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Piano Man by Billy Joel - A Song that Captures the
Imagination
Piano Man by Billy Joel is considered the signature song of
this popular star.
Billy Joel wrote the song during the early seventies while
he was establishing his career in music. The song,
with its poignant look at real life, was his first big hit.
Billy Joel was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1949.
He was intrigued by classical European music from a young
age, so his mother encouraged him to take piano lessons.
By his early teens, he had become interested in a career in
music.
Some of the artists that inspired him
musically were Ray Charles, Dave Brubeck, and the Beatles -
which shows just how broad Joel's interests in music have
been. While still in high school, he was performing
professional gigs to help his divorced mother make ends
meet. His first recording was in 1968 as part of a
band called "The Hassles."
Billy's own personal
hassles prompted him to move to the West Coast, where he
became a Los Angeles night club performer. It was in
this setting that he fictionalized the people in the bar
into the lyrics of the his signature song.
Piano Man by Billy Joel captures the imagination and hearts
of people everywhere with its slice of life
lyrics
and lilting tune.
The song begins as a sort
of piano pop piece, with a jazz flavor, but also include a
Bob Dylan-inspired harmonica solo.
The tune is
so catchy that listeners often find themselves singing along
after they've heard it a few times. In fact, when Joel
performs the song at concerts, he doesn't sing the chorus.
He holds the mic toward the audience and lets them sing the
familiar words.
Piano Man by Billy Joel is a great song for learning to play
the piano.
It has a simple, familiar
sound that catches your interest and sounds great when
you're performing for your friends. With the wonders
of modern technology, you can even learn songs like this
without a teacher. You can teach yourself, via piano
lesson websites or CD-Rom or online instruction.
Now,
before you start to object that you could never learn a hard
song like this one, realize that, no, it won't be the first
lesson you have. You will need to get familiar with
the keyboard and some basic simple movements first.
Then you'll have to practice what you are learning.
And practice some more.
Having a desire to
learn a skill like piano playing goes a lot farther than
just plunking down money for a teacher. If you have a
passion, like Billy Joel did as a young boy listening to
classical music, half the battle is over.
And
while regular practice is essential, it is
not necessary to spend hours at a time working at
piano playing to master it. In fact, spending too much
time all at once can be counter productive, because it can
lead to burn out. Aim for about
30 minutes every day.
Before you know it, you'll be playing great songs like Piano
Man by Billy Joel.
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