Elmo Peeler Note-for-Note Piano Transcriptions
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Today is the first day of August - and time again for my monthly newsletter, to keep you informed of recent transcriptions and other news of the last month.
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| Billy Preston - Rock Pianist Extraordinaire |
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This month I've finished a complete note-for-note transcription of the entire remarkable piano part for Billy Preston's classic #1 hit, "Nothing from Nothing".
Also, I've transcribed a high-energy 'Roadhouse-rock' piano solo by a leading Nashville session player in a Delbert McClinton recording that'll get your boots to tapping.
Plus, a new Left/Right coordination exercise inspired by "Nothing from Nothing".
BTW, to make sure that my email doesn't end up in your Spam folder, please add me to your Contact list and/or mark my email as "Not Spam".
Note that every Title Heading is clickable.
Elmo Peeler
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ALL of the Sheet Music listed on my website has been personally transcribed by me, and guaranteed to be note-for-note perfect.
Whether you:
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have a cover band and want to get your keyboard parts exactly correct,
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are a professional who wants to study the styles of rock's greatest keyboard players, or
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are a hobbyist that wants to learn how to play pop/rock and great piano music,
...these note-for-note transcriptions will prove extremely helpful.
And as always, if you ever need any help, just drop me a note at: elmo@manymidi.com
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Plus Kevin McKendree's Roadhouse-rock Piano Solo with Delbert McClinton
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Young Billy Preston, Genius of the B-3
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Born in 1946 in Houston, Texas, Billy Preston moved to Los Angeles as a child w
it
h his mother, a stage actress - for whom twenty years later he would write "You Are So Beautiful". A child prodigy with perfect pitch, Billy started playing piano while sitting on his mother's lap and was entirely self-taught.
Although he'd never had a music lesson, by age ten Billy was playing organ onstage, backing gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland and Andrae Crouch.
At 11 Preston appeared on an episode of Nat King Cole's TV show singing the Fats Domino hit "Blueberry Hill" with Cole. He also appeared in St. Louis Blues, a 1958 movie about W. C. Handy starring Nat 'King' Cole, Ea
rtha Kitt and Cab Calloway; Preston played Handy at a younger age.
In 1962, Preston joined Little Richard's band as an organist, and it was while performing in Hamburg that he met the Beatles. In 1963, he played the organ on Sam Cooke's Night Beat album and released his own debut album, 16 Yr Old Soul, for Cooke's SAR label.
In 1965, he released the album The Most Exciting Organ Ever (which includes "Slippin' and Slidin'") and performed on the rock and roll show Shindig!
His instrumental version of "Slippin' and Slidin'" shows off many of his extraordinary B-3 techniques: his extremely 'fat' chords, 'crushed' notes, grace notes, tremolos, his amazing glissandi, etc. If you haven't heard this special recording, listen to it here.
In 1967, he joined Ray Charles' band.Following this exposure, several musicians began asking Billy to contribute to their sessions, including the Beatles, seve
n years after meeting him while playing with Little Richard.
He played on several of their songs, including "Get Back", "Don't Let Me Down", "Something", "Let It Be" (the organ part), and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)".
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| Billy Preston, the "Fifth Beatle" |
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During the "Get Back" sessions Lennon suggested that Preston join the Beatles, even using the term "Fifth Beatle", but the idea was dismissed by the others
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Billy Preston was the only artist to receive joint credit on a Beatles single. Preston also accompanied the band on electric piano for its rooftop concert, the group's final public appearance.
From 1970, Preston played keyboards (including piano, organ, clavinet and various synthesizers) for the Rolling Stones, sometimes alongside pianists Nicky Hopkins and Ian Stewart, on their albums Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St. (which includes "Shine a Light")
, Goats Head Soup, It's Only Rock 'n Roll and Black and Blue.
Although credited to usual Stones writers Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Shine a Light" was largely a Mick Jagger-Leon Russell composition. Mick began writing the song in early 1968 when the Stones still had guitarist Brian Jones as a member. The song was originally titled "Get a Line on You" and dealt with Jones's ever-worsening addiction to drugs and his detachment from the rest of the band.
After Jones' death in 1969, the song resurfaced. Following revisions by Jagger, it was recorded again in July 1970 as
"Shine a Light". A third recording at London's Olympic Sound Studios in December 1971 resulted in the final version of the song released on
Exile on Main St.
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Billy Preston at play |
As the band's primary touring keyboardist from 1973 to 1977, he also
performed as a support act with his own band (including Mick Taylor on guitar) on their 1973 European tour.
In 1973 he had his first #1 hit with "Will It Go 'Round in Circles", and followed it up in 1974 with his second #1 hit,
"Nothing from Nothing".
Also in 1974, along with Bruce Fisher, one of his regular songwriting collaborators in the 1970s, he composed one of Joe Cocker's biggest hits, "You Are So Beautiful".
On October 11, 1975, he was the first musical guest on Saturday Night Live's premiere episode, performing "Nothing from Nothing".
Although the Stones and Preston parted company in 1977, mainly due to a disagreement over money, Billy continued to play on solo records by Stones members like
Mick Jagger's Wandering Spirit, and made appearances on the band's Tattoo You and Bridges to Babylon albums.
Billy Preston was certainly one of the most gifted musicians in the history of rock-and-roll, bringing rock organ-playing to a new level.
Here are my Billy Preston transcriptions:
Plus, here are my Billy Preston-related exercises:
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| Kevin McKendree soloing on "Going Back to Louisiana" |
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Kevin McKendree, one of Nashville's leading session players, began to play the piano at the age of three, teaching himself by ear, listening to records by Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles and other early Rock & Roll/R&B pioneers. At ten, inspired by B.B. King, he began to play the guitar.
At the age of 17, he became a professional musician and worked around the Washington, D.C. area, sometimes as a piano salesman.
At 26 he moved to Nashville, got referrals from Chuck Leavell and lots of gigs, and two years later, joined Delbert McClinton as his band leader.
Since then he has recorded and toured with Brian Setzer and John Oates, as well as producing album projects in his studio, The Rock House, in Franklin, TN.
My only Kevin McKendree transcription:
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"Going Back to Louisiana" Piano Solo
Note-for-Note Accuracy
This month I've transcribed Billy Preston's "Nothing from Nothing", a #1 hit in 1974. In 1975 he also performed it on the very first episode of
Saturday Night Live. Starting with a very catchy - and rhythmic - piano lick, the song progresses through Choruses, a Verse and Piano Solo before fading out on the Intro piano riff.
The piano differs from most other pop piano parts in the way the Left Hand is used. Instead of playing rhythmic octaves mirroring the kick drum, Preston plays a non-stop series of Left Hand 8th-note chords.
So that it doesn't get boring, the Right Hand throws in just enough syncopation to keep things interesting. And during the solo he breaks out into a very syncopated Right Hand part full of octaves, tremolos, rhythmic 'pushes', and honky-tonk voicings.
If you like Billy Preston's playing, it's hard to get better than "Nothing from Nothing".
My other new transcription this month is a 16-bar piano solo by a very talented, successful Nashville session player, Kevin McKendree. As bandleader for Delbert McClinton, he played a smoking-hot Roadhouse-rock piano solo in "Going Back to Louisiana".
The 16-bar solo is actually two 8-bar solos back-to-back, complete with terrific blues riffs, 32nd-note runs, tremolos, hammered 3rds & 4ths - a wonderful panoply of blues elements.
If you'd like to study how a well-done Roadhouse-rock blues solo is constructed, and perhaps incorporate some of the licks into your own playing, this piano solo is a good tutorial.
(listen to Billy Preston's "Nothing from Nothing"
here)
(listen to and watch Delbert McClinton's "Going Back to Louisiana" piano solo
here)
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Inspired by "Nothing from Nothing" - Left/Right Coordination
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Billy Preston's hands - superior 'chops'
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My new exercise this month will help Left Hand/Right Hand coordination when playing running 8th-note chords in the Left Hand against highly-syncopated Right Hand octave riffs. This style was used by Billy Preston in his "Nothing from Nothing".
Usually the Left Hand plays octaves with a heart-beat type of rhythm following the kick drum. But in "Nothing from Nothing" Billy used a Left Hand pattern not often seen - running (continuous) 8th-note chords.
During much of "Nothing from Nothing" he also used repeated 8th-note chords in the Right Hand. However, during the piano solo he breaks out into a very syncopated Right Hand part full of octaves, tremolos, rhythmic 'pushes', and honky-tonk voicings.
This exercise uses those same elements but with a different chord progression. It starts with a 4-bar chord progression, repeats the progression but with a different Right Hand part, then goes into a 2-bar turnaround played three times, with a 'flip' stuck on the end as a Tag - a total of sixteen bars.
(BTW, if you need other good, effective technical exercises, please check out
the other 77 exercises available.)
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Did You Know Roy Bittan of the E-Street Band Played the Piano Part?
'Custom' (to-order) transcriptions can be expensive because of the time required. And when a recording is particularly long and/or complex, the expense can be too much for one person.
Fortunately, "CrowdFunding" (I use the term generically) has now succeeded four times with important transcriptions: first Ethel Caffie-Austin's "Amazing Grace", then Don McLean's "American Pie", then Johnny Rivers' "Rockin' Pneumonia". and Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell". Thanks very much to everyone that contributed.
The way it works is simple:
No contributor will b
e allowed to pay in advance, but only after the transcription is finished and distributed to all the contributors and everyone is happy with it.
This past month I've fallen in love with the piano part on Bonnie Tyler's classic, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (click
here to listen). I'd always assumed that it was played by Jim Steinman or some other good piano-player. What I've discovered is that it was played by no less than The E-Street Band's Roy Bittan, and really is a superior rock piano track - six-and-a-half minutes of Bittan at his best!
But therein lies the problem - it's very long and transcribing it would require a lot of time, perhaps a month or more. Having listened to it a lot recently, I feel it's almost up there with "Bridge over Troubled Waters" as an iconic rock piano track rarely surpassed.
I can hear Bittan's piano part clearly - every note - and would love to transcribe it and share it with the world.
This is my request for those in a position to help fund the transcription of this epic almost-seven-minutes piano track to come forward and do so.
if you'd like to help 'crowdfund' Roy Bittan's superior piano track on Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart".
My 'CrowdFunded' transcriptions to-date:
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Learn "Summer in the City"
Few pop/rock songs convey the feeling of a really hot, uncomfortable summer day as well as John Sebastian's "Summer in the City". And it's not very difficult to learn/play (although many don't get the chords exactly right). You probably don't need any coaching to learn it.
But maybe you'd like to play the piano far beyond a simple, chord-based pop song. Maybe you've heard a lovely Bach piece that you wish you could play ("Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire" got me my job with the Beach Boys), perhaps a romantic Chopin Nocturne, or Beethoven's haunting 'Moonlight' Sonata, or perhaps Rachmaninoff's gorgeous Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (18th movement). Or something more like Nicky Hopkins' "Girl from Mill Valley" or Rick Wakeman pieces.
Use these uncertain times to explore the music that you've always wanted to.
By means of Skype lessons, I can coach you and help you to improve your technique, your rhythm, your knowledge of music theory, and to develop relative pitch.
I've had the good fortune to have
toured the world playing keyboards and arranging/conducting for these Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Artists:
- The Beach Boys
- Rod Stewart - All 'Unplugged' concerts
- Ricky Nelson - Stone Canyon Band
And I've also won classical piano competitions performing Beethoven,
Rubinstein a
nd
Saint-Saens' Piano Concerti. See me playing here. "Josie's Boogie" is quite the virtuoso dramatic mino
r-key showpiece; check out the ascending double-octave run at the ending... :)
Thanks to the internet, I can help you play piano better - rock or classical, by ear or by note.
Perhaps all you need is just an hour on Skype discussing rock keyboards.
If you'd like to improve, drop me a note
at
info@manymidi.com. Tell me three things:
1) Your musical background
2) Where you are currently, musically-speaking
3) Your musical goals
My students include members of:
- Weezer (Rivers & Brian)
- Vampire Weekend (Ezra & newest addition, Greta)
- Incubus (Mike)
- The Strokes (Nick)
- Rooney (Robert)
- Jason Schwartzman ("Mozart in the Jungle")
- Courteney Cox
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