Happy Sunday Everyone!
I hope you've all had a great week....it was Valentine's Day on Wednesday for all of you who come from countries that celebrate it! If so, I hope you had a special someone to share it with....and if not, I hope you didn't think anything of it, because it's just another day on the calendar! ;-)
I had fun this week....I'm trying to do a #SongDemo video every other Friday for the #FreeLessonFridays, and a more general theory or technique video on the others. This was a #SongDemo week, and I chose "Folsom Prison Blues" by the late, great Johnny Cash! It was a great tune to show off not only the "Country Feel" and some potential enhancements of it, but also a chance to get into the power of octaves in the right hands for simple signature lines as a choice for solos and fills. Hope you enjoy it and find the information useful for that and many other songs you might be interested in playing!
For my performance videos, I went in two different directions this week. I stayed in the "country" lane for #SoloTuesday, and chose one of my very favorite tunes from the 90s by Garth Brooks, a seminal figure from that era of music.....the ballad of inspiration and hope, "The River". I was so pleased by how it came out and how well it translated to a simple piano/vocal arrangement. It reminded me that the real goal in all the things that matter to us in life is to enjoy it, and to continue with it....there isn't ever really a "final destination". That's what I'm most proud of with the "Piano Man Approach"....I've been posting and selling educational content for the piano online for over 13 years now, and I'm still enjoying the game....and I'm STILL HERE! There's always more to learn, and therefore always more to share, and the reward is continuing the journey.
For the #SundayJam with my buddy/drummer/audio engineer Robbie, we reached back to the late 80s to the one and only Tom Petty, and worked up a piano centered arrangement of his timeless classic, "Free Fallin'". I love making these "Jam" videos with Robb, because I never know for sure how it's going to turn out. It's almost always a song based on a recording that wasn't centered around piano, and very seldom will we have a guitar player sit in with us. So, I basically get to use all the stuff I try to teach you guys to make up my own take on the tune with my beloved piano at the heart of the sound, and just build tracks around it, send them to Robb and let him add his brilliart artistry as a drummer/percussionist, and his genius craftsmanship as an engineer with the EQ, dynamics, effects, panning, and mix.....and then he sends me something and I get the pleasure of hearing it for the first time. What comes back to me is never exactly what I imagine it will be, but always great in delightful and surprising ways, and it thrills me like an 8 year old at Disneyland every time. Hope you enjoy what we came up with this week!
Have a great week gang....enjoy the freebies! ;-)
This week's free content is below:
#SoloTuesday
"The River"
(Garth Brooks)
Or if the video doesn't display here, simply click THIS LINK to view it on YouTube!
#FreeLessonFriday
Song Demo:
"Folsom Prison Blues"
(Johnny Cash)
Or if the video doesn't display here, simply click THIS LINK to view it on YouTube!
#SundayJamz with the YouTube Music Mafia
"Free Fallin'"
(Tom Petty)
Or if the video doesn't display here, simply click THIS LINK to view it on YouTube!
#SundayFunDay Live Stream Concert with Piano Man Steve, 2 - 18 - 24
Or if the video doesn't display here, simply click THIS LINK to view it on YouTube!
Have a great week everyone....and remember, if you're not having fun when you're making music....you're doing it wrong! :-)
Piano Man Steve