Hi Friends!
For some time now I have been wondering how I could be more present and engaged with you all more regularly, provide you with more value and answer more of your questions in a way that is sustainable for me. I believe I have found the answer in this blog.
I don't intend to write daily, or even multiple times per week, but I do intend to post here at least once per week with links to new content I'll be putting on my YouTube channel every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. Let me elaborate....
You see, I have always believed that my job as a teacher is really two things....to inspire you to chase your musical dreams, and to empower you to make those dreams real. As such, I have put together a regular content plan that I am committing to for the whole of 2024, and if it still feels right, we'll keep going. Here's what you can expect from this week, and all the weeks going forward through this calendar year:
#SoloTuesdays: This is from the inspiration side of the equation. Every Tuesday I will drop a new solo, piano/vocal only cover of a classic song. These will cover a multitude of artists, genres, and eras, but because of their profound impact on me and the special connection so many of my fans and students have with me through their music, expect to see frequent entries by Billy Joel, Elton John, and the Beatles. ;-)
#FreeLessonFridays: This is from the empowerment side of the equation. Every Friday I will drop a new piece of teaching content on my channel addressing a specific topic....there will be song demonstration videos, rhythm pattern & improv videos, chords and theory videos, and a mix of other various topics such as advice for aspiring part or full time professional musicians, equipment and tools, the occasional note for note song tutorial, and whatever else comes up. I have a long running list of ideas to keep me busy all year, but I welcome your feedback as well....please leave comments on the YouTube videos or here on the blog with topics you'd like to see me cover, songs you'd like to see a demonstration for, etc, and I will try to make sure I am answering those questions as well with the videos I release.
#SundayJamz: This is a pet project for me that can also be part of the inspiration side of my work for you. I have a great friend and collaborator named Robb Krysl who is a brilliant drummer/percussionist, and audio engineer, and together we have formed a duo called the "YouTube Music Mafia". Every Sunday we release a cover song performance....this is different than #SoloTuesdays....I do multiple layers of various parts....piano, organ, strings, keyboard bass, acoustic guitar, and lead/harmony vocals, and Robb fills it out with drums and percussion, and then takes ALL of those tracks and mixes them down into a great sounding master recording. Each layer that both of us perform is filmed, and I take the footage and sync it all up with the master recording audio, and cut together a fun video showing all the parts that went into making the final product in real time together. We have already released 34 of these, and plan to continue for a long time to come and hope very much to have the opportunity to eventually tour together performing live in theatres with our video footage on display and audio tracks backing us up. Stay tuned! ;-)
#SundayFunDay: Finally, every Sunday afternoon that I'm available and home, I do a 2 hour live stream by request concert at 2pm PST/5pm EST. It's great fun and I generally have as many as 50 to 60 people from around the world show up for all or part of the show live, and then many thousands watch it on replay after the broadcast has finished. We have a lot of laughs, share a lot of good feeling vibes, and it's the "Piano Man Approach" on full display in real time....often trying songs for the first time ever to honor a request that came in through the chat.
So, every Sunday morning, you can expect to receive an email from me with a link to the blog where I'll have embedded YouTube videos for you of that week's content that was released. Please enjoy it, comment on in, share it.....it's there for you because you have all given me the life of my dreams to do what I love and support myself with it.
I will also make announcements here when new products are released, if I'm running a promotion, or if I simply have something on my mind that I think would be valuable, uplifting, or fun to share. Welcome aboard folks....I look forward to engaging with you all!
Steve
This Week's YouTube Content:
#SoloTuesday
"Danny's Song"
(Loggins & Messina)
Or if the video doesn't display here, simply click THIS LINK to view it on YouTube!
#FreeLessonFriday
Voicing Complex Chords on Piano
Or if the video doesn't display here, simply click THIS LINK to view it on YouTube!
#SundayJamz with the YouTube Music Mafia
"Cats In the Cradle"
(Harry Chapin)
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, 1 - 14 - 24
Or if the video doesn't display here, simply click THIS LINK to view it on YouTube!
Hope you enjoy this week's free content....please comment, share, let me know what you want to see in the future, and have FUN! I'll be back next week with more goodies....have a great week all!
Piano Man Steve