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 of the track. Yet after a few listens or even after a single listen, the mind may grow disinterested.
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 help that, but the Desert Suite was done in one take. I wasn't so concerned with the production value as the emotion I felt at the time I was playing. I could have gone back and redone the tracks I didn't like so much but then I could have gotten stuck in a perfectionist's rut.
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 in spirit as well as body? If so, I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
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!
For years, you have been searching for a song lodged... Read More
Disregard the popular image of rappers with their ghetto blasters,... Read More
Do you want to learn how to play chords on... Read More
For the self-promoting independent artist, the idea of taking on... Read More
Have you ever been told that you were good at... Read More
Rocket Piano is a very professionally done piano lesson package.... Read More
The Search for the Right MusicEver since Georgi Lozonav, the... Read More
There are basically two ways you can compose a piece... Read More
You don't 'need' to play guitar enough.If you desire to... Read More
While Richard Nixon's diplomatic visit to China may have created... Read More
IntroductionThe fact that you are holding this in your hands... Read More
Some people think composing is this miraculous thing that only... Read More
While many people think that the mixing of the separate... Read More
Q. My children are very interested in playing music. Is... Read More
Chord symbols (for example, Fm7, Cmaj7 or G6) are a... Read More
Admit it... you were expecting a magic answer to this... Read More
Chopin used them extensively. So did Beethoven and Mozart. Arpeggios... Read More
One of the reasons I picked up the violin was... Read More
Pop/Rock Recording Artist Amber, who has scored seven #1 Billboard... Read More
Did you know that the health and beauty of your... Read More
There are many things to consider when buying a new... Read More
Betty Kresin, Eminem's grandmother from the maternal side... Read More
If your band is in rehearsals, either preparing for gigging,... Read More
Meet the 12 Major Notes:1. C (do)2. C# - Db... Read More
If you've ever looked at a flower garden, not only... Read More
For the Creative Artist -- Good Health Insurance is Truly... Read More
Do you have a wide variety of things that you... Read More
From the Telecaster to the Flying V to the Iceman... Read More
The guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments... Read More
What is it with these performers and their politics? Do... Read More
You have to find radio airplay time if you're going... Read More
Every once in a while a band comes along that... Read More
When I first set out to write this article about... Read More
For the self-promoting independent artist, the idea of taking on... Read More
I don't know why, but I find the idea of... Read More
"For optimum amp tone onstage, plug your amp into your... Read More
Les Paul vintage Gibson guitars were first produced in 1952.... Read More
There are roughly umpteen zillion reasons why you should learn... Read More
Many students think that being able to play what you... Read More
We all know, if only instinctively, that music has a... Read More
There's a reason Apple Computer dominates the legal 99-cents-a-download digital... Read More
Is it really possible to become an expert in some... Read More
Three battles at the end of the 8 Mile movie... Read More
You've got your recording (or songwriting) contract in hand and... Read More
I have always believed that success, in practically any subject... Read More
Some of you may remember a book titled "Drawing on... Read More
Lately I've been listening to some pretty cool music by... Read More
We all know that music can be inspiring, entertaining, and... Read More
How would you like to spend 4 years in a... Read More
Have you ever dreamed of penning your own compositions? Writing... Read More
The lyric writing side of songwriting is known to create... Read More
The first time I heard George Winston play back in... Read More
The 'trois Gnossiennes' (1890) is a set of dance-like pieces... Read More
When I was 9 years old I played the Saxophone... Read More
Do you remember finger-painting as a child? How fun it... Read More
"I don't like to go into the studio with all... Read More
Bang! Bam! Bang! Have you always wanted to play the... Read More
Why do you care about stringing your guitar you may... Read More
The Ibanez SR400 bass guitar is very comfortable to play.... Read More
I'll never forget the first time I played the piano... Read More
Jazz is arguably the most argumentative form of music (even... Read More
"But I'm not in it for the money" you say.Me... Read More
Three times in the last month I've been asked the... Read More
Mp3 music is audio that has been digitally encoded and... Read More
Should you copyright your song? If you're a songwriter, sooner... Read More
If you're a recent vintage guitar collector, the stories you've... Read More
Music & MP3 |