Concert List

Different styles of music have diverse “sounds.” we can all pretty much agree on that point. For example, Jazz uses seventh chords al the majority exclusively. This, and the kind of chord progressions used in Jazz gives it its unique flavor. But what about new age music? Does it have it is own special ingredients? Yes it does.

At this point, there are no hard and fast rules here but for the the majority part, new age music is a consonant music. That’s, there is little or noharshness going on in the music. No Saxes wailing and what not. Having said that all of us can eliminate the majority of the tense jazz chords and their voicing. So what are all of us left with? Mostly Major and minor chords based on the regular scales and the modes. The chord progressions are simple r and a lot of the time start on the l chord. No ll-V-l progressions here.

What about melody? In jazz, we have a soloist who frequently plays a lot of chromatic notes. This is rare in new age music because it would produce dissonance. New age melodies tend to be softer and more on the spiritual side. Solos, Assuming that the re are any, are not so much concerned with the expression of the self than they are with letting the music express itself. A subtle but considerably necessary distinction. Jazz players could have some ego invested in their performance. New age musicians learn to let the music performance them. They learn to become a channel for the music itself allowing it to speak through them. Of course, I am not saying that this can’t happen in Jazz, but, just watch a Jazz band and you’ll see what I mean.

Last but not least is rhythm. Let’s do a comparison/contrast between Jazz and New Age music. Jazz has a definite discernible rhythm. It is what makes Jazz Jazz. New age music can have a pattern or an underlying rhythm to the music. It can be used to establish trance prefer states in the listener. Drums are regularly a part of Jazz music. Percussion is mostly absent from the New Age sound simply because it would not add to the atmosphere the majority New Age musicians create. Timing is unusually necessary to the Jazz musician. The soloist has the freedom to play whatever he wants as long as he maintains the meter and stays in time. New Age music is more elastic in that timing is there, but is not a master of the player. The New Age player can disregard time altogether. Just listen to Zen flute music as a wonderful example of this.

Now, what does all this mean for the aspiring New Age musician? A couple of good things. It means that there is a definite new age “sound” out there. That it is here to stay and that individuals prefer and need to hear it. And it means that there are some guidelines out there for what defines the meaning of New Age music.