By Eduard Weiss
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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!
EDWARD WEISS'S PIANO PLAYING SECRETS
