slpianoproject I really liked this one! I must get the sheets for it. I must also comment on the great sound quality...very clear, well done!

Weiyan Nice work on the Bach and the blues lick. I also bounce between different types of music. Both should help each other in the long run. Keep it up.

Weiyan - your playing seems to grow more confident each month. I listened to both your Bach and your Blues and while I enjoyed them both I really liked your blues recording. Good work.

Thank you. Friends here help me a lot. I take the advice to use a metronome and take care of dynamic. Sharing make music better.

Thanks Weiyan, Stumbler, BillM, Tx Dennis. TxD check out the original, much better yet very different to my interpretation and a great example of how George Martin deserves the title Fifth Beatle - I'm amazed you haven't heard it.

slpianoproject

Michel Rivard does not get much air time in Ontario except maybe on CBC A Propos.
You make this look easy. Great recording

Weiyan
I think your Bach is smoother than I remember from last month.
Nice work on the blues piece.

My mid-month Piano Bar submission is a song recorded by the Beatles for their 1966 album, Revolver. It is reported to be one of Paul McCartney's favorite Beatles tunes.

Here, There, and Everywhere

BillM, great job on one of my many favorite Beatles songs. I'm still busy in my exams, so I haven't had time to view all the contributions, all of which I'm sure are good, but have been looking in every now and then.

Newman, loved your Eleanor Rigby. Weiyan, you're achieving more fluidity (is that the correct word in this context?) in your playing, keep it up. Jazzwee, great jazz session from you and your partners.

BillM - Nice work. I particularly like what you did with the guitar part in the middle eight.(I'll have to copy it and inclide it in my version - no surprise, I've learnt it too).
BTW watch the next post

I logged in a few minutes ago to post this following my regular Friday and Saturday night practice sessions to find BillM has done a Beatles tune too! Here's a song I picked to help me in my current quest to find more material to break out of quarter note chords and add a little colour.

It's Only Love

Taking the tip from Bill ... It's from the Help! album 1965 and is principally a Lennon song.

Beatlemania in December! Love it.

BillM - Here There and Everywhere has always seemed like one of those highly butcher-able vocals to me. If you don't hit those intervals in the first phrase both on key and with some exhibition of range control it sounds like a train wreck. You did it effortlessly and it sounded great.

Newman - Are you sure that you are not British? Strike that - from Liverpool? Your vocal sounds freakishly authentic. It was a real treat.

Great music again this month! I have not had time to go to the bar much lately but I will review the pieces shortly.

Here is my bar entry for the month. This is the first video with my new video camera (Sony A57).

Newman: It's only love
Another great tune from you Newman! Thanks for sharing!! Loved it!! Your music is so full of energy and your passion really shines thru very clearly in your performances.

Bill M: Here, There, and Everywhere.
Awesome! I am not familiar with this song. But anything you touches turns into gold!

Here is a question for Bill and Newman: Do you ever write your own music? You guys have such a potential as you both can sing so well!!

Weiyan: Riff Blues and Minuet
You have come far in a very short time Weiyan! Great job on these pieces!! Do you never use your video camera anymore?

Slpianoproject: Michel Rivard
Great performance and video! You play very smoothly and your piano sounds fantastic with those micas! Great job and thanks for sharing!!

Thanks, Ken and Amaruk.

Yes, I am English (London) by birth and now live in Australia. Apart from style, another reason I chose It's Only Love was thinking of Amaruk asking for more Lennon.

I might have said before, I grew up on the Beatles and attribute my inspiration to be a musician/singer/songwiter 100% to them. They still inspire me.

And, yes, I spent many years trying to crack a career as a 'rockstar'/songwriter and have a catalogue of over 60 el cheapo demos. You will find some on the website below or box.com.

Newman - Its Only Love - creative and fun rendition of a rarely heard Beatles tune. You do such a fine job with the vocals on Beatles songs and your piano work is rapidly evolving - your accompaniments are much more complex than your CaptainKawai recordings.

Amaruk - very fine playing - you show excellent left hand independence and control. Once again, a high quality video to match your high quality piano work

After several months without uploading any videos to the bar, I appear here again, with my blue robe:





Very good contributors this month. Just to mention a few...

Amaruk: very well played and nice production.
Bill: Thanks for being an inexhaustible source of songs.
Weiyan: I see great progress. Very well done.
Augustina: Beautiful "Approaching Night"

Supertorpe - very fine playing, confident, relaxed.

Amaruk - Pretty soon you will have covered the complete movie. I see YT reworked the theme from Coma with a different LH and at a faster tempo. An interesting example of constructing movie music. Well played.

Hi All. As I noted above I spent many years as a "wannabe" song writer but hadn't written anything in a little over five years. In fact I thought that part of my musical life was over. But I was thinking and noodling at the piano one day in September ... and wrote this, which I recorded this afternoon (before I forgot it).

After So Long (Newman)

After So Long

After so long, you still make my heart, skip a beat
After so long, you still make my breath come short but sweet
After so long

I waited a lifetime to reach out to you
So throw me a lifeline to help pull me through

I think of you always as if time stood still
Remember me only with love if you will

Copyright L Newman 2012

It's nothing particularly special just something that came to me.

BillM: Here, There, and Everywhere . Never heard this song before. I enjoy your singing.

Amaruk: Both your video and music are beautiful. My Sony video cam don't have win 7 driver. My panasonic fx100 digi cam has video function but the sound quality is too poor. Most videos are recorded with ipod touch. It need a human tripod, so give up.

supertorpe: The Stephen Heller op47 no15 like Moonlight Sonata. All pieces are well played. Your fingers is rather straight instead of curvy. Did you intended to play with this hand shape? The blue rode is nice.

Newman: I've always envied those who are able to sing as well.



Thanks Weiyan. I keep my fingers straight for two reasons:
a) when I have to stretch the hand (for example, the triplets in the Heller's study)
b) when there are jumps and I need to explore the keyboard with my fingers to avoid looking at the keys

Supertorpe: Great performances! You look so relaxed when you play. The first piece reminded me of Beethoven's piano sonata no 14 (Moonlight sonata) in many ways. I liked them all! Thanks for sharing!

Newman: Very impressive! I can't believe it is your own original. You are indeed very talented!! "Skip a beat…" that was too funny!! Thanks for sharing!!

Weiyan: I use an ipod touch on a regular camera tripod in my set-up. All you need is a $20 adapter like this one to attach it: Link





Here is my latest Yann Tiersen piece from the German movie Good Bye Lenin. The camera with the close-up angle is my beloved new Sony A57 with a 50mm/f1.7 lens.

[b][/b]Amaruk - nice. There's something hypnotic about the YT pieces isn't there?

(Thanks for the compliment)

I was once again noodling late last night and came up with this, I've called it "A Christmas Wish".

A Christmas Wish (Newman 2012)

I don't mean to hog all the bar time. So, I'll try and curb myself until January.

Wising you all a happy Christmas.

Weiyan, both your pieces are well done. The Bach is nice and even, and the blues piece is fun.

Bill, now this one I've heard. Great job on a great song.

Newman, another great job on yet another song I haven't heard before. I must be living under a rock.

Amaruk, great playing. The piece is way too short, though. A57 - nice! I have an old A100-the first of the Sony Alpha series. It's quite a reliable camera, but doesn't do video. I'm seriously lusting after an A65, but haven't been able to convince myself to drop the cash for it yet.

Supertorpe, I had not heard the Heller piece before. It is rather reminiscent of Moonlight. The Bertini and Schumann pieces are rather more familiar. All are played with a nice delicate touch and admirable control of the instrument.

Newman, nice song. I enjoyed AFter So Long.

Amaruk, another great job on Watching Lara.

Newman, you are becoming quite the attention hog. Only kidding, of course. Christmas Wish is very pretty. I kept waiting for you to start singing. Nice tune.

Can someone please explain to me what these monthly piano bars are about? Do we only post pieces that we recorded that particular month?

Thanks.

Hi candlelightpiano.

My take on the piano bar is that it is simply a virtual/online version of a real piano bar, where we post a song or tune for others to enjoy. For me it's a way to share what I am doing and learning with like minded people.

Generally, I believe they are newly recorded pieces. In my own case, for example, I will have been working on a song and when I've got it "under my fingers" I record it and post it. It can be audio only or with video.

It can be in any style.

I hope that helps. Others may, of course, have a slightly different take.

I'm trying to walk back what I've missed lately. A lot of good stuff this month!

Candlelightpiano - I look at the piano bar as almost anything goes. If it is an older recording and you are trying to tell a story with it, then why not? I've posted older ones, that is for sure. This is just fun musical sharing. The Recitals are a different story, where the idea is that you are showing where you are in your development at a current point in time.

Newman - A Christmas Wish was very Christmassy indeed. The lyrics to it felt like they were on the tip of my tongue. After So Long would have been the perfect song for my 30th wedding anniversary. Really nice. If only I could sing. sigh.

Amaruk - Wonderful playing and production values on Watching Laura once again. Stunning.

Weiyan - Good progress keeping the steady bass on Riff Blue! Keep that up. Keeping that going solid (without sheet music) is one of the hardest things to do in playing solo blues and jazz piano.

slpianoproject - a beautiful piece, played excellently. kudos

Augustina - The Approaching Night was very enjoyable. Nice job.

Supertorpe - Style points for the blue robe Style points for your three pieces also, which sounded wonderful!

Thanks. Id' be happy for someone to propose some lyrics. Got a publisher to send it to?


Use it for your fourtieth!