Tag Archives: composing

scott joplin piano solo elite syncopations live great performance

Scott Joplin Piano Solo – Elite Syncopations Live – Great Performance

Hans Joerg Fink performs Scott Joplin’s “Elite Syncopations”. Fink is a marvelous performer, giving this Joplin piece a very lively and precise treatment. It’s a very amusing video, as his son enthusiastically runs and dances around the room, while his dad plays the keyboard without distraction.

Scott Joplin (1867/1868? – 1917) was an African-American composer and pianist. Joplin garnered fame for his many ragtime compositions, being known as “The King of Ragtime”. His career was brief, composing 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. He is best known for his the “Maple Leaf Rag” which served as a model for other composers composing classic rags.

Joplin was a serious and ambitious student and took piano lessons after school. He had several teachers, receiving most of his music education from Julius Weiss, a German-Jewish music professor who immigrated to the United States from Germany. Weiss was greatly impressed with Joplin’s musical prowess and after noting his families financial distress, decided to teach him without charge, also helping his mother acquire a used piano. Joplin took lessons from Weiss from ages 11 to 16.

Weiss also taught Joplin to appreciate music not just as art, but as entertainment. This was instrumental in Joplin developing an excellent grasp of how to compose music that was commercially viable. Joplin never forgot Weiss’s tremendous contribution and years later, after achieving considerable fame as a composer, he sent his former teacher money to help him in his elder years.

Video – Randy Newman Sings and Plays Piano – Song From Toy Story

Randy Newman playing acoustic piano and singing “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” from the movie “Toy Story”. This video was recorded live at the Macworld convention in 2008. The song is about two of the film’s characters Woody and Andy, and their strong friendship. Randy Newman, as always, does a great job in delivering a clear message in his song, along with his special vocal style and keyboard playing.

As a piano teacher, here in Portland, I also work with students who are learning to accompany voice with their piano playing, as well as learning composing and songwriting. I often use songs like this to use as examples of how to work with a strong foundation of melody and chord structure to build a song that is memorable, well written, and to the point.

Randy Newman grew up in Southern, California where he began taking piano lessons when he was 6. After moving to in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the age of only 17, Newman started his illustrious career as a songwriter. His influences include blues and gospel, the music he loved when growing up. His songs, many of them controversial, often take the form of a parody of individuals who are socially intolerant, such as his song “Short People”.

For decades, Randy Newman has been making music, singing and writing about the culture around him. He has composed music for numerous films, including “Ragime”, “Toy Story”, “The Natural”, “Maverick”, “Awakenings”, and “Bean”. Newman’s inspiring film scores and songs have earned him awards from the Academy Awards, Emmy, Oscar, and Grammy organizations. The world of American music has been greatly influenced by Randy Newman’s music.

more about Randy Newman

mastering piano lessons

Recording Music

 

recording music piano lessons

 

Recording music is something that students love to do (especially my younger students). See how a recording studio works. Complete all the stages in recording a song; composing, recording, editing, mixing, mastering, burning a CD or making a video.

We collaborate in composing music or scoring a soundtrack to a video. Using a keyboard, computer, and software, we can create amazing sounding music, just like it’s done in recording studios. Songs can be original or sheet music that we are working on. Students can focus on the creative process while the teacher runs the software. As students play, note instantly appear as sheet music on the computer screen.

mixer board keyboard lessons

The song is built one track at a time. We first choose the kind of instruments we want for a song. Then each track is played one at a time, building an arrangement. We might use piano, bass, guitar, strings, synthesizer, wind instruments, brass, drums, sound effects to complete a song. Then we edit the tracks for better timing and uniformity.

Mixing involves overall spacing of the instruments and volume settings. Once the piece sounds almost complete, we ad the final mastering technique of adding EQ, reverb, compression, etc. This smoothes out the sound. Finally, we transfer the song from a multitrack recording, to a two track stereo version.

mastering piano lessons

Lastly, we ‘normalize’ the recording, making sure the volume is set high enough. The final steps is burning a CD. Recording music is a fabulous way to get students completely engaged in learning to play piano. It provides the missing link by demonstrating why we might want to learn to play piano and keyboards. The instantaneous visual and sound display is invaluable in making music and rhythm concepts easy to understand. 

mixer piano lessons

Students quickly feel confident in their new abilities. The whole process is just so much fun, and the results are impressive. Kids who have completed the entire process and have a finished CD, video, or recording, to show their family and friends, really feel a sense of accomplishment.

song composing piano lessons

sheet music piano lessons

 

 

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blues improvisation

Videos

Beginning piano lessons is an exciting start to a new world of music. People who can play piano or keyboards attain an entire new outlook about music and their understanding. There are a number of avenues to becoming a well rounded musician. Learning to read music is the most basic skill. It will enable you to play all sorts of interesting and fun pieces. There is an amazing amount of music available from every genre imaginable; Pop, rock, classical, new age, blues, jazz, and folk are just a few. Then there is the ethnic and world music from around the world.

Another skill that students may want to explore, is learning to play by ear. Understanding melodies and chords and how they are formed into a piece of music is fascinating. Being able to hear a song and then play it is magical.

Blues improvisation is so much fun. It’s another skill that is unlike reading or playing by ear. With all the playing ability that’s achieved, it’s natural for students to want to play music with other people. Playing duets and jamming is a blast.

Playing by ear is something that appeals to many students. Studying chords and melodies increases one’s ability to translate the sound we hear to playing the notes. In addition, blues improvisation and theory are a great addition to playing by ear. 

Other techniques that can be learning are accompanying vocals, arranging, composing, and song writing. Recording a video to share is a great way to show friends or family members what you are up to.

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Piano Lessons &
Keyboard Lessons
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Portland, Oregon

503-253-8021