Don't let anyone tell you that you
can't
make cool sounds on any
keyboard...
Without knowing a thing about music...
because you really can!
Click
to hear Duane explain why he was wrong...
Dear Friend:
Is It
Possible To Create Cool "New Age" Sounds On The Piano
Without
Knowing a Thing About Music?
I'll admit that for many years as a piano
teacher I didn't think so.
But in the last couple years I made a discovery
about creating pleasant sounds on the piano that I never would have
believed during my earlier piano teaching career.
I recall a physician friend asking me if I had
any kind of course he could take that didn't involve learning to read
music or music theory or any of the traditional materials.
He had purchased a beautiful Yamaha grand for his
daughter to take lessons on when she was growing up, but now she was
married and moved away, so he had this grand piano in his living room with
no one to play it. He was much too busy in his career to take traditional
piano lessons – he just wanted to "doodle" after work in the evening and
relax after a stress-filled day at the hospital.
Unfortunately, I told him "no – I don't have
anything like that available – sorry!" and that was the end of that story.
But a few months later another student had heard
a "new age" pianist somewhere, and loved the sounds he produced so much
that they wanted to do the same, and asked me how in the world he got
those sounds. They weren't really songs – more like the sounds of nature
and running water and nature in bloom.
As you may know, I have taught piano for 30 years and I'm a firm believer in learning to read music, understand music theory, and really master the keyboard. I'm no fan of mindless "shortcuts" because I know that in the long run they don't work -- you've got to have
understanding.
But I also know that there are many people that would LOVE to be able to make their own "pleasant sounds" on the piano, just for their own satisfaction and amusement. They know full well that they will never be full-blown piano players, but still, they would like to sit down now and then and must make some sounds on the keyboard that sound good, feel good, and give satisfaction to them and/or their family.
I understand that. My own Dad wasn't a pianist by any means, yet when I was a little guy he used to sit down at the piano for a half-hour on a Saturday evening and play some kind of chording pattern that just delighted my Mom and my brother and I.
I guess you know that if I could call him back from Heaven and have him play that again for me, I wouldn't trade the entire London Symphony for that half-hour.
And so for those people who just want to make some nice sounds on the piano (or keyboard or organ or synthesizer -- it doesn't matter what kind
of keyboard) I have recently recorded an
instructional DVD which can be used by
anybody -- even people who have
never touched their hands to the keyboard!
We use NO printed music, of course.
All you will do
is sit at your piano or keyboard and watch my hands on
my piano, and do what I do. Of course I will be talking
and explaining what I am doing, but even if you had the
sound turned off you could still follow what my hands
are doing.
"New
Age" Music
There is a style of music which is quite popular
these days known as "new age" music. It tries to capture the sounds of nature --
water flowing, nature, birds -- that sort of thing. It is very descriptive music, and very relaxing. It's fun to play, too, because there are really no "wrong answers" -- anything that sounds nice and pleasant is "right". I'm going to show you on the video how these sounds are created using simple patterns -- patterns that can be repeated in various places & ways.
I'm going to show you how to create 15 different sound patterns. I have named these sound patterns:
Cascading Waterfalls
Wind in the Forest
Rainbow after Storm
Oriental Gardens
Hide & Seek
Carnival Fun
Classical Sounds
Stroll in a Meadow
Peaceful Morning
Walk-the-Stairs Boogie
Playful Kittens
Christmas Morning
Gentle Waves
Remembering Daddy
Dinkin' Around!
.....and then after you learn each sound pattern, I'll show you how to link those sound patterns together in various ways so that you can create your own song, your own little symphony, your own creation, that expresses the feelings that you want to express.
Cordially,
Duane
CS-1:Make Cool Sounds On Any
Keyboard
DVD video and laminated
sheet of 15 sound patterns
$67.
P.S.: Even if you have played piano for years, you might just learn something new about patterns & linking --I've played piano for more years than I care to remember, and
I got some new ideas for myself just by creating this DVD!