One of my oldest friends is a fan of New Age piano music.  She heard
me playing some of Debussy's piano music recently and commented that
it was beautiful, and asked what it was.  She was surprised that it was
considered classical and not New Age, then asked what the difference was
between Debussy and George Winston.  I started to sputter something about
the advanced harmonies and revolutionary use of...and realized I couldn't
really answer fully, as I simply didn't have either the vocabulary or
enough knowledge of theory.

Basically, I ended up saying that it sounded as though many of the New
Age pianists had been influenced by Debussy's use of color but had smoothed
down any of its rough edges for easier consumption.  She seemed satisfied
by the answer...but I wasn't.

Can anyone here help me out? What SHOULD I have said?

Scott Peterson
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