Elmo Peeler Note-for-Note Piano Transcriptions | | |
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Dear Elmo,
Today is the first day of October - welcome to Fall! - 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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"Ashokan Farewell" from The Civil War | |
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This month my new offering is my own arrangement of "Ashokan Farewell", written by violist Jay Ungar and used extensively in Ken Burns' 1990 PBS-TV documentary The Civil War. For years I've loved and played its wistful, melancholy melody, and after a recent re-viewing of the excellent documentary decided to write it down. Please listen to it. I hope you like it.
Also new this month is a challenging exercise in double-thirds in a boogie-woogie context - definitely not for the faint of heart. Has anyone learned Chopin's Etude in Thirds? :)
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".
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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:
- have a cover band and want to get your keyboard parts exactly correct,
- are a professional who wants to study the styles of rock's greatest keyboard players, or
- 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.
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In the News! - PBS-TV documentary The Civil War - "Ashokan Farewell"
Jay Ungar's Haunting Viola Melody
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Born in the Bronx in 1946 Jay Ungar was raised on pop music of the 1940s and ’50s.
In the 1960s he hung out in Greenwich Village coffeehouses and roamed North Carolina and Tennessee in search of traditional players.
In the late 1960s, he became a member of Cat Mother and the All Night News Boys and later, the Putnam String County Band.
The early ’80s also saw the beginning of Jay’s Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camps, a world-renowned destination in upstate New York for enthusiasts of American music and dance traditions.
Having met during the 1970s, in 1991 Ungar married fellow musician Molly Mason, who became a full partner in designing and running the Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camps.
Since joining forces they have become one of the most celebrated duos on the American acoustic music scene.
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In 1984 documentarian Ken Burns heard their band Fiddle Fever's second LP, Waltz of the Wind, which included Jay's "Ashokan Farewell". Burns was so taken with the evocative and haunting melody, he used it in his next film, Huey, about Louisiana Governor Huey Long, and wound up inviting Jay and Molly to provide music for many of his projects.
The high point to date of this long relationship was the selection of "Ashokan Farewell" as the main theme of Burns’ landmark PBS documentary The Civil War. The result: an Emmy nomination for Jay and a Grammy for the soundtrack album.
And the tune seems to have taken on a life of its own. Now considered an American “folk” classic, it is played by fiddlers and classical musicians worldwide. In the British Isles, a recording of "Ashokan Farewell" by Her Majesty’s Royal Marines has remained high on the classical charts for several years. It has been performed by major orchestras, and has been recorded by artists from Mark O’Connor to Pinchas Zuckerman, James Galway to Charlie Byrd, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and The Osborne Brothers to Polka King Jimmy Sturr and concert pianist Valentina Lisitsa.
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October's New Arrangement - "Ashokan Farewell" from PBS The Civil War
Jay Ungar's Haunting Viola Melody Arranged for Piano
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Jay Ungar & his wife Molly Mason -
"Ashokan Farewell"
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My new arrangement this month is of a longtime favorite - Jay Ungar's hauntingly beautiful "Ashokan Farewell" instrumental.
I first heard it on the PBS-TV documentary The Civil War, and immediately fell in love with the melody, then over the years evolved my own piano arrangement of it.
After recently re-watching all eleven hours, I decided it was time to write down my own version, arranged for piano, of Ungar's composition, which was originally for viola.
The most important of Ungar's melodic embellishments - mordents, flips, etc. - which are responsible for a lot of the atmosphere and period charm of the piece, are included in this arrangement.
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One of the more difficult piano techniques is playing a series of double-notes, i.e., two notes played simultaneously in the same hand, such as double-thirds and double-sixths. Although they can be challenging, the benefits of practicing them can be excellent. Chopin's double-sixths etude and his double-thirds etude are considered among the most difficult of his Etudes and the most rewarding in terms of technical benefits.
This is a boogie-woogie-based exercise in double-thirds that is not as difficult as Chopin's Etude but is nevertheless challenging. Fingering is included, of course.
It is in four sections, each with a different boogie-woogie Left Hand pattern. The Right Hand stays pretty much the same, for effective repetitive practicing of the double-thirds. The benefits of this exercise include increased finger strength, independence and agility, and Left-Right coordination.
Two options are available, sheet music and a MIDI file.
BTW, if you need other good, effective technical exercises, please check out all of the 102 exercises
available.)
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Gospel Corner - Say 'Amen' Somebody
The Hangout Place for Gospel Classics
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You don't have to be from the Deep South to love Gospel piano, nor do you need to belong to any particular religion. All you have to have is a love for wonderful old-time, swinging, uplifting piano-playing.
Leon Russell, Billy Preston, Richard Tee and Ray Charles, some of the greatest keyboard players ever, loved the style and infused their own performances with Gospel licks and rhythms.
Inspired by the wonderful playing of the portly Associate Pastor/Musical Director of my childhood's Baptist Church deep in the piney woods of Mississippi, in recent years I've transcribed and/or arranged a few Gospel classics.
This little corner of my newsletter is where I'll keep you informed of my latest efforts to share that old-time Gospel sound.
Here are my Gospel transcriptions and/or arrangements, plus some exercises:
Full-blown Gospel:
Billy Preston & The Beatles - "Without a Song"
"I'll Fly Away" - arranged by Elmo Peeler (click here to hear it)
"Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" - arranged by Elmo Peeler (click here to hear it)
"Amazing Grace" - as played by Ethel Caffie-Austin (click here to hear it)
"Victory in Jesus" - as played by The Gaithers (click here to hear it)
Heavily Gospel Influenced:
Richard Tee - Contemporary Piano - First Piece
Floyd Cramer - "One Day at a Time (Sweet Jesus)"
Don Henley - "You Don't Miss Your Water"
Mavis Staples - "Hard Times Come Again No More"
Van Morrison - "Benediction"
Richard Tee - "Happy Birthday" (version 1)
Richard Tee - "Happy Birthday" (version 2)
Jeff Beck Group (Nicky Hopkins) - "Girl from Mill Valley"
Plum Nellie - "A Love Like Yours"
Plum Nellie - "That Lucky Old Sun"
Bill Payne (of Little Feat) - "The Ballad of Davy Crockett"
Lari White (Bill Payne on piano) - "Lead Me Not"
Ray Charles - "Sweet Sixteen Bars"
Billy Preston - "Will It Go Round in Circles" - Gospel-style Intro by Billy Preston
The Rolling Stones (Billy Preston on piano) - "Shine a Light"
Delaney & Bonnie (Leon Russell) - "Faded Love"
Leon Russell - "She Belongs to Me"
Don Henley - "You Don't Miss Your Water"
Moderately Gospel Influenced:
Billy Vera & the Beaters - "At This Moment"
Bob Dylan - "Piano Mood" - Gospel-style piano improvisation
Delaney & Bonnie (Leon Russell) - "Don't Deceive Me"
Jackson Browne (Craig Doerge on piano) - "Rock Me on the Water"
Jerry Lee Lewis - "When the Saints Go Marching In"
James Taylor (Clarence McDonald on piano) - "Steamroller Blues" - Piano Solo
Leon Russell - "Old Masters"
Ray Charles - "Heartbreaker"
Ray Charles duo with Billy Joel - "Baby Grand"
Gospel-related Exercises:
Transform a Melody into Floyd Cramer's Style - Mary Had a Little Lamb
ii-chord Bump Exercise
Gospel Chord Exercise No.1
Gospel Chromatically-Descending Riff Exercise - Ethel Caffie-Austin's Signature Lick
Gospel Rhythm Exercise (in the style of Lari White's Good Good Love)
Descending R&B-Gospel Riff Exercise - Billy Preston-Richard Tee Style
R&B-Gospel Elements Exercise, incl. Substitutions - Billy Preston-Richard Tee Style
Exercise in Contrary Motion - Gospel-Rock
Exercise in Gospel - Walk-ups & Walk-downs, IV-chord Bumps & Strums
Exercise - How To Transform a Melody into Gospel
Gospel & Stride Exercise - Crossing the Left Hand over the Right
Exercise - Ray Charles Ending (Extended Walk-down)
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MIDI Corner - Transcriptions Turned into MIDI Files
Helpful for Those that Don't Read Sheet Music Well
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Most of my transcriptions have heretofore been available only as sheet music in PDF's. That is gradually changing - some are now also available as MIDI files, which can be especially helpful for those who would prefer to listen to them than to read the sheet-music notation.
This section of my newsletter is where I'll keep you informed of which transcriptions and exercises are available as MIDI files.
BTW, if you'd like my sheet music in a MIDI file, just let me know which one(s).
Here are the currently available MIDI files of my transcriptions, arrangements, and exercises:
MIDI Files of Rock, Pop & Classical Transcriptions:
Elmo Peeler - "Ashokan Farewell" arranged for Solo Piano (with Tempo Map).mid - NEW!
Leon Russell - "Old Masters" (with Tempo Map)
Elton John - "Still Uses This Tip Leon Russell Gave Him in 1970"
B.B. King - "The Thrill Is Gone"
Jacob Tolliver - "Boogie Woogie Country Man"
Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood - "Squeeze Me In"
Meat Loaf - "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" (with Tempo Map)
Ray Charles - "Mess Around"
Richard Tee - "Happy Birthday Boogie-Woogie"
Donald Fagen - Standard 12-bar Blues (in A Major) transcr/arr. by Elmo Peeler).mid
Meat Loaf - "Bat Out of Hell" (with Tempo Map).mid
Bach - Violin Concerto, BWV 1042 - 2nd Mvmt - For Synth/Sampler or Piano.mid
Bach - Double Violin Concerto, BWV 1043 - 2nd Mvmt - For Synth/Sampler or Piano.mid
Booker T. & the M.G.'s - "Chinese Checkers".mid
Dave 'Baby' Cortez - "Rinky Dink".mid
Richard Tee - Contemporary Piano - First Piece.mid
Booker T. & the M.G.'s - "Hip Hug-Her".mid
Billy Vera & the Beaters - "At This Moment".mid
The Beatles (with Billy Preston) - "I've Got a Feeling" (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Floyd Cramer - "One Day at a Time (Sweet Jesus)" (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Gerry & the Pacemakers - "How Do You Do It" - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Glenn Frey - "Route 66" (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Don Henley - "You Don't Miss Your Water" (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Billy Preston & The Beatles - "Without a Song" (gospel jam)(transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Ray Charles - "Makin' Whoopee" (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Bonnie Raitt - "I Can't Make You Love Me" (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
The Beatles (with Billy Preston) - "Get Back" (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Mavis Staples - Hard Times Come Again No More (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender (arranged by Elmo Peeler).mid
Sugar Chile Robinson - Numbers Boogie (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Sugar Chile Robinson - Numbers Boogie - with Left Hand in Broken Octaves.mid
The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Van Morrison - Benediction - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
The Meters - Cabbage Alley - Piano Part - Intro & Verse (trans. by Elmo Peeler).mid
Elmo Peeler - A Whiter Shade of Pale - (arranged for Solo Piano).mid
Leon Russell - Shoot Out on the Plantation (studio version) (transcr. by Elmo Peeler).mid
Leon Russell - Shoot Out on the Plantation (Solo Piano version) (transcr. by Elmo Peeler).mid
The Zombies - This Will Be Our Year - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Liberace - Chopsticks (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Long John Baldry - Conditional Discharge (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire (1957) (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Jerry Lee Lewis - Trouble in Mind - 2 Pianos: Jerry Lee &Tony Ashton (transcr. by Elmo Peeler).mid
Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Allman Brothers Band - Southbound - Complete Piano Part with Solo (transcr. by Elmo Peeler).mid
Bill Payne - The Ballad of Davy Crockett (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
Saving Mr. Banks (8 Different Songs) - Richard Sherman demos from "Mary Poppins".mid
Stevie Ray Vaughan - The House Is Rockin' - Piano Intro & Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).mid
MIDI Files of Exercises:
Elmo Peeler - Boogie-woogie Chromatic Double-thirds Exercise - NEW!
Elmo Peeler - Repeated Note Exercise on the Most Common Cliche.mid
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Chord Inversions (in the Allman Brothers style).mid
Elmo Peeler - Rippling Fingers Exercise.mid
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Crossing Hands - No.3.mid
Elmo Peeler - Propulsion Exercise.mid
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Flips & Tremolos in 3rds.mid
Elmo Peeler - Exercise - Transform a Melody into Floyd Cramer's Style - Mary Had a Little Lamb.mid
Elmo Peeler - Alberti Bass Exercise.mid
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Harmonized Arpeggios for Two Hands.mid
Elmo Peeler - Exercise for Crossing Hands, No.2.mid
Elmo Peeler - Exercise for the Wrists - Banjo on the Piano.mid
Elmo Peeler - Articulation Exercise in 6ths, Inspired by Bach's Invention No.8.mid
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Chromatic Double-thirds.mid
Elmo Peeler - Leon Russell Exercise.mid
Elmo Peeler - 4-5-2-1 Exercise for the 4th & 5th fingers.mid
Elmo Peeler - 4-5-4-1 Exercise for the 4th & 5th fingers.mid
Elmo Peeler - Rhythmic Exercise - Splitting the Left Hand.mid
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Even if you don't use the actual hardware synthesizers, there are software emulations that will allow you to play these patches on your computer, as VSTI's in your sequencer. These include:
Nils' K1v – Kawai K1 Emulation Plugin
Korg Legacy Digital Edition (for M1 & T1 synths)
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Aurora FM (for DX7 & TX81Z synths)
SQ8L (for ESQ-1 synths)
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I've had the good fortune to have worked with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, and if you're serious about learning, I'll be happy to help you, too.
By means of Skype lessons (or in-person if you're in L.A.), I can coach you and help you to improve your technique, your rhythm, your ability to improvise, your knowledge of music theory, your sight-reading, 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:
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- The Beach Boys
- Rod Stewart - All 'Unplugged' Concerts
- Ricky Nelson - Stone Canyon Band
And I've also won classical piano competitions performing Beethoven, Rubinstein and Saint-Saens' Piano Concerti. See me playing here. "Josie's Boogie" is quite the virtuoso dramatic minor-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.
Or if you live near the Hollywood Hills, I'll teach you in my home or yours.
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
If you'd like to step back in time, watch me playing piano with Ricky Nelson on the Tonight Show - click here.
And here is a video of us playing three songs on The Midnight Special. And here we are on Tom Snyder's Tomorrow Show.
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My students include members of:
- Weezer (Rivers & Brian)
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Vampire Weekend (Ezra & newest addition, Greta)
- Incubus (Mike)
- The Strokes (Nick)
- Rooney (Robert)
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Jason Schwartzman (Asteroid City, Mozart in the Jungle)
- Courteney Cox
- Pablo Dylan
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Los Angeles, CA
323-650-6602
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