Have you ever marveled at how artists can quickly sketch out a beautiful landscape scene and convert it into a full-fledged painting? I have and I've always been jealous of their ability to do so. I've often wondered why music couldn't be more like this. Of course composers know how to go about creating a complete piece of music, but I didn't want to spend years learning theory and harmonic analysis. I didn't want to study form and compositional technique. Not because I was lazy or unmotivated but because there had to be a simpler way of taking what I felt inside and turning it into a piano improvisation or composition. Fortunately for me, I discovered my own unique method for quickly creating what I love to create and that is New Age piano music. A few chords and a Key to play in are all I needed to begin quickly creating my own unique piano journeys. You see the problem most aspiring composers have is that they think they need to learn everything that was ever written about how to compose music. This isn't necessary and only serves to delay the experience of jumping in the water and trying it first hand. My method is really simple - improvise first and let the music tell you where it wants to go. That is, let go and allow the music to flow through you. I ALWAYS START WITH IMPROVISASTION because this is where the raw creative energy is. If something strikes me as particularly nice, I'll draw out 8-bars on a sheet of paper. It doesn't have to be notation paper either. I just use a blank composition journal I bought at a Borders bookstore to do this. After the 8-bars is drawn, I'll write in the first 2-bars of the melody to remember the initial idea. I then use the chords from the Key I'm working in to complete this small 8-bar section. Working within 8-bar sections is, I think, the best way a beginner can actually complete a musical phrase. It's a very attainable goal and works very well. |
