John Foulds, the composer, is not much known in England, his home country, or indeed, anywhere else. He died of cholera at the age of 58 in India in 1939. His main interest was Indian music, for which he had developed an obsession.

On this new CD on Warner Classics, the main work is an extended three-movement piano concerto with the peculiar title: Dynamic Tryptich for Piano and Orchestra. Three supporting pieces are, a tone poem, April-England, Song of Ram Dass, and Keltic Lament.

David Mellor recommends the CD “with real enthusiasm” and says of the main work: “[It's] of real substance, brilliantly despatched by Peter Donohoe … it’s a fine piece that would be great as a novelty at the Proms.”

Amazon.com has yet to list it, but you can buy it from Amazon.co.uk. Check out the price.

I do not play the piano. I wish, in many ways, that I did. I bailed out on piano lessons when I was about 12, much to my mother and grandmother’s dismay. Had I know about neoclassical music then, and been so entranced by the beautiful sounds I am so lucky to hear and then write about, I might have stuck with it. I know if I had, I would have needed very good piano lessons. I know I would have needed Quiescence Music.

I was introduced to this site not long ago. I have been very excited to show it to all of you because it is unique. The Web site offers piano lessons, yes online piano lessons, to teach the unique style that is the signature of new age or neoclassical music.

Because of my interest in this site, I was able to meet its owner and the teacher of Quiescence Music, Edward Weiss. Weiss is a composer and musician and teaches his students the techniques that make this style of music so enchanting. He says,

Here is everything you need to know to learn
the art of New Age piano playing! Quiescence Music’s easy step-by-step audio-based piano lessons make learning a breeze! No previous experience is necessary or required!

Weiss assured me that no prior experience is necessary. Of course, you will need access to a computer and a piano, but the rest is something you can learn. If you have some basic piano playing skills, so much the better.

There is a free sample lesson provided. It is called, “Reflections in Water,” and it will teach you to “to use open position chords along with broken chord technique to create a calm, reflective atmosphere.” What Weiss is teaching is improvisation but that word doesn’t mean what you think it does. I like what he has to say about it:

Many students wonder why they have problems improvising. When I explain to them that the problem is not with technique but attitude, they look at me surprised. After all, aren’t they willing to learn? Of course! But they must first shun the “creative genius” persona and be willing to let go and let the music tell them where it wants to go.

I like that idea. I think it opens up music rather than creates a set of rules that “must” be followed or else some great music god in the sky will rain all over you. Music should come from the heart and the soul - Weiss works to teach you how to allow that process to occur.

The lessons provided at this site are strictly for the piano but when I asked Weiss if the method could translate over to other instruments (thinking of my violin and my new endeavor to play it), he said that the philosophy applies to any instrument, although his lessons are directed solely to piano.

Give it a try. The prices are more than reasonable and who knows? You could be the next Chuck Brown or Jeff Bjork.

Oh, and before I forget - signing up now gets you a free copy of the text, “New Age Piano Made Easy.” Classes are ongoing and a free workbook is provided but this text is just one more reason to sign up. I just may consider it… Now if I can just get my piano from Seattle to Nebraska - and that’s a whole other story!

Quiescence Music

I have recently become acquainted with this whole podcast thing. It wasn’t something I gravitated to quickly - I thought it would be kind of… well, schlocky. But it isn’t. In fact, this is really neat. I probably will turn into a podcast junkie. At any rate, I have found a wonderful podcast for lovers of neoclassical music and poetry.

Supernatural FM, a podcast by BCPoetry.com, out of Vancouver, British Columbia, has some very good podcasts. They currently have four that combine neoclassical music with spoken poetry. It is an enjoyable mix; listening to one of these podcasts before going to sleep should promote some restful sleep and peaceful dreams.

Supernatural FM - This is a direct link to the podcast feed

BCPoetry Web Site

Genome is becoming one of the buzz words of the early 21st century. It all comes from The Human Genome, which of course is a scientific project of somewhat greater proportion than creating a mix of music suited to an individual listener. However, the premise is, with a bit of a stretched imagination, interesting. The Music Genome is a Web site designed to bring you individualized music - matched to your musical DNA in a way.

I gave this a test. I started with William Ackerman, being that he is an extremely well-known name in the neoclassical music world, and it did work. It took my first choice and continued to select music appropriate to my liking. The player is simple to operate, provided me with additional information as I listened, yet remained unobtrusively in the background when I was working.

Pandora is free - they guarantee it free for a lifetime, the ability to create up to 100 “stations” of your choosing, and accessible from any computer. It is a great way to not only listen to your favorites, but to discover new favorites, as their music analysis brings you likely choices.

Not really DNA, but not such a bad idea. I think you will enjoy this site and Pandora.

Pandora - Created by The Music Genome Project