| Believe it or not, there is actually a hard and a | | | | never played in different ways, it's just that their |
| soft way to play New Age piano. Two different | | | | signature sound is different. |
| "schools" or styles that have made their | | | | As an example, look at the piece "Rainforest." It is |
| appearance in the last 20 years or so. | | | | a percussive piece made up of a left-hand |
| The first style made popular by George Winston | | | | ostinato pattern. Now the piece "Ocean Dreams" |
| introduces a more percussive "hard" sound. | | | | is softer with the melody actually taking center |
| Created mostly be a left-hand ostinato, this style | | | | stage. |
| is very chord-oriented and paints a background of | | | | It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with both |
| textures while the right-hand is free to improvise | | | | styles. When I first started playing, I identified |
| a melody. The reason that I say this style is a | | | | mostly with the "Winston" style but find myself |
| hard sounding one is that when compared with | | | | leaning more towards a softer style now. I really |
| someone like David Lanz, the difference is readily | | | | like the pianist John Herberman off of the |
| apparent. | | | | Solitude's label. His playing is exquisite and very |
| Lanz goes for a softer, more melodic approach. | | | | emotional. |
| This isn't to say that either of these artists has | | | | |