Elmo Peeler Note-for-Note Piano Transcriptions | | |
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Dear Elmo,
Today is the first day of March 2025 and time again for my monthly newsletter, to keep you informed of recent transcriptions and other news of the last month. Spring is less than three weeks away! :)
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18-yr-old Billy Preston -
"The Most Exciting Organ Ever" - 1963
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I have three new transcriptions this month, including 18-year-old Billy Preston's "Billy's Bag". This was on the very first Billy Preston album I'd ever heard and the tracks - all instrumental - blew my mind. It revolutionized how I, and many of my peers, played Hammond organ.
Have you ever heard Bob Seger's "The Fire Inside"? Did it sound a bit like Bob Seger Meets the E Street Band? If so, it's for a very good reason - because Roy Bittan played piano on it. I've just transcribed his lengthy (1:07) piano solo.
Also new this month is a charming little miniature of a piano solo - Uncle Kracker's "Nobody's Sad on a Saturday Night". Some sweet C&W licks in just a few bars.
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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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:
- 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! - Billy Preston & Roy Bittan
Two of rock's very best keyboardists
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Born in 1946 in Houston, Texas, Billy Preston as a child moved to Los Angeles with his mother, a stage actress - for whom twenty years later he would write "You Are So Beautiful".
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, Eartha 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 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'" & "Billy's Bag") and performed on the rock and roll show Shindig!
In 1967, he joined Ray Charles' band. Following this exposure, several musicians began asking Preston to contribute to their sessions, including the Beatles, seven years after meeting him while playing with Little Richard.
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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)". 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. 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.
Here are my Billy Preston transcriptions:
Billy Preston - "Billy's Bag" - Organ & Piano Parts - NEW!
Billy Preston - "Nothing from Nothing" - Piano Part
Billy Preston - "Slippin' and Slidin'" - Organ Part
Billy Preston - "Will It Go 'Round in Circles - Opening Piano Riff
The Rolling Stones - "Shine a Light" - Billy Preston, piano
Here are my transcriptions of Billy Preston recordings with The Beatles:
The Beatles - "I've Got a Feeling" - Billy Preston, electric piano
The Beatles with Billy Preston - "Without a Song"
The Beatles - "Get Back" - Billy Preston, electric piano
The Beatles - "Don't Let Me Down" - Billy Preston, piano
Plus, here are my Billy Preston-related exercises:
Billy Preston-style Exercise No.4 - Inspired by "Nothing from Nothing"
Coordination Exercise No.2 - Billy Preston-style
Descending R&B-Gospel Riff Exercise - Billy Preston-Richard Tee Style
R&B-Gospel Elements Exercise, incl. Substitutions - Billy Preston-Richard Tee Style
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Born in 1949 in Queens, New York City, Roy Bittan said that music first entered his life when, as a child, he saw an accordion player, Dick Contino, on the Ed Sullivan Show.
"I said, 'I want to play that.' He was pre-Elvis; from like 1949 to 1952, he was one of the biggest entertainers in the U.S. - very Italian-looking guy, muscular. Women in those days would throw their hotel room keys at him. I was too little to understand that part, but I loved the instrument, so I wanted to take accordion lessons, and my parents indulged me. I studied the accordion.
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The two sides of the accordion are broken up, the right hand being the melody and the left hand being sort of chordal. I suppose you could say the same thing about the piano, but it's not really the same on the piano, because when you play the accordion, you tend to play melody with a harmony of thirds and maybe sixths, and it's a very, very melodically evocative instrument. The accordion also has a sense of pathos, as well
as a sense of joy. I mean, it's a woodwind. It's wind blowing over a reed. And it can be very expressive when played properly. So I think the training I had on the accordion gave my playing an expressiveness. | |
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"Also, when I studied the accordion, I had a teacher who gave me the pop songs of the week to write out a chord chart, which is basically the melody of the song and then a symbol above it of what the chord is underneath it. You have to figure out how to play the song. So, that sort of extemporaneous, spontaneous training of taking a melody and then embellishing the accompaniment gave me a leg up on those who took piano lessons and maybe just studied classical music. I was trained early on in expressing myself and getting the most out of a particular piece of music."
Roy first met Bruce Springsteen in 1974 at Max's Kansas City, a nightclub in NYC where Springsteen and his E Street Band were sharing the bill with Bittan's band. "So for a few nights, our bands would trade sets, and we would pass in the hall. I would go, 'Ah, man, you're so great,' and he would go, 'Hey you played really great.' We would pat each other on the back: 'Hey, have a good set.' There was no question in my mind that he was going to break through."
Bittan's first album with Springsteen's E Street Band was Born To Run. "We spent a good bit of time working on the arrangements. We would labor over, 'Well, what do we do with the ending of 'Thunder Road'?' And 'Jungleland', my God, it was like, 'How do I connect all this stuff?' My classical training helped me connect all the sections and sort of make them flow together. Then we had to play it like it was a real piece of music. Bruce didn't want to just splice the song together; we would perform it from beginning to end and try to get one great take - not easy to do. So there was a lot of rehearsal involved, a lot of construction. The songs needed tight structure, and I think I was able to distill them and work up piano parts to highlight what he was doing. Using so much piano on the album gave it a certain gravitas rather than just maybe doing it all with guitars."
When told that Keith Richards had said that his last request would be to play "Jumpin' Jack Flash" one final time, and asked what song would that be for him, Bittan replied, "That would be the longest song we ever recorded, which is 'Jungleland'."
Here are my Roy Bittan transcriptions:
Bob Seger - "The Fire Inside" - Piano Solo - Roy Bittan, piano - NEW!
Bob Seger - "Roll Me Away" - Roy Bittan, piano
Meatloaf - "Bat Out of Hell" - Roy Bittan, piano
Meatloaf - "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" - Roy Bittan, piano
Bruce Springsteen - "Jungleland" - Piano Interlude - Roy Bittan, piano
Bruce Springsteen - "Because the Night" - Roy Bittan, piano
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March's New Transcriptions - Billy Preston - "Billy's Bag" & Bob Seger - "The Fire Inside"
Plus Uncle Kracker's "Nobody's Sad on a Saturday Night"
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My first new transcription this month is of brilliant, young (18-year-old) Billy Preston's "Billy's Bag", from his 1965 album The Most Exciting Organ Ever.
An uptempo instrumental, the organ carries the lead throughout. The piano track, also played by Billy, serves as the rhythm instrument (there is no rhythm guitar).
My transcription is of the entire recording and includes both the organ and the piano tracks - lots of notes - all Great!
Although young, Billy was already a master of both instruments.
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My second new transcription this month is of Roy Bittan's piano solo in Bob Seger's "The Fire Inside". At first listen the song sounds like Bob Seger Meets the E Street Band, because Bittan's big, full sound is present in spades.
This is a note-for-note transcription of Bittan's 48-bar piano solo (six 8-bar phrases), plus four bars immediately preceding the solo and eight bars right after the solo is over, so that you can get into and out of the solo just as Bittan does on the recording.
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My third new transcription this month is of the short-but-Sweet piano solo in Uncle Kracker's "Nobody's Sad on a Saturday Night". In 2012 Kracker released an album with C&W influences, and this track had a sweet - even charming - little piano solo on it. It's only eight bars long, and should have been longer, given how much fun it is to hear and to play.
My transcription contains not only the solo, note-for-note, but also the same solo slightly modified to include a better left hand part and a couple of small changes in the right hand part.
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My Latest Exercise - Blues Substitutions
The Two Most Common Blues/Rock Chord Substitutions
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My most recent exercise shows how to use the two most common chord substitutions in rock and blues - plus several others - in a blues context.
The two most common chord substitutions in rock and blues are a minor chord a major 6th over the root and a minor chord a perfect 5th over the root.
When used properly, they allow a player to use a wider range of harmonic choices than just dominant 7th or 9th chords.
Other substitutions included are:
1) an "add 2" chord in lieu of a simple flat-VII triad. 2) a "7(#9)" is used instead of a dominant 7th chord.
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Crossroads of the Blues - Greenwood, Mississippi
about 50 miles from where I grew up
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3) chords that harmonize a Left Hand walk-up are included.
4) a 3rd-inversion 7th chord sets up the V chord, which is a chromatically-altered V chord, i.e, a 7(#5).
5) the final I chord is prepared by a flat-II chord, a Db9.
If you'd like to add some 'new' chords into your blues playing, this exercise will show you how.
BTW, if you need other good, effective technical exercises, please check out all of the 117 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:
The Doobie Brothers - "World Gone Crazy" (Piano Intro) (click here to hear it)
Billy Preston & The Beatles - "Without a Song" (click here to hear it)
"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:
Bob Dylan & Clydie King - "Abraham, Martin and John"
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:
Exercise in Blues Substitutions
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:
The Beatles - Revolution - Complete Electric Piano Part - Nicky Hopkins.mid
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Honky Tonk Night Time Man - Piano Solo - Billy Powell.mid
Boz Scaggs - Last Tango on 16th Street - Accordion (Bandoneon) Solo.mid
Tim McGraw - Something Like That - Piano in Verse 2.mid
The Rolling Stones - Dead Flowers.mid
Brooks & Dunn - Boot Scootin' Boogie - Piano Solo.mid
Fran Cisko - Hot Piano Blues Solo! - Piano & Bass.mid
Elton John - "Rock and Roll Madonna".mid
Bob Dylan & Clydie King - "Abraham, Martin and John".mid
Nicky Hopkins - "Jenni"- Complete Piano Part.mid
Nicky Hopkins - "Interlude a la El Hopo" - Intro & "Flying Trapeze".mid
The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil (Two 8-bar Verse Patterns) - Nicky Hopkins.mid
The Rolling Stones - Honky Tonk Women (Live 1995) - Piano Solo - Chuck Leavell.mid
Elton John - Honky Tonk Women (11-17-70) - Piano Solo.mid
Chuck Leavell - Sympathy for the Devil (8 bars).mid
Vince Guaraldi - Christmas Is Coming (Improvised Section).mid
Travis Tritt - "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" - Piano Solo.mid
Sam Cooke - "Bring It On Home to Me".mid
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Workin' for MCA" - Electric Piano Solo.mid
Linda Ronstadt - "Back in the U.S.A." - Piano Solo.mid
Chris Higbee - "Living the Dream" - Piano Solo.mid
The Black Crowes - "Hard to Handle".mid
Cattanooga Cats - "Stop Right There".mid
The Fleetwoods - Mr. Blue - Arranged for Solo Piano.mid
Joe Zawinul - Jazz/Blues Acoustic Piano 4-minute Improvisation (1963).mid
Bruce Hornsby - Boogie-woogie Improvisation from The Tree Man.mid
Elmo Peeler - "Ashokan Farewell" arranged for Solo Piano (with Tempo Map).mid
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 - Exercise in Blues Substitutions
Elmo Peeler - Pig's Boogie Left-Hand Exercise
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Cross-bar Phrasing (based on "Jessica" rhythm)
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Ascending Chord Inversions
Elmo Peeler - Right Hand Lateral Motion Exercise
Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No. 12 - Alternating Hands Lick
Elmo Peeler - 6-note Minor Pentatonic Blues Scale Exercise
Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No.11 - 3rds, 6ths & Flips
Elmo Peeler - Exercise No.2 in Yodeling 6ths (Chromatically Ascending & Descending)
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in 4-note Chord Inversions
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Fast Rock/Pop/Gospel Right-hand Octaves
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Legato, Fingered Octaves
Elmo Peeler - Exercise in Rhythmic 'Pushes' (Jackson Browne Style)
Elmo Peeler - Exercise on Bruce Hornsby's Boogie-woogie Left Hand Pattern
Elmo Peeler - Boogie-woogie Chromatic Double-thirds Exercise
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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If you're using a vintage synthesizer, please check out our synth patches here.
These are the most highly-organized and best-sounding synth patches available anywhere, guaranteed. Get the most out of your vintage hardware with these large patch libraries:
Ensoniq
Kawai
Korg
Roland
Yamaha
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)
Native Instruments FM8 (for DX7 synths)
Aurora FM (for DX7 & TX81Z synths)
SQ8L (for ESQ-1 synths)
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1) I'd like to transcribe Nicky Hopkins' piano part in The Rolling Stones' "Angie" but no one has commissioned it yet. If you'd like to contribute to this project, please contact me.
2) My other request - please send me your custom transcription requests, because I've found a new way to separate the piano from other instruments/vocals better than ever before. This was used for the first time on Elton's "Rock and Roll Madonna" (a complex piano track) three months ago. Before that I sometimes had to decline transcription requests because the piano part was obscured and could not be heard clearly enough to accurately transcribe. This is an important new tool that creates multi-track clear piano parts.
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February has been my least favorite month of the year since I was eight. But by happy contrast, March has been my favorite month since I was fifteen. So goodbye to the bad, cold and dreary, and a Big Hello to the good, to warmth, and to Rebirth. And just in case anyone else is counting, there are now only 18 more days til S-P-R-I-N-G-T-I-M-E!
So as Mother Nature re-awakens, keep immersing yourself in your passions. Embrace the activities - and those you love - and make the most of every day. Practicing piano should be high on that list. Dust off old repertoire, learn new pieces, and - very importantly - enjoy the process.
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 enjoy the process, 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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Franz Liszt - Improvising on "Billy's Bag" | |
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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 (The Hunger Games - 2023, Asteroid City, Mozart in the Jungle)
- Courteney Cox
- Pablo Dylan
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"I just want to say thank you for the excellent transcriptions. I've downloaded two Lynyrd Skynyrd scribes this week ("I Know a Little" & "Poison Whiskey") and a third today ("Call Me the Breeze"). They're on point. Clear and easy to read. I appreciate the performance notes at the bottom. Great job and thank you again.
I was looking to where I could drop a testimonial on your website to share my experiences here."
- Jack B.
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Los Angeles, CA
323-650-6602
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