We all have so many critical voices in our heads.

Telling us what’s good, what’s not, and what should be. We must stop the criticism if we are to play the music that is inside of us - but how? How do we turn off the inner critic and start to trust our inner voice? By listening to it. Most of us are taught not to trust our initial impulses, but it is these innocent prodding’s that bring authenticity in our improvisations and musings at the piano.

To deny these impulses is to deny yourself of what is truly rich and necessary for creating a music that is full of both joy and longing. Combine these two and you have the secret duality that is in the best of music. It’s something you can recognize immediately yet it’s hard to put your finger on exactly what causes it. It’s a combination of sadness and joy. Cast everything aside. What you want is not important and will hinder your ability to hear the inner voice.

Whenever you want to create something you set yourself up because you block that small inner voice that says. “Let me go where I will.” Your ego may think it won’t be happy with the results. Your ego wants people to say “Ah what a great job you’re doing. You really can play well.” These comments can set you up to think that you are really great. This is false gratification and, contrary to opinion, not healthy self-esteem.

Puff yourself up all you want, but if you want to really feel the connection between you and the music, you will have to abandon what you want and, instead, let your inner voice decide. It may not be the kind of music that will get you on American Idol, but it will be the kind of music that will get you to a special place few can know - that place where you disappear and the music appears out of thin air. The feeling you will get from this will far surpass any kind of ego gratification that may come from fame or fortune.

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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1. The Law of Focus - What we focus on gets our attention.

Write down why you decided to give your child piano lessons. Post this where you will see it everyday. Have your child draw a picture of themselves accomplishing their musical dreams and tape it on the refrigerator.

2 The Law of Commitment - Commitment is the glue that holds our priorities in tact.

Commit to providing the financial resources necessary for your child to succeed in piano. In addition to lessons, purchase an adequate keyboard or piano that will be enjoyable for your child to practice on.

3. The Law of Encouragement - Follow the Rule of “Seven to One.”

Give your child seven statements of encouragement to every one critique.

4. The Law of Character - The best way to love children is with character.

This is simple, just remember that your child is a different character than you are. Viewing your children as individuals helps them discover their unique gifts. Together these different gifts work together to make a family.

5. The Law of Complaining - Not all complaining is meaningful.

When students complain about practicing it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t like piano or want to learn to play. It means they are human. Gently redirect your child’s focus to their piano goals (the drawing on the fridge).

6. The Law of Fun - It’s fun to keep your sense of humor

The point of music is to lift the spirit. My students often want to be a little silly at their lessons and let some of their creativity out. I enjoy this too. I can’t count the number of silly songs I’ve made up during lessons. Piano is another way for parents to connect with children and have more fun together. Over the long run, adding creative fun into the mix of hard work and persistence leads to a lifetime of musical enjoyment.

So there they are - Six Piano Laws that command a lifetime of musical enjoyment, while helping students take charge of their piano success.

To learn the best way to share the gift of music with children visit Amazon.com for my Piano Adventure Stories for Children These exciting Piano Adventure stores for children ages 5 to 11 feature the loveable characters, Mrs. Treble Beary and her passionate, new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Children love following along with Albeart to Mrs. Treble Beary’s piano studio in Musical Acres Forest. Here they learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand and appreciate! Piano students laugh and giggle while reading “Little Bear’s Musical Garden” and “Little Bear’s Piano Goals.”

For a wealth of f’ree information and piano music online visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources Don’t Wait to Share the Gift of Music!

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Those of you who have been reading my articles for some time know that I’m a big fan of the open position chord. This is where both hands play a chord together. It’s a great technique that allows beginners (and pros) sound good at the piano right away. But, it’s just one method or way to approach chord piano playing.

Another method I use is something called the crossover technique or arpeggio. Here the left hand plays a cascade of notes ascending or descending (usually ascending) while the right hand plays melody. This technique is especially suited for New Age piano playing because we can get a gentle flow of notes in the left hand. In fact, you can use over 2 octaves just in the left hand. This covers a lot of musical space so to speak and creates a lovely backdrop over which melodies may be composed or improvised.

For example, in the upcoming lesson, “Winter Sky,” we have a 16-bar phrase in the Key of B flat. The chords are all charted out for you and you can hear me playing the left-hand crossover pattern. This pattern uses much of the left hand right away. The right-hand plays octave melody notes and the whole piece is finished in a few minutes.

Usually, when we use the open position chord, we skip the third in the left hand. In this lesson, we use the third to create a denser sound. And it works out well! You see, when you block out or chart the chords using the crossover technique, you create a harmonic background, a canvas of sound over which you paint in your foreground using melody instead of paint! A unique, but very helpful way of seeing how an improvisation or composition can be structured!

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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