Home | List of Articles | Submit an Article | Contact Us

Piano Music - How to Begin and End a Piece

How do you begin a piece of music? That's a question I'm often asked. The answer I usually give is that you begin as soon as you start playing - that is, if you're trying to "compose" something, the piece begins the moment it has energy and is something you want to capture. If it's an improvisation, the piece begins the moment you set your fingers on the keys and hit the first note. It's like free flow writing and writing a chapter to a novel.

The writer can both improvise and enjoy the process or can structure the ideas more - or, as I like to do, combine both procedures into one. I start out by improvising - always. Then, if I want to memorialize a musical idea, I write down the first two bars of melody along with the chord(s) I'm playing. I throw this on a chart and voila - the idea remains fresh until I want to either expand on it, or ignore it completely.

If the idea is a rhythm pattern I write down (Left hand = whatever the pattern is) so I can remember it later. I never stop improvising though because that would stop the flow and who knows what could come out of it. Don't forget that an improvisation is a piece of music in and of itself. There is really no need to impose structure on something as beautiful and organic as spontaneous expression. In fact, these spur of the moment fantasies are often more inspiring than any contrived composition. There is something more alive to them because there IS more life to them.

Endings pose another problem, namely the problem of when to stop playing. For improvisation, the answer is when energy (inspiration) starts to wane down. That's a good time to bring your music to an end. You'll know when this is happening when you become bored. That's the sign it's time to stop.

Composition is a different story. The form of the piece already dictates when you should stop. For example, an ABA form tells you to play the A section once or twice, go to B, back to A then bring the piece to an end. Of course the amount of repetition and contrast is a personal decision but the form establishes both beginning and ending. It's a nice safe way to say that yes, I have a piece of music here. Now, improvisations can have form as well. The big difference is that you don't consciously think about putting the music into a predefined shape.

But for some unknown reason, most improvisations do have symmetry - that is they take on a form of their own. I don't know if this is because of human beings innate rhythm (heartbeat) or what.

Even Zen flute music, which may be the most freely inspired improvisation style around has some structure. You can hear it in the phrases. Beginnings and endings. Don't worry too much about them. What's important is where you are emotionally while you play. Become aware of that and all your problems are solved.

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 now teaches an online class. Stop by for a FREE piano lesson!

Related Articles:

Music Practice Techniques for Learning Repertory - These practice tips were written for fiddlers. I've used them in classical violin also. You will find they apply to any music learning goal you have set for yourself. Learning new repertory raises your instrumental or singing ability. It makes you learn new combinations of notes. It takes focused effort and stretches your comfort zone. ...

Birthday Video - Turn Your Child's Party Video Into A Fun Music Video - Kid Birthday Party - Birthday Video Most people shoot some random video of their child’s birthday party, then toss the video in a drawer and forget about it. Hey, we’re talking about some precious video of an important event in your child’s life. So if you’re going to shoot some video of your child’s birthday party, why not turn that footage ...

Mamma Mia is Musical at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas - Mamma Mia is Musical at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/shows/vegas/mama/mia.html MAMMA MIA! is currently the most successful musical in the world with a total ...

Saving Money on Wedding Music - When it comes to wedding music, there are some choices that stand apart from others. During the ceremony, it is getting more popular to avoid the traditional bridal music and use a chosen song of love instead. People still are using the traditional bridal song too, but it is just not necessary anymore for those who want to be original or w ...

How to Make Money on a Music Website through Pay-Per-Click? - © Jeff Schuman II ... Interested in making money while you’re asleep, or making money while you’re not even on the computer? Well here is a way that you can do that, clicks!! Once you have gone through godaddy.com and purchased your domain name for a cheap $9.20 per year, and found a hosting ...

Does Reading Make Music? - Does Reading Make Music? When you read music you are deciphering the printed page and transferring the information to the keyboard. You might say that you are decoding what the composer or arranger put on the page. The symbols put on the paper by the composer are the only means he or she has to convey his/her musical ideas to the performer¯hence ...

For a Complete list of Articles with summaries Click Here