New Age music is relatively calm music, and comes in a wide variety of styles, so that people can listen to it with peace of mind. New Age music first appeared in the early 1970s. Most of the music content is pure performance of musical instruments, including acoustic and electronic music. Over the years, more and more New Age music uses cheaper instruments; New Age music includes space electronic music, acoustic music played with Western instruments, and spiritual hymns from other cultures, such as Hindu hymns sung in Sanskrit. Or the music played by American Indian flutes and drums.

New Age music can be traced back to the jazz bands that broke through traditional restrictions in the 1970s, including the Oregon Orchestra (Oregon), the Paul Winter Consort (Paul Winter Consort) and others who collaborated with ECM Records. Orchestras before the rise of ambient music; New Age music can also be traced back to ambient music, and Brian Eno and classical avant-garde musician Daniel Kirby Alka are all members of this school. Greek musician Yanni, one of the "superstars" of New Age music, performs "world music" that combines electronic synthesis and original music instruments. As for Enya, although she claims not to belong to the New Age music genre, she still won the New Age Music Grammy Award. She worked in several languages, including Latin.

New Age music attempts to provide a better vision, express appreciation for goodness and beauty, and even hope for good things to happen. New Age music rarely touches upon the world and its problems; it merely offers peaceful visions of a better world. If the title of the music relates to the stars or the exploration of the vast universe, then the music will be like the sound of nature. Some New Age music albums have printed text on the outer sleeve that encourages the listener to meditate to the music. Many albums are specifically recorded for meditation purposes. Research shows that New Age music is an effective tool in stress management classes.