You’re sitting at the piano playing your favorite song but you can only play the notes on the sheet music in front of you. You long to play that song the way it is running in your head but you just don’t know where to begin. Does this sound like you?

Years ago I could only play the music in front of me. I knew the sound I wanted but I couldn’t understand how to play it. Then one day I was listening to a cd of some favorite tunes and I could recognize what the pianist was doing. In a nutshell he was playing the scale notes in between the melody! Along the way I discovered there was a bit more but I have it down to formula that works for me now.

1.Sing the song first: Even though at first I was only improvising on songs I already at least had a melody line and chord for, I now improvise a number of songs in my head before even sitting at the piano. Many times your creativity with a song will stop at your fingers. If you sing/humm the song first you will notice a lot more creativity happening because you were proficient with speech first.

2. If you can’t make it then fake it: If you’re having problems coming up with your own tunes, turn to a fake book and start your improvising there.

3. Don’t be afraid to use the whole piano: Next time you are around a good pianist, say the one at your favorite department store, notice how they will do several runs up and down the piano. Or how they play those wonderful deep notes in the bass of the piano.

4. Don’t get discourage by your first results: You’re not going to sound good at first. Well you might but since 99% of us won’t just go with the flow and don’t give up.

5. Keep at it: You will get better with time. Practice makes perfect or at least much better sounding.

Some things to keep in mind. If you aren’t already familiar with chords and scales, get to know them. This will greatly increase your improvising abilities. Invest in some good learning tools, for this. Books or videos the choice is yours. Choose depending on your learning style.

About the author:

K Quinn has been playing the piano for 10+ years. She picked up the guitar 5 years ago and both for her church. Visit her website at http://www.strugglingchurchmusician.us for more church musician tools and tips.

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The sound of New Age music can be divided into the 3 parts melody, harmony, and rhythm. The harmony aspect can be thought of simply as chords. Now New Age music does use certain piano chords more than others.

One chord I’m fond of is the 9th chord. All this means is that the ninth note of the scale is used to create the chord with. For example, a triad built from the C Major scale is spelled - c-e-g. If we add the seventh note in the scale (b) we get a seventh chord - C Major 7. It’s spelled - c-e-g-b. Simple enough.

Now if we continue up the scale we will hit the octave C. The next note after this is the 9th note (d). It’s also the 2nd note in the scale. This can get confusing but it’s just a system of counting. The C Major 9 chord is spelled c-e-g-b-d. This chord has a very rich sound and is used often in New Age music. It can be used as an ostinato, or as broken chord or arpeggio.

A typical New Age chord progression is simple and usually stays within the scale it came from. We can play C Maj. - F Maj. and G Maj. and by using just these 3 piano chords, improvise and create in the New Age style.

In fact, in the online lesson “Ocean Dreams,” this is exactly what is done. Except in this lesson, I eliminate the seventh tone from the chord and play an octave in the left hand.

By eliminating the seventh tone, I’m creating a more folksy or New Age sound. The seventh tone is used mainly in Jazz music but can be used in New Age music as well.

Once the left hand is “down” I add in tones from the C Major scale, especially the ninth tone (d) and the New Age sound is apparent. Other piano chords used in New Age music will be detailed in other articles later on.

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!

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I’ve been playing the piano for over 14 years now and I’ve learned a few things. Just a few things that help me stay focused on what is important to me when sitting down to play. Following in no particular order are three “secrets” I’ve discovered:

Secret #1: Only Play What you Love

For those of you who don’t know, I play and teach New Age piano. I don’t play classical or jazz. Not because I don’t like these styles, but because when I sit down at the piano, the New Age style is what is inside of me. Of course, I could play classical and jazz, but I just don’t want to and neither should you if that’s not the style you’re interested in. If you play what you love, technique and growth will naturally follow and you will tend to spend more time at the piano than away from it.

Secret #2: Learn How to Improvise

I never understood the allure of playing other peoples music via note reading. Now, don’t get me wrong - some of the best music in the world was produced centuries ago. But, and here’s the interesting thing, Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach were all excellent improvisers. That is, they could sit down at the keyboard, finger a chord, and produce music. Of course these great composers learned from others and could read music but I can almost guarantee you they viewed the art of improvisation to be important - not for the listening public, but for the performer so he/she could get in touch with their muse.

Secret #3: Listen for Your Tone

You know what’s amazing? I’m always getting better at playing the piano by listening for my tone. Here’s what I mean. I play a piano key. A note sounds. Now many times I’ll play sloppily and not really hear the sound that is being produced. Tone is very important because it determines how sensitive a player you are and sensitivity is the hallmark of artistry. Any clod can sit down at the piano, hit a key and produce a sound. It takes the artist’s touch to get a beautiful tone. I learned about tone by listening to my favorite piano player John Herberman. Each note is beautifully played and sensitively interpreted. If you think playing slow pieces of music is easy, try playing a very slow piece and really listen for the tone you’re producing. That’s a good litmus test.

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!

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