New Age music is a music genre that aims at creating a soothing and relaxing atmosphere. This type of music usually incorporates natural sounds like the sounds of birds, rain, waves, and even trees. It tends to mix these sounds with acoustic instruments, with a focus on synthesizers and non-western acoustics, to create gentle and calm music. The end result of this mixture feels like a background music-long, steady and with no repetition. Maybe this is why new age music is intended to accompany meditation, yoga, massage, or therapy. “Music for the spa and relaxation”

New Age music emerged in the 1970s and became popular in the 1980s and 90s. It might not be everyone’s preference in music, but calm music enthusiasts tend to enjoy this music genre.

The music genre “new age” may resurface in many styles and sounds, but new age music has a few common qualities.

Five main characteristics of new age music

Atmospheric sounds are what distinguishes new age music from pop or classical music. Just a distinct musical genre in and of itself. In appreciation of nature, new age music provides a wash of sound that creates a unique atmospheric soundscape. With a wash of rain, waves, and wind sounds, this music is a great form of solace. For this reason, some refer to new age music by artists like Constance Demby as “Space Music”.

The majority of new age music is written in keys with few harmonic shifts. Through the stability and harmony of these sounds, it creates a peaceful and calming atmosphere.

Acoustic and electronic elements: New Age music includes both acoustic and electronic sound forms. It can feature musical instruments like flutes, acoustic guitars, pianos, and a wide variety of non-western acoustic instruments. New age artists like Lasos, George Winston, and Laraaji are known for playing acoustic instruments. Artists famous for synthesizers are Enigma, while Japanese musician Kitaro is well known for using both instruments.

Birds, winds, waves, rain, trees, seas, and birds are examples of nature sounds used in new age music. This is one distinctive feature of this music genre compared to other music genres.

Music for meditation: New age music is intended for therapy, meditation, spas, and relaxation. It is a soothing and calming sound that is created to ease the mind. Many guided meditations also use this tranquil sound as a background music for narration.

Types of New Age Music

New Age music is a broad, amorphous category that consists of multiple sub-genres. Here are some types of new age music.

• Folk music
• Electronic music
• Jazz/Fusion
• Pop music
• Progressive music
• Solo instrumental music.
• Meditation music
• Native American music

The New Age music genre is one that promotes relaxation, meditation, calmness, and optimism.