Relaxing Piano Music

Scene One: Just one look at the sparkling blue water and the snow covered mountains in the background was enough to inspire me to compose Blue Water Prelude. Of course not every clip in this video is of deep blue water. The aerial view of a slow moving, tree lined brook that leads into a water fall and then drops into a deep black watering hole is just as inspiring. The stark contrast of the green forest surrounding the water basin is absolutely breathtaking. Then there’s the dilapidated dock sitting on a perfectly still lake — not a bit of movement in the water near the shore — but as the camera moves further offshore a light breeze creates a slight ripple on the surface of the water. The use of a major 7th chord at the very beginning helps to set the mood of the piece. The winter snow scenes that transition into the still lake in the middle of the woods once again creates an atmosphere of peace and serenity. For many people, it’s hard to find personal quiet time in any given day, so I do my best to create piano videos that will help sooth the soul, if only for a few minutes. I’ve been asked if it’s hard to compose on a regular schedule, but when you have such amazing video footage like the long stretch of white beach surrounded by the deepest blue water I’ve ever seen at 1:59, the music almost writes itself. The snow covered winter shot of the camera pushing in on the church steeple up against the hillside, or the camera pulling out across a frozen, snow covered pond with a weathered split rail fence in the foreground all help in my writing process. Blue Water Prelude, like many of my piano compositions, was written to help the listener find a quiet moment in their day where they can turn everything off for a few minutes and just relax. While not every scene is of blue water, I like to create videos with a variety of nature scenes — but it’s usually one or two of those scenes that inspires the composition. Click here to get your free sheet music of my piano composition used in the video: https://www.cherryhillacademy.com/blue-water-prelude-relaxing-piano-music.html When I was younger I used to compose only when I was inspired. Now when I sit down at the piano I have a process. Sometimes it starts with a chord. Others times I hear a few notes in the melody. When I put that first chord and those first few notes of the melody together, I stop and listen. Where is the melody leading me? If I can’t hear it, then I play that first chord and those first few melody notes again. Eventually, the next few notes will come. This is my writing process. There’s more to it than that, but that’s how one of my compositions begins. I don’t always write a piece in one sitting, but that’s a story for another day.

Windrift - solo piano instrumental composed and performed by Guy Faux. When I was a kid my parents took my sister and I to the Jersey shore every summer. We always stayed at the Windrift Hotel located at 80 street and the beach in Avalon, New Jersey. Going to the shore every August was always the highlight of my summer vacation. I looked forward to packing the suitcases, the drive down the Atlantic City Expressway, and finally, the anticipation of Exit 13 off the Garden State Parkway. As soon as we turned on to Avalon Boulevard we knew we had arrived. My dad would roll down the windows so we could take in the aroma of the salt air and the sound of seagulls. The sign that read, “Avalon, Cooler By A Mile”, was on the right before crossing the bridge. Right over the bridge Avalon Boulevard turns into 30th street; a right turn on to Dune Drive and 50 blocks later we were at our destination: The Windrift Hotel. It has changed quite a bit over the years, but I remember it long before they built the sun deck, when you could see the dunes and Atlantic Ocean right from the pool. Eventually the sun deck was added, and then a few years later it turned into an extended restaurant and lounge. The breathtaking ocean view from the pool was gone. I remember one year we arrived for our yearly summer vacation to find a new condominium building in the middle of what used to be a huge parking lot. My dad wasn’t happy and threatened to never return. Finding a good parking spot was a little more challenging after that summer, but fortunately my mom convinced my dad to give the Windrift one more try. We returned every summer after that until I turned 18 and went off to college. Of course, a trip to Avalon wouldn’t be complete without dinner at the Hitching Post in Wildwood, followed by a few hours on the boardwalk dodging the Tram Car, and then on to Stone Harbor for some of the best ice cream on the planet at Springer’s Homemade Ice Cream. I know Springer’s is still in business, after all these years, but I’m pretty sure the Hitching Post is gone. I have a lot of great memories of the Jersey shore, and staying at the Windrift Hotel is one of the best. I start my solo piano composition titled, “Windrift”, with an F# minor chord, which would suggest sadness, but I was only sad when we left for home. And maybe my decision to start with a minor chord suggests that our stay was too short, which it always was, but sitting here writing about the Windrift only brings back fond memories. I still have a picture of my dad leaning up against the wall separating 80 street and the swimming pool — or the photos of all of us down on the beach, which was just a few short steps from our hotel room. I haven’t stayed at the Windrift since that final year in the summer of 1979. It was the year my dad got sick. I’ve been back a few times with my wife for breakfast, but never to stay overnight. I guess I knew that I had to make new memories at some other place — but I will never forget our family summer vacations at the Windrift. Free piano sheet music download: https://www.cherryhillacademy.com/windrift-relaxing-piano-music-for-stress-relief.html

Harvest Moon composed and performed by Guy Faux. Free Piano Sheet Music: https://www.cherryhillacademy.com/harvest-moon-relaxing-piano-music.html

Crystal Lake composed and performed by Guy Faux. Free Piano Sheet Music: https://www.cherryhillacademy.com/crystal-lake-relaxing-piano-music.html

"A Friend Of Mine" - Free Piano Sheet Music Download: https://www.cherryhillacademy.com/a-friend-of-mine-relaxing-piano-music.html