From: Edward Weiss
Saturday, 8:15 a.m.
Subject: Your Piano Journey...
Dear New Age Piano Fan:
There's something about being able to just sit
down at the piano and play.
Especially when the music isn't planned. We
allow ourselves the freedom to just be at the piano and wonderful
things begin to happen.
To create your own piano improvisation journey, you need to know
a little about chords and how to play them. That's
pretty much it. I never understood why teachers make their students
wait so long before they can dive in creatively at the piano.
Especially since all it takes is giving students the right kind of
limits so they can freely express themselves.
For example, in the lesson "Reflections
in Water," you have 4 chords to play around with
and you have a way to play them. The chords are learned, practiced,
and then you are allowed to explore these materials to see what
comes up.
Explore is really the idea here as too many
students want to force their way into improvisation. You see, it
really is all about attitude here. And I can't think of a better
quote to illustrate this than "In the beginner's mind there are many
possibilities, in the experts mind there are few."
It really is true and it's also a good thing because it means you
don't have to be an expert to experience the joy of piano
improvisation. On the contrary, the freshest sounding
music can come from someone who does not have years of
theory and training under their belt.
To take your own piano improvisation journey remember that's it's
not about how much you know - it's what you do with it that
matters
