Piano on the Right-Side of the Brain
Some of you may remember a book titled "Drawing on the Right-Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. In this book, Betty Edwards tried to teach you how to see differently. She reasoned that once you could look at something with the eyes of an artist, you would be able to create like an artist. A simple idea, yet one that has helped many draw. I wondered how this might also apply to music. Music is, at it's best, a right-brain activity. That is, the thinking left hemisphere is dormant while the intuitive right side is engaged in creative processes. So how then can we play piano on the right-side of the brain? The answer has to do with trusting ourselves. Once we sit down to play, we must allow ourselves the freedom to play ANYTHING that comes to the fore. If that anything is doodling and making nonsense noises, then that is what we must do. Once we allow ourselves the freedom to play anything, we are sending a message to the creative right hemisphere. We are saying, OK, I'm giving in to whatever. I'll just play what I want. Now, once you can do this, PLAYING AROUND WITH CHORDS BECOMES AN EASY MATTER because you have given yourself permission to mess up. 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!
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Learn to Fiddle the Orange Blossom Special, the Most Popular Fiddle Tune in the World
Learning to fiddle the Orange Blossom Special is not easy, but it's truly worth the effort. The Orange Blossom Special is unequaled in popularity. To learn it you must master three distinct parts. Each of these parts has its own character and style. They are: 1. Bells, whistles, chugga-chugga's, 2. the Shuffle, 3. the Hoedown.
The Various Countries - A Rant About Country Music
It is no secret that over the past couple decades country music has struggled with it's identity far more than any other genre in the industry. At this point nobody can really claim to be a country music fan without being questioned what kind of country fan? The answers being seemingly endless, I've broken them down into a few main categories (but really, there could be so many more).
Arranging for New Age Piano
A while back, I wrote an article that compared flower arranging to music arranging. While this may seem a world apart, it really isn't.
Home Run Gigs
Are you still playing your heart out to small audiences on
gigs at unappreciative dives (excuse me, I meant to say
nightclubs) that feel paying you a couple of hundred dollars
for a 3-4 hour gig is also paying you about $150 too much?
How to Be in the Moment when Playing Piano
Your best music will always come when you are in the moment and just playing the piano. Why is this? Because you have forgotten about trying to make music. Instead, you are now "making" music. A subtle but crucial difference that can be detected by most careful listeners.
What All Do I Have to Know to be a Really Good Piano Player?
Many students ask me a question that goes something like this:
"What all do I have to know to be a really good piano player?"
1973 Interview with Paul McCartney - Forming Wings
July 6, 1973 Birmingham England
Piano Lessons Can be Fun!
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.
Formation of a Song (Recording)
As industry insiders, we sometimes forget that when discussing the recording process, the rest of the world really has no idea what we are talking about. Hopefully this will provide an explanation of the song formation process in layman's terms so that there may be less disconnect between the professional and the consumer.
They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano... but When I Started to Play...
Remember the old ad that used to run endlessly in magazines and newspapers:
Can You Really Learn To Play a Musical Instrument From an Online Course?
Out of the 250 million people in the United States, about 25 million of them play an instrument of some kind, or used to when they were in school and would like to pick up where they left off. Another 30 million or so sing in a church choir, a barbershop quartet, or at the very least, in the shower.
How to Buy an Electric Guitar Online
With the increased proliferation of online guitar and musical equipment stores, as well as the lower prices and greater selection that these stores generally offer, most people are now turning to the internet to help them make their guitar purchases. Shopping online is simpler and more convenient than shopping in a store and, since all major guitar manufacturers have good websites, product information and specs are more easily accessible online than they are simply by asking a salesperson in a store.
The Death-Defying Warehouse Party Life: An Interview by William of Orange
About an entire local music industry that's rarely heard from, briefly navigated by a remote being that coalesces, rarely, around music scenes and their absurd atrocities; published by "The Stranger" weekly newspaper of Seattle, WA.
Yo, is Rap Just Another Four Letter Word?
Flaunting any excessive or anti-social behavior is considered brazen. When it is no longer considered brazen it is proof that it has become embedded as part of our culture. Not to say this is a good thing, after all headhunting was considered a cultural norm in some societies. The question to ask here may be, was rap ever truly a part of our culture? Will it eventually run out of steam and go the way of things like doing the twist, afro haircuts or break dancing? I for one would argue that it is not truly a part of the American cultural scene, but is a forced, twisted and contrived money machine that appeals to only the basest passions of the youth in our country.
The Downfall Of The #1 Southern Gospel Station
Back in the 90's we had a local Southern Gospel station (I can't remember the name. You'll see why if you keep reading). They were known for their motto, "If it doesn't say it, we won't play it." They were determined not to play watered-down Gospel music-even if it was Southern Gospel. And they did a good job.
How to Organise a Gig or a Live Music Event - the Budget
Three times in the last month I've been asked the question, "what do I need to do to organise a gig?" In reality, when this question is asked it can mean several things: How do I find a venue? How do I sort out the PA? How do I get an audience? And so on.
Origins of the Mathers Family
Eminem's roots can be found in Scandinavia through his mother Debbie Nelson and in South Wales through his father Marshall Bruce Mathers II.But Eminem has mostly Scottish blood running through his veins. On both sides( maternal and paternal sides), Scottish roots can be found.Back to the 7 th generation on the paternal side, Peter Mathers from Pennsylvania married a Scottish woman named Isabella (last name unknown). On the maternal side, Scottish roots can be found in Marshall's family in the 6 th generation : Ailsa Mc Allister from Edingburgh emigrated to the United States ?precisely to New York in 1870.Most of the Mathers have been working as farmers in the state of Missouri.Marshall Mathers I, Eminem's paternal grandfather has been working as an assistant hotel manager at Plainsman Hotel in st Joseph Missouri and his wife Rae has been employed at Del Cornonado hotel in guest services.When Eminem's paternal grandmother Rae died recently in 2002 from an Alzheimer desease , Marshall Mathers II discovered interesting documents related to his famous son like a Christmas card from Marshall addressed to his grandmother Rae.Ethymology of the name MathersMathers means mower or reaper.History of the name MathersThe name Mathers is related to the Scottish Barclay clan. The family Barclay settled down in a place called Mathers in Scotland in the 13 th century. The history of the Mathers goes back to an english immigrant Theobald de Berkeley and his son who owned the estate of Mathers. Alexander was the first to use the surname Mathers.Pronounciation of the surname MathersIt is commonly admitted that the surname Mathers is pronounced as if there was an y in the middle of the name : Ma(y)thers .If you want to know more about the history and genealogy of the family Mathers, you can find some interesting info here :homepage.ntlworld.com/davepalmer/eminem/credits.htmI'd like to thank the people who made up this interesting website. I discovered a lot of info about Marshall's paternal side. I have a lot of info about his maternal side, so I hope to be able to complete his family tree as soon as possible.
Guitar Tuning Tips
Most new guitar players and even some experienced ones have trouble staying and playing in tune. I'll try listing here some of the common mistakes and there solutions.
Five Steps to Protecting Your Music and Your Money
There are a lot of independent labels out there waiting to use a talented musician to make quick money. The offers may seem hard to refuse, especially if you are a struggling artist or band that has struggled to get a record deal. A little money and exposure may seem great for the moment, but you run a high risk of getting contractually bound to that record label for the rest of your life. If a better deal comes along later, you may not be able to accept it, or you may get robbed of your rightful percentages.
How To Play Piano Using Chord Symbols
Chord symbols (for example, Fm7, Cmaj7 or G6) are a type of notation used frequently in jazz and other areas of modern music to notate chord progressions and changes. This type of notation differs from that of classical music in that chord symbols don't show the function of a chord the way the Roman numeral notation does. Chord symbols, for modern music with lots of changes, are much easier to read. They function as a sort of shorthand for change-heavy music and are written with four chord parts in mind: the root, the quality, the extension, and the alterations.
|
