by Tania Gleaves on August 25, 2010
Piano man Billy Joel is one of pop music’s great pianists and songwriters. He has captured the heart of many others how like to play piano. And rightly so.
Just ask yourself:
Wouldn’t you just love to be able to sit down at the piano and play a song like “Piano Man”? Billy Joel truly captured a slice of real life in that great hit from the past.
Click Here And Learn How To Play Piano Man By Billy Joel!
The insightful lyrics reflect what was actually going on in the lives of Joel’s fans that gathered in a downtown night spot to hear him perform.
What a haunting, sweet melody, too! Back in 1972, when Joel wrote “Piano Man,” popular songs were often softer and more melodic than they are now. “Piano pop” is an apt name for this style of music, which has a timeless appeal.
When Billy Joel’s memorable song was drifting out onto the air, a lot of today’s pianists were still children, and had never even dreamed of seeing the inside of a bar! Still, the message of the song rang true - and still does.
Actually, there is more than one message, as you consider that each person in the bar has his or her own message. Each one has a different motivation for coming out to hear the singer/piano player who is entertaining that night. Yet one common motive affects each of them…
You can still feel loneliness in the middle of a crowd,
but somehow being part of the crowd makes you feel less alone.
People love ballads. Joel’s personal vignette is not exactly a ballad, although in a way it does tell a story. The difference between this song and a traditional ballad is that the ballad is like a motion picture (or at least like a good commercial!) while Piano Man is more like a still life.
Read more about the song that made piano man Billy Joel famous.
The World Wide Web and computer technology have really changed the way we listen to and learn a song like Joel’s signature tune! Computer technology has given us the ability to. . .
- Buy an MP3 of Piano Man by Billy Joel
- Hear a free midi-file of the song
- Learn to play the song, by using a CD-Rom
- Read the lyrics and even comment on them
- Find a source for the sheet music
- Learn all about our favorite piano man Billy Joel, and other singers and song-writers
It might seem unrealistic to think that you could learn to play songs by Billy Joel without a teacher, especially a challenging song like this one, just by teaching yourself with a CD-Rom or an online course. You might be surprised, however.
Many of the greatest musicians have taught themselves how to play instruments and write songs. It all comes down to motivation, practice and good tools.
Check out all the high tech music options sometime! Maybe someday you, too, will be entertaining a crowd of people just like Piano Man Billy Joel, and you’ll have them “feeling all right”!
Click Here And Learn How To Play Piano Man By Billy Joel!
by Tania Gleaves on August 12, 2010
Beethoven piano music is known to anyone who has ever taken piano lessons. Ludwig von Beethoven changed the world of music with his compositions for orchestra and piano.
Born in 1770, the German composer first learned music from his father, who was exacting and hard.
Rumor has it that sometimes Beethoven’s dad would come home after a long night of drinking with his friend and get Beethoven up, forcing him to practice the piano the rest of the night! (That’s no way to raise kids or learn piano!)
Click Here And Learn Easy Beethoven Piano Music!
Anyway, Beethoven obviously learned what his dad wanted him to learn, because when he was only 16, he had a chance to play for the famous composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart was one of the first that got to know Beethoven piano music and predicted that the young German would “astonish the world” with his talent.
Mozart was certainly right!
Beethoven really lived a tragic life, though. His hearing began to fail while he was still in his twenties. It must have been heartbreaking to be losing his hearing when he had such an obvious passion for music.
The result was that he became depressed and morose in personality as he grew older, and even contemplated taking his own life.
In order to communicate with people, Beethoven kept books in which he and his acquaintances wrote down their conversations. These records are still used to help musicians get a feel for how the composer intended for his music to be played.
“Ode to Joy”
One piece of Beethoven piano music that has been loved by many down through the years is his “Ode to Joy”. This song is from the final movement of his beautiful ninth symphony.
The tune has been familiar for a century or more as a Christian hymn entitled “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”. The words of the hymn were written by Henry van Dyke.
Then in the peace and love days of the early Seventies, the Spanish singer, Miguel Rios, released a version called “Song of Joy” that spoke of a coming day of harmony and peace among all of mankind. It’s certainly a shame that almost 40 years later, we don’t seem to be much closer to seeing that day. Let the dream live on, though!
The song, “Ode to Joy”, is often included in beginner piano courses, because it is a fairly simple tune.
It’s also useful because it is so familiar. A beginner should know how the tune should sound so they can hear if they are playing it right.
Well known songs need to be included in the lessons, instead of just random notes thrown together for practice purposes. It will make the lessons more enjoyable for the learner, and make you sound like you know what you are doing early in your piano course.
Classical music will never really go out of style. The rhythm and meter of a song like “Ode to Joy” has a timeless beauty and appeal. It truly is one of the most beloved Beethoven piano music compositions of all.
Click Here And Learn Easy Beethoven Piano Music!
