New Age is a genre of music with a relaxed and light sound. New Age combines instruments and techniques typical of electronic music (especially ambient) and ethnic music, and is characterized, as a rule, by a smooth pace, the use of light and uplifting melodies. This music is often used for relaxation, meditation, and to stimulate creativity. Performers of new age music often address themes of wildlife, self-discovery and national cultures. The framework and definition of the genre is quite blurred, since the new age sometimes refers to quite different sounding performers.

The framework of new-age is quite vague and there is a constant debate about it. This genre is often referred to as electronic, folk, and just calm relaxing music. Nevertheless, it is possible to highlight some frequently encountered features.

New Age mainly uses modal consonant harmony. The duration of a single composition can range from a few minutes to half an hour or more. The tempo of most compositions is smooth, relaxing; however, unlike ambient, new age always has a melody and is not purely background music. Often the compositions include ethnic melodies.

New Age includes both musical electronic forms based on long harmonic “underpinnings” and acoustic forms using flute, piano, guitar and exotic instruments of the peoples of the world. New Age is eclectic when it comes to the set of instruments: the same musician in different compositions and albums can resort to the use of very different instruments, from electronic synthesizers and samplers to ancient and exotic instruments of the peoples of the world. Both live instruments and digital samples (recordings) of them can be used.