Music Information

Music Making as Spiritual Experience


If you've been playing piano for some time, you may come upon periods where you forget yourself and only the music remains. You might even have had a spiritual experience. A phenomenon where emotion and intellect become one and the outside world disappears.

This experience is what we all want, whether we admit it or not. This is a very important part of making music - especially new age music. We want that moment where we can stop thinking and start feeling.

Of course, there are times when we create something for a specific purpose such as dance music, rock and roll, etc. But when you are attuned to your feeling and letting the music flow from your fingers the wonder and magic of it is enough to make you want to come back again and again for more.

To get to this place does not require any special ability. It only requires that you know a little about chords and how to use them. Then, you place your fingers on a chord and off you go.

What makes this complicated for some is their indecision about which chord or notes to play. After all, there are thousands of choices. The solution for this problem is limiting your choices. In the free lessons, I give you a scale to play and a few chords from that scale to improvise with. This is enough material to get the imagination going. Some students thrive on limits while others fight them. I fought them too until I realized that my goal was to feel good about music making - not to create a masterpiece.

As soon as I thought about creating anything - I froze up. Technically, I knew a lot but it did me no good. I reexamined my reasons for making music and came to the conclusion to keep it simple. Simple, in my mind at the time meant boring. But I finally let go of the need to please others and as soon as I did, I began to experience music making as a spiritual experience.

Now, there is nothing that heals me so much as just being at the piano - letting the notes fall where the will within the limitations I set for myself. First, I allow myself to gravitate to any sound that calls me. For example, it could be a minor chord. It might be the pentatonic sound that calls to me. Then I simply stay within that sound or tonality and all is well.

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!


MORE RESOURCES:

Joy Online

New York Music Examiner
Examiner.com - 3 hours ago
... Polow Da Don, Rodney Jerkins, DJ Montay, Ne-Yo, Espen Lind, Amund Bjorklund, Kanye West, T-Pain, and Universal Music Publishing Group.
Michael Jackson snubs family reunion Times of India
Jacksons reunite at BMI Urban Awards The Associated Press
BMI Honors The Jacksons, T-Pain and Many More at Urban Awards in ... MarketWatch
eFluxMedia - Urban Network
all 243 news articles


Mobtown Modern's goal is to make new music less scary and more fun
Baltimore Sun, United States - 1 hour ago
"I looked at the music scene and the composers I wasn't seeing on programs, all the music not being performed that should be heard here," says saxophonist ...


Dallas Symphony Orchestra's new music director takes the stage ...
Dallas Morning News, TX - 7 hours ago
By SCOTT CANTRELL / The Dallas Morning News Jaap van Zweden conducts his first local concerts as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra: a ...
Impressed with its vision for future, Doug Adams returns to Dallas ... Dallas Morning News
all 8 news articles


Classical music preview: Big names take the baton
Chicago Sun-Times, United States - 6 hours ago
Pioneer, mystic, devout Roman Catholic, birdsong collector, organist, teacher, composer and technical explorer, Messiaen has in music and example influenced ...
Bernard Haitink garners appreciation from Chicago Symphony ... Chicago Tribune
all 2 news articles


8 classical music events from Bernstein to Galway
Newsday, NY - 8 hours ago
14 appearance of the Philharmonic at Carnegie under music director- designate Alan Gilbert. There will be films, lectures, panel discussions - exhausting, ...
LI says 'I do' to 'Wedding Singer' and 8 other shows Newsday
all 2 news articles


CLASSICAL MUSIC + DANCE FALL CALENDAR
Kansas City Star, MO - 12 hours ago
(913-469-8500, Ext. 3605) BRENTANO STRING QUARTET: Friends of Chamber Music. 8 pm Oct. 3. Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th. www.chambermusic.org (816-561-9999) ...


MUSIC FALL CALENDAR
Kansas City Star, MO - 12 hours ago
MOTORHEAD WITH THE MISFITS, AIRBOURNE, VALIANT THOR AND YEAR LONG DISASTER: 7 pm Sept. 7. Harrah’s Casino, VooDoo Lounge, One Riverboat Drive, North Kansas ...


ABC News

Britney to open MTV awards ceremony
The Press Association - 1 hour ago
All eyes will be on Britney Spears as she opens MTV's Video Music Awards ceremony in the early hours of Monday despite a disastrous comeback at last year's ...
Kanye West to Close Video Music Awards New York Times
Brand vows to 'pinch' Britney at VMAs Times of India
Kim Stolz’s VMA Red-Carpet Preshow Preview MTV.com
Toronto Star - Telegraph.co.uk
all 1,330 news articles


The Nation, Pakistan

Musical taste linked to personality
The Press Association - 1 hour ago
Heavy metal fans are gentle, indie music listeners lack self-esteem and lovers of pop music are uncreative, according to research. ...
Classical to Rap: Music lovers have much more in common than you ... Independent
Research shows music taste defines your personality 3 News NZ
Music tastes link to personality BBC News
Dispatch Online - CBC.ca
all 77 news articles


Music’s breaking out all over
Arkansas Online (subscription), AR - 5 hours ago
Our selected list of highdes a number of shows in Fayetteville, which seems ewed energy on the music front. North Little lltel Arena will still be a big ...

Music - Google News

home | site map
© 2006