How Piano Man Billy Joel Captured A Slice Of Real Life 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.
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"!
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