OK, here's a start. I'm playing the song "Solitude" Sundow style as my friend plays along with his standup electric bass:

http://www.box.net/shared/kk8h2xe4uu

Thanks For Listening -

angelojf

anjelojf - Nice effort on that great old Duke Ellington standard from the 30s.

Regards, JF

Very nicely done! Good bass playing too. I would adjust the balance a bit... make the piano a bit louder (or the bass a bit lower).

Nice way to start the day. Thanks.

Here's a little dance called a Galliard (or, in French, Galliarde) written by that most prolific of all composers, Anonymous. This was probably written between 1520 and 1529.

Enjoy!



Ed

Ed - very well played - love those early pieces - I just recorded a lovely little Minuet in A minor from the era of Bach - might post it here in the Bar soon - thanks for sharing.

Regards, JF

John,

Thanks for your kind words. I look forward to hearing your minuet!

Ed

Well, here it is (since you insist ).

Composed by the German Johann Krieger (1651-1735), a contempoary of Bach and Handel, this gorgeous little piece in one of the prettiest of all keys has a very active left hand part with a "life of it's own". This is especially effective in the second section in the little LH "roll-over" that returns the piece to the RH theme initially heard in the first section. The repeat of the last four measures at the end is my own enhancement, which is not (but should be!) in the original score. Enjoy.

Minuet in A Minor

Regards, JF

Edited to add that this piece is from Alfred's "Essential Keyboard Repertoire, Vol. 1".

Here is my April Piano Bar submission. It is a tune from 1930 called On the Sunny Side of the Street. I used Movie Maker to give the video sort of a depression-era look to fit the song.

Ed,

Very nice! You make it seem effortless.

John Frank:

Great job. Thanks for letting us hear it.

Bill:

Awesome work. You belong on MTV.

Bill that's great. The special effect is a riot!


I keep meaning to ask... how are you putting the youtube vid on the forum like that?

Peyton - thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

Here is how you embed your YouTube video:

Once you have your video up on youtube copy the URL.

Using the full reply form select the 5th icon from the left (it looks like a TV screen).

You will be presented with several choices, one of them is YouTube video.

After selecting this option paste in the URL for your youtube video and it will be embedded in you message.

That is all there is to it.

Angelo, hey, I really love that song, and you certainly did it justice with that laid-back, thoughtful performance. Well done.

Ed (EPF), that certainly has a medieval sound to it, like an ancient folk tune. Very nicely played, very smooth.

John, very pretty indeed. Your right-left hand coordination is impressive here.

Bill, very apropos! I always liked that song - the tune, the hopeful spirit. And you could have fooled me with that video editing trickery! Well done.

My piece this month is Blue Moon, featuring "Viv", my lovely Virtual Vocalist. She is not too good with lyrics, and her voice won't melt your heart, but I can count on her to sing the right note at the right time, and she rarely complains. And though you can't tell from her singing, she is absolutely gorgeous! (At least, in my mind's eye she is.)

http://www.box.net/shared/m9tqdet3ud


By way of explanation - - I'm trying to learn how to accompany a singer, including the art of improvising little melodies to fill the empty spaces in songs, without getting in the singer's way. I don't think I'm there yet, but making progress.

Ed

Riddler (Ed) - I think you are too hard on yourself - your accompaniment and solo break sound down right professional to me. Excellent. Viv is lucky to have hooked up with you.

Angelojf - this might be your best to date. It must be difficult playing with another instrument and you pulled it off nicely.

Thanks Bill. I didn't realize it was now a feature on the forum.

Epf- Nicely done. Sounds like Anonymous knew what he was doing (and so do you)

Frank- Well played.

Riddler... does she do dishes too? She sure can sing. Great job!! Your piano fits perfectly. did you improv or follow music?

Ed,

That comping was really really good.

Ed,

Absolutely Awesome! Loved it! You aren't really going to tell us that you've been playing for only two years, are you? I bookmarked your home page and will listen to more of your stuff. Great work!

I had to try the youtube-to-forum thing. It's my dad's birthday (he would have been 82 today) so I changed the song I wrote about him a little and here it is. It's called Judging Distances. On a side note... I would like to figure out how to record the audio on my computer audio program (metro) and then tie it in with my video program (i-movie). Does anyone here have i-movie and tried that?

Peyton - It says your video is Private.

thanks. I thought that by keeping it private I could still put it here. Guess not... Ah well, now the whole world will see the yellow paint on my neck...

I don't ever watch myself sing and I'm not too pleased with it.... I never realized how tense I get.

angelof - isn't it fun to play with other musicians? Nice work.

epf - nice little dance there.

John Frank - I, too, like the early pieces, and you did a nice job on this. Many of the folk music pieces our band plays date from this era.

Bill - love it - such a smarmy version I love to do that to tunes. And the streaks/black and white film were perfect.

riddler - wonderful. Too bad I can't sing - it'd be great fun to be your vocalist. Can she do different syllables, like scat?

Peyton - very nice. It is fund to see videos and note how everyone plays, to pick up hints, tips, and tricks. I've recently been much much more aware of tension (because I have to play some very fast stuff, and it's not playable unless it's easy), so I appreciate the pictures.

Cathy

Wow, nice stuff everyone. Very jealous of the singers out there, but there's a reason you won't find me singing (thank the deity of your choice on that one, trust me.)

Peyton: that was quite nice. Seriously.
Riddler: put a smile on my face.
b528nf7: cool, really liked the grainy black and white
John Frank: I remember that piece. Essential indeed.
epf: nice.
angelojf: I'm getting nothing from box.net on your link (I tried playing, opening and downloading) I'm disappointed

My submission for early April, maybe there'll be more this month from me (a little hackneyed in places):
More messing around with those four chords.

I'm not seeing it (the tension). I think you look totally at ease and natural in your video.

Thanks Bill. Coming from someone that to me is the epitome of relaxed I appreciate the comment.

Very nice, angelojf. I always love a bit of Ellington. I agree with Peyton, though, the bass is a bit loud in comparison to the piano. I suspect it was much nearer the microphone(s). Very enjoyable playing by both pianist and bassist!

Hmm . . . are you certain? I always thought Anonymous was more recent than the 16th century. Nice job.

Nice little minuet, JohnFrank. I agree that the repeat works well.

I've always loved this song, Bill. Great playing and singing. Your style is perfectly suited to this piece. I think it's one of your best so far.