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For the sake of some opinions: I don't know but it seems whenever I hear some piano music categorized as 'New Age' it sounded dangerously close to 'Musak'. You know: elevator music. It just doesn't seem that dynamic and overall it struck me as overly sweet and almost saccharine. Now maybe I just haven't heard enough of this genre but to me it just sounded so diatonic and meandering. What do YOU think? Give to me straight!

Music with repeating patterns basically is what I hear. But I am sure our new age piano player friends here can maybe point us to or at least let us know who the best are. DPVJAZZ

I'm not sure if this track I just finished would be considered "New Age" or not.

"Captured by Eternity:
http://www.artistcollaboration.com/~johnny-boy/WMA-CAPTURED-INSTR.wma

It definitely has dynamics.

Best, John

New age is just like all other music. There are the musicians who are "better" and then there are others. And "beauty" is in the eye of the beholder.

A whole lot of music has been lumped together into the category of "new age". It is hard to label a lot of so called "new age" music. There are a lot of different influences coming into play. Some of it may sound like elevator music, but there are others who have more classical leanings. Some may be more useful as a kind of pleasant background music to help pass the day; the music of certain other new age musicians commands your attention! And there are different styles and ways of "doing it".

For comparison, I'm just now thinking about Irish folk music. There are the musicians who play exquisitely, beautiful balads and jigs and reels. There are also the pub type sing-a-long type Irish folk songs. It's all lumped together, considered Irish folk, even though they come across MUCH DIFFERENTLY from one another.

My two cents worth.

Jeanne W

IMHO what some term "New Age" is what I would call bi-tonal, or even poly-tonal music. New-Age chords typically don't have major or minor thirds, they omitt the 3rd completely and substitute the fourth; they also use the dominant 7th, sometimes a 9th and/or an 11th - so you end up with a series of 4ths that leave the listener with no firm sense of tonic or resolution. Like everything else, it produces an effect. Personally, I'm not entirely comfortable playing in this context yet, especially compared to the traditional "well-defined" mono-tonality music but it does offer some interesting possibilities.

I have come to the conclusion that it is better for me to forget altogether about definitions and categories. I have difficulty even with the classical and non-classical distinctions on the forum. I did try to find out what New Age was at one stage but gave up. There are very many sites with downloads of New Age piano music. For some reason they usually have associations with pictures of the outdoors. The music is improvised, physically very simple, stays in one scale, usually a major scale, is rhythmically placid and synchronous and rarely strays from the middle range of the keyboard.

If that is indeed what New Age is, and I'm still not really sure, then I find it pleasant enough but covering too narrow a musical landscape to sustain my prolonged interest. Then again, I could say exactly the same thing about Beethoven, Bach, ragtime, Chopin, stride ... anything. So my opinion counts for very little in the end.

Ted, I agree with you almost entirely. Funny, I thought of you and your wise opinions on other music topics. There is another member who plays 'New-age' And I'm expecting some defence from them about 'new-age' music.

I had no idea what it was until a month or so ago, when I played a clip from this website. I think I prefer jazz and ragtime particularly, and anything 'Fats' plays and writes!

Alan

I wish I knew more music theory, as I feel completely incompetent to talk about the technical differences that distinguish new age from other genres. I know that I like it, though! I find it on average to be more melodically pleasing than classical music. I also personally prefer the simplicity and repetition of much of new age music.

I think it's difficult to make ANY generalizations about new age music because there's so much variability in what falls into that category, not to mention that the lines between new age and modern classical or jazz are quite fuzzy. There are several artists whom I would call new age, but if you look at their albums and web sites, THEY don't categorize themselves that way (e.g., Jim Brickman, Einaudi, Jon Schmidt).

I will be the first to admit that there are plenty of new age artists whose work is uninspiring and akin to muzak. That is true of just about any musical genre, though. I would also argue that there are new age artists whose compositions are sublime and complex and will stand the test of time, e.g. George Winston and Einaudi.

I've just found this on the web:
Q:What do you get when you play New Age music backwards?
A: New Age Music...

Pretty good.

You know, that's one of the problems with NA music---to symmetric. The modulations, if any, rarely reach beyond a 5th or two in either direction from the tonal center.

So, when played backwards, in the sense of Haydn's Reverso sonatina, you do get the same thing.

A musical pallindrome--I love it!

Number 9, Number 9, Number 9 ...

daed si luaP, daed si luaP, daed si luaP ...

28 IF?

Monica,

My posting telepathy worked. You got my coded message! see yours following mine!

I would worry little about your lack of technical knowledge (secretly,I have absolutely none) At least I can understand your perspective on the subject.

Some while ago you pointed out an example of N.A. music and I was grateful. Good music is always pleasant to the ear and I can appreciate all good music.

I just love jazz piano best of all. The beat and the vibrations reach parts of my inner soul in a unique manner. Thanks to Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner.

Alan

I like listening to New Age music. At least what I hear in that particular category.
However, without being any expert, from a listeners point of view, I would find it difficult to know any particular composer because it basically all sounds the same in some way.

I notice a lot of appergio playing in New Age and of course repetion which present music all has.

Peter