We all need to relax more, and music hath charms to soothe the savage beast. But, have you ever thought that you could create your own relaxation music? Doing so actually has more benefits for you than just listening to it.

Take the piano for example. This instrument is perfect for creating soothing, relaxing ambiences and has been used just for this purpose. There’s no need to create bouncy Jazz rhythms or sharp dynamic classical crescendos. On the contrary, the piano can be used to provide a lovely, delicate environment.

The good news is that creating relaxation music is quite easy. All you need are a few chords, a way to play those chords and a scale to improvise from. In fact, if people knew how easy it was, they’d be playing the piano more and more.

For example, let’s say you’re stressed out and in need of some musical comfort. You go to your piano or keyboard and place your hands on a E Major 7 chord. This could be the beginning of a nice improvisation. You choose a few more chords from the Key of E major and you can now use the music to help you unwind and forget about your busy day.

After a few minutes of playing, you start to feel more relaxed. In fact, it’s as if a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders. The music has done it’s work of soothing and healing and you feel refreshed and more in touch with yourself.

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’ll never forget the time I was giving lessons to this one student. Talk about difficult. She just couldn’t get it. And the “it” I’m talking about is not reading music or playing Beethoven or Bach. I’m talking about improvisation.

No matter what I showed her she just froze up.

I then realized something. This student really wasn’t having problems getting the technical aspects down, i.e., chords. The problem was she didn’t think she could do it! It was all attitude.

I then had a lightbulb moment. If the basic problem with most adult students is not technique but attitude, then I had to come up with a different approach to reach them. And that approach turned out to be mentoring.

Listen, what people really need is to believe in themselves. If this aspect is missing, no amount of technique or theory will help. In order for me to be helpful, I had to act as a therapist so to speak… gently guiding students to believe in themselves!

Once they could do this, the rest was a piece of cake. Look at it this way, if you don’t believe or have the slightest faith in your own abilities in anything be it writing, painting, whatever, your chances for success are slim indeed!

What I did to help these “shaky” students was basically a two-fold procedure.

First, they needed to relax and not worry so much about what was coming out of them. Performance anxiety can happen even when we play for ourselves. The critical parent shows up even when we’re playing alone. I had to help them overcome that critical parent first.

The second prong was simply to build up their confidence by showing them how easy it could be to create once that critical voice was eliminated. They watched me play and saw that I didn’t care if I made mistakes or if the music was “good enough.” My mentoring allowed them to see that the joy of the process was far more important than any product they could come up with.

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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Be sure to make time this holiday season to celebrate the accomplishments your child taking piano lessons has made over the past year. Take time to listen to them as they play before family and friends and in their holiday recitals. This is also a great time to take some special photographs of your child at the piano. Collect photos of previous years and arrange them in a holiday piano memory book as a unique Christmas gift for your child. Be sure to leave plenty of room to add future photographs so your piano student can continue to celebrate their piano journey as they grow.

Here are some things you can include in your child s Christmas at the Piano Memory Book.

1. Holiday Recital Photos.

2. Photos of special holiday celebrations at the piano with family and friends.

3. A list of your child s favorite holiday songs they have learned to play each year.

4. A page where your piano student can write personal notes about particular challenges they overcame learning their holiday music.

5. A page for your child write a few words about all they have learned in piano compared to what they were able to play the previous year.

6. And a place to write down their piano goals for the coming New Year.

Each year your child can look back at their special Christmas at the Piano Memory Book & Journal and look forward to adding new memories. This is an important activity as it brings perspective to your child s piano experience, and helps give them courage and strength to continue the journey.

For a Cool Piano Memory Book & Journal to download immediately and make at home, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f ree internet newsletter so you can download f ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. The Piano Adventure Bear Characters make piano lessons challenging and fun for kids. Don t wait to give your child this exciting and effective gift of music! Click here to learn more Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources

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