Ah, broken chords. The sound. The cascading pattern of chordal notes. It’s beautiful. There’s no doubt about it. And this technique is one of the easiest to learn. After all, all you need to do to create it is have a chord under your fingers and be able to “break it up.”

What do I mean by break it up? You’ve probably heard of solid chords. This is when all tones are heard at once. For example, if I finger a C Major triad and play all three keys at once, I’m playing a solid chord. But, if I break this chord up into it’s 3 notes and play them one at a time you get a broken chord.

Broken chords are used frequently in New Age piano music. There’s something about playing notes of a chord in broken style that’s very appealing. Maybe it’s because it makes the piano sound fuller. Or it could be that it just sounds lovely.

Now, let’s take a look at how we can easily create it.

In the lesson “Reflections in Water,” we have 4 open position chords. These chords are ideal for “breaking up” because they are so wide-spaced. Over two octaves of notes lay under your finger tips. Once we finger this chord position we are able to play the broken-chord style. How? By simply letting your fingers play around with the note possibilities! And there are many of them.

When you listen to me play this piece, you’ll notice that it’s nothing to write home about. That is, I’m not after a “sophisticated” sound here. I’m just gently playing around with the notes and using the element of time to create a calm ambiance. And it works! The notes float out into the air and music is created. Not by planning or trying to come up with material but by following a few simple guidelines and letting go of the need to control the outcome.

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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There are essentially two ways to learn piano - note reading or chords. For those who want to spend years learning how to play other peoples music, note reading is the way to go. For those who want to create their own special music, chord understanding is a must - and much easier to learn. It is far better to learn how to make music first than it is to read it on a piece of paper.

Imagine a writer forced to copy another novelists work. Insane right? But that’s essentially what people do when they recreate another composers work. It is not a creative act but a recreative one because while the pianist’s interpretation may be artistic, it does not mean that he created something original.

I’m not saying that great composer’s works should not be recreated for others listening pleasure. I am saying that it’s a good idea to understand that there is quite a difference between Beethoven composing something and someone else playing it.

Having said that, the benefit of learning how to make music first is that you understand the underlying principles of the thing. For example, let’s go back to our fiction writer. If he looks at another novelist’s work and the structure of the work, then he is beginning to see how the thing is made. This is entirely different than what goes on in the classical music world where a performer can read music, but does not know the principles that go into it’s making.

Learn piano the easy way first. Learn how to first improvise, then compose your own music. This skill is invaluable even if you do read music because you begin to see how the thing is made and once you can see this, your appreciation of it will increase tenfold!

About the Author : 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! Visit us now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson! Source: www.isnare.com

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I am sure that many of you would be passionate about music and might be having some of the music instrument to enjoy this pleasant joy given to us. There are different sort of music instruments that people usually owe such as guitar, trumpet, drum, woodwinds, strings or piano. Out of these pianos is the one that is not easy to play and also to maintain in comparison to the other ones mentioned.

So if you have a badly stained piano and you want to care for it then it does not require any professional cleaner or polisher but all you need is a regular soft buff with a lint free cloth. Any sprays or harsh chemicals will damage the surface of the delicate keys and shall also make the instrument look older and worn than what actually it is.

For cleaning the ivory keys you should not:

1. Immerse in water

2. Scrub with a brush or even a scouring pad

3. Use any type of chemicals or even washing up liquid can damage the previous surface

4. Spray with furniture polish

5. Use air-freshener anywhere near the keys or piano

Ivory should be gently wiped with a soft clean cloth and for stubborn marks or fingerprints you should first wash your hands and thereafter you can use a mild toothpaste without color on a damp cloth but ensure that you gently rub and never scrub. Rinse with fresh milk with another lint free cloth and buff well.

You should leave the piano open on sunny days so that the keys stay bleached and don t turn yellow. Keys that are badly discolored or stained should be scraped and recovered by any professional piano cleaner.

For cleaning plastic keys you should not:

1. Use chemicals

2. Leave the piano open for long period of time as this shall cause discoloration of the keys

3. Use furniture polish as this could be very harsh

Dust regularly and wipe occasionally with a soft solution of warm water and vinegar on clean chamois leather. Then buff well for added shine. If you want to clean the casework that usually gets very dusty you can use a vacuum cleaner attachment to get rid of any cobwebs or dust. It can take some time but it will surely be worth and remember not to use any water or liquid to clean the casework. For stains and marks you can consult a professional piano cleaner or tuner.

For more information, log on to http://www.music-future.com

Olivia Andrews, writer of music-future.com is a freelance journalist and has written many reviews on subjects such as finance, education, health, entertainment, music, gifts, crafts, travel, apparels and mobile phones.

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