New Age Piano and Music Therapy - A Pretty Pair

If there was one genre of music perfect for music therapy, it would have to be New Age piano! 

Soothing and relaxing, the piano offers many benefits to those in need of respite. The wonderful thing about this style of music is that it's easy to learn how to play! A few chords, a scale, and you're able to make music. And not just any kind of music, but one that's conducive to alleviating stress. 

Let's look at how one might go about learning how to play piano in the New Age style...

First, it's best if you learn one chord position that will give you a nice modern sound right away. The open position chord structure accomplishes this. It's easy to learn and can be used by the beginner right away to make music with. And it uses both hands as well to cover more than 2 octaves of the piano keyboard!

Once this chord structure is practiced, it's time to add in a few chords. Just a few chords is all that is necessary for the beginning adult to experience the joy of improvisation. The hands are placed on the open position chord structure and the fingers move around creating melody. Nothing more is required than an openness to explore the possibilities.

And once students get started, they find that they can't stop playing. The therapeutic aspect of this comes from the free-form improvisations students are able to play only after a few minutes of practice. They begin to unwind, relax, and forget about the problems and cares of the day. It's a music therapy that goes one step above just listening to 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 15 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit and get a FREE piano lesson!

Six Reasons To Play New Age Piano!

Thinking about learning piano? Here are six very good reasons to learn how to play piano in the New Age style...

1. It's easy. No months spent learning theory here. Just a few chords and you're off enjoying the joy of improvisation. Learning chords is the key to playing easily and effortlessly! And with New Age piano, the chords you learn can be used right away!

2. It's fun! You can actually create your own music! In the classical music world you spend all your time learning how to play other peoples music. With New Age piano, you can sit down and "compose" a piece of your very own

3. It sounds good. You can, by using a few modern sounding chords, sound good playing piano right away.

4. You get to improvise! New Age piano uses techniques that anyone can learn how to play in a matter of minutes.

5. No note reading involved. New Age piano is very much an improvised music. This being the case, chords are really all that you need to know. Although note reading is nice, it's not necessary in order to create your own music

6. It's modern. New Age piano is a modern genre. Having really picked up steam in the mid 1980's, it's something that can grow and become a vital force in today's society.

And reason number seven...  click for a risk-FREE special!! 

Do You Make These 3 Common Improvisation Mistakes?

A lot of people make piano improvisation a lot harder than it has to be. If you're one of them, this article should help!

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.

Ready to freely improvise on piano? Visit Quiescence Music now for a risk-FREE special!!