repeated in certain patterns, the melody played on top, but there still is a framework operating here.

For example, if we take 8 measures of music and call it a (A) section, we have composed. We have taken chords, put them into some kind of order (no matter how tightly or loosely) and have composed. It takes a certain skill to keep the music fresh after a certain number of repetitions. This skill has to be practiced. It can not be taught. This is a doing operation. You can listen to music, but to learn improvisation and composition, you must do it.

Now the secret is this: You may repeat a section as many times as your interest remains with the music. As soon as you become bored in your improvising, so will the listener. For most, having one section isn't enough therefore we bring in the (B) section. This could be anything from 4 to 8 bars of new material. This new material is also repeated and eventually we return to the (A) section. When you start to think in sections, you can unlock the mystery of most music.

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_lesson s.html for a FREE piano lesson!

---

Arranging for New Age Piano

A while back, I wrote an article that compared flower... Read More

Music and Emotion

The Age-old Puzzle of Human ResponseIf you've listened to more... Read More

JOHN LENNON - The Man and His Times

John Lennon wasn't always my favorite Beatle; at first it... Read More

They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano... but When I Started to Play...

Remember the old ad that used to run endlessly in... Read More

3 Quick & Easy Steps To Playing Music by Ear

Playing by ear is the ability to play a piece... Read More

Playing The Piano Using Chord Symbols Instead of Being Tied To The Written Sheet Music

Piano improvising and arranging is an art but definitely not... Read More

Bluegrass Music - Alive and Well in the Appalachians

One of the Appalachian Mountain region's greatest contributions to the... Read More

Learning to Play the Piano with Chords Part 2

Do you want to learn how to play chords on... Read More

Record Collecting Still Thriving in the Twenty-first Century

It may surprise many to find that the hobby of... Read More

Top 50 Music Quotations

Discover the phenomenonal complexity of music and reflect on the... Read More

You Cant Force Play

A student once asked me; "How come sometimes the music... Read More

A Brief History of Gongs

The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in... Read More

Beauchamp Brings Diversity to Music

Everyone has a talent. For Miami, Okla.'s, Brian Beauchamp, it's... Read More

Say Something

The music of Rush influences and inspires, at least that's... Read More

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... Read More

Interested in Improving the Sound of Your Stereo? Consider Records

Introduced in 1982, the compact disc was intended to provide... Read More

Learning To Play The Piano With Chords

Learning piano chords can help you in all your piano... Read More

How Much of Your Potential Will You Release?

Do you ever feel there is an inner voice speaking... Read More

Songwriting - The Art of Writing a Good Song

Did you know that good songwriting is often the key... Read More

Independent Music Promotion on the Web: 3 Steps to Success

Let's face it, the wildfire spread of web-based portals designed... Read More

Just 3 Chords? No Way!

A student wrote me an email about the lesson "Ocean... Read More

People are Turning to Meaningful Songs for Emotional and Spiritual Relief:

A New Breed of Aspiring Songwriters Is In The Making.... Read More

What is Music?

That's a fair question!Basically, you can call music any noise... Read More

How to Stop Thinking and Start Playing

Learning how to improvise is confusing for most. The sheer... Read More

12 Reasons You Should Learn to Play the Piano

All right, folks, here you go: My 12 reasons why... Read More

Setting Up In-House Retail Sales

Now, that you are familiar and likely connected with online... Read More

Good News for the Musically Untalented

Have you ever been told that you were good at... Read More

Spectral Muses Revisited: The Channeled Melodies of Rosemary Brown

Rosemary Brown (1916-2001) was a middle-aged South London widow, making... Read More

Do you really need college to learn to play music?

Music courses are a great way to learn about virtually... Read More

Guitar Practice - Make It Your Priority!

Every student realizes that guitar practice is important if they... Read More

Turn It Up: Plugging Into The Perfect Guitar And Amp Settings

Yowza! Did you hear that hideous noise? It sounded like... Read More

History of the Clarinet From the 19th Century

While composers had already begun to write music for the... Read More

Piano Playing For Adults: More Fun Than Sex And Not Nearly As Dangerous!

OK, so I lied about the fun part.Maybe piano playing... Read More