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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
Glad you posted it here. Nice ideas in there, champy, and it holds together well as an "arrangement." One thing you might want to consider is exploring a little more harmonic complexity from section to section, or from modulation to modulation, something expressive, surprising and cute. I mean, the progression of the song is already surprising and chromatic in its modulations, which is what makes this song the hit that it is. I am suggesting that you take the chords you've chosen, and juice them up with something a little extra--something more dense and mysterious from modulation to modulation, because as a piano solo, it needs an extra layer of something to give it that Stevie Wonderful sense of awe and joyful playfulness. It might take just one additional note or so in one select chord. Mess wit it. I guess what I'm saying is, now that you have a nicely developed structure, explore and bring out the deeper Stevie Wonder character that is in there below the surface wanting to be heard.
I like the underlying beat you focus on. That's very sweet, and very playful. Nice choice!
(P.S. I remember when this song came out. It was my senior year in high school. Thanks for the trip down memory lane this morning! )
[...] PS .. now I know roughly how old you are...hahah
Yes, well, then you'll indulge me while I tell you a story from the olden days on the northern Mississippi river flood plain, where we walked to school, uphill, both ways, a steep limestone river bluff path, through frozen mud, slippery deciduous humus, ice, frost and snow, the rusty barbed wire wrapped around our bare feet for traction, after hopping over the ice floes of the swiftly moving current to get to the path itself... The barbed wire was rusty, because we couldn't afford new in those days...
Actually, I'm going to share a different memory. Senior year in high school, one of my friends and I were taking an English class at the community college early morning. He would pick me up in a Pontiac Sunfire that was always almost on E, we'd go to English class, then, after pooling our money, we'd put a dollar in the tank, drive to the high school to get on with the other classes of the day. During that semester, "Isn't She Lovely" was getting play on the radio,
(this three minute version, not the six minute album version), and, if we were lucky, it would play somewhere on the ride. We were both goodie two-shoes who would never be late to class, but one day, we *were* late to class because we sat in the car in the lot waiting for the song to finish. Such rebels!
ANYWAY, speaking of juicing up jazz chords, you may already be way past what I'm about to share, but maybe these links will help someone else. They popped up on my YouTube activity page, yesterday, so I thought I'd pass them along to you if you haven't seen them. (I subscribe to "radiokid2"--always interesting, and he posts some really good performances, too. His Kapustin series was great! )
Thanks Cinnamonbear for sharing... I like a lot of music from this part of the history... Stevie Wonder is one of the artist that made me started to paid attention to the non-classical world... But according to my age, I don't really know how it feels like or what is the vibs around when these songs first came out... Now I got ideas how they are from you
Let's see if you what you can say about this one... youtube
Thanks Cinnamonbear for sharing... I like a lot of music from this part of the history...
Yes, well, when I was growing up, the world was usually in black and white, but color was starting to take hold. (Double meaning? Well, nuance is important, see?)
Originally Posted by champy
[...] ... But according to my age, I don't really know how it feels like or what is the vibs around when these songs first came out... Now I got ideas how they are from you
Bless you, champy! I think you mean "vibes," (that's how it's spelled in current-day English, because the "e" makes the "i" to be "long." And, just to confuse the issue, if you don't know about Lionel Hampton, yet, check him out, too! (He plays the vibes. LOL! (Short for vibrophone.*) He goes "ehhehhehh" under the music, like Glenn Gould, too, BTW.)
Originally Posted by champy
[...] Let's see if you what you can say about this one... youtube
O.K.! Now, I always hate it when other people post a YouTube link that says, "You should play it like this:" And, that's NOT what I'm doing, now, so, I'm not being a hypocrite (in this case).
When I listened to your link for "Reasons" (which was GREAT to hear, and, yes, you are definitely on the right track, IMHO), I had to go to YouTube to find the original, or something like it, which, lo and behold, was off of probably the fifth LP that I ever bought with my own allowance money (after Brahmas Piano Concerto No. 1, Bachman Turner Overdrive-Not Fragile, Mozart Piano Concerto in C, K467, ZZ-Top-Fandango, and Bach's Greatest Hits, in that order). You keep bringing back memories!!! So, I listened to the original twice (Original? Well, the live version is the first version *I* ever heard... And the sax lead is so sweet! "He plays so beautiful! Don't you agree? He said, 'It's all about love!'" And, it brought back so many memories of life under the headphones as a young teen. And, musically, Earth, Wind, and Fire had it goin' in so many, many ways...) and then went back to listen to your cover a few more times.
It's good!!! Your cover is very good!
Dynamic variation: 1:34 Do more of that, especially with the twinkle figure (0:04/0:07). Do you know what a "proscenium" is? ( Here if ya don't.) Decide what sounds you want in the foreground, and what sounds you want in the background, and then play like that.
Rhythmic variation: 3:38 Nicely done! Are there other places to work variation into the picture? (Hint: twinkle at 2:15/2:16--can you get your hands closer together in the registers?)
This is really, good, Champy!
Do you take requests? (If not, get used to it! Because people who play like you do are going to have people come up to you and say, "Do you know 'I Dream Of Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair'?" (Happened to me just yesterday! )) I have been meaning to work up this one:
I think that would be a really fun one for solo piano! (I gave you the mono version, because that's how it came over the AM radio under the pillow in the middle of the night in those days. But this one is fun, too. 10 mins.: "And go!" he says-- Boogie Oogie Oogie (1978) Take those visual cues, and work them into your playing! The only reason I feel confident in saying that is because you've already got it going! Keep going!!! )
Are you sorry you asked, yet?
_________ * Where's the "e"? Ah, English. It makes no sense.
and put the transistor radio under you pillow to listen, you'll learn a lot!
(The weather has to be right for me to bring it in here, in Illinois, but I still listen with the transistor radio under my pillow, to make it sound right.)
Here is another one, Cinnamonbear. Because I have a lot of tunes I wanna learn, I really don't do request from other yet... but I will definatly think about it yours.D
Hi, champy! This arrangement is IMO just dead on -- a sustained infectious rhythm, beautifully presented, spare, no messing with pedal or extraneous effects -- just a great effort! I liked the other two you provided as well, but think those need some additional variation and augmentation the second and third time around -- but Superstition is a total keeper! Thanks for sharing these! And yes -- Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind, and Fire were two of the best musically in the '70s. You might also want to check out Steely Dan for additional musically sophisticated covers.
Here is another one, Cinnamonbear. Because I have a lot of tunes I wanna learn, I really don't do request from other yet... but I will definatly think about it yours.D
Kick A** Excellent, champy! Keep 'em coming!
(I'm going to give you another request, though, because I'm like that old guy that came up to me the other day and said, "Can you play, 'Baby Elephant Walk?'" And trust me, people are going to start giving you requests. So, along with Boogi-oogie-oogie, please put Simon & Garfunkle's "Hazy Shade of Winter" on your watch list. Far from funky, totally percussive, lots of juicy augmented harmonies to exploit, and you could piano solo cover it like it was your own. Just do me a favor and put these in your handy reference file... )
Guys... Here is another one from Stevie Wonder... Lately
As I don't have times to do any new tunes or any requests guys (which I would do if I have time, I promise!! haha).. I'm diging my old stuff to sell to you guys... (Actually I am slowly running out of stuff to show now... haha)
By the way, I also posted my videos in Non-Classical Pianist Corner forum. And it is interesting and strange to me, that I get more feed back and responses for my videos, which is NOT classical music, in this forum than non-classical one.... Is the other forum dying?
Guys... Here is another one from Stevie Wonder... Lately
As I don't have times to do any new tunes or any requests guys (which I would do if I have time, I promise!! haha).. I'm diging my old stuff to sell to you guys... (Actually I am slowly running out of stuff to show now... haha)
By the way, I also posted my videos in Non-Classical Pianist Corner forum. And it is interesting and strange to me, that I get more feed back and responses for my videos, which is NOT classical music, in this forum than non-classical one.... Is the other forum dying?
Hi, champy! Another effective arrangement of a Wonder standard -- a good sense of style, although a tad on the "cocktail-y" side for my taste. As I mentioned previously, in the arrangements of 4 - 6 minutes, with several restatements, I think they could be enhanced by a shift in key and perhaps in cadence, in addition to a change in register. But still, a very attractive listenable performance. Thanks for sharing!
Incidentally, as CinnamonBear indicated, the non-Classical Forum, for whatever reason, doesn't have many Member Recordings, and so it's really better to post here in Pianist's Corner. It's not that the other site is dying, it's just that the Member Recording feature in the NonClassical Forum isn't utilized very much.
Hi, champy! Another effective arrangement of a Wonder standard -- a good sense of style, although a tad on the "cocktail-y" side for my taste. As I mentioned previously, in the arrangements of 4 - 6 minutes, with several restatements, I think they could be enhanced by a shift in key and perhaps in cadence, in addition to a change in register. But still, a very attractive listenable performance. Thanks for sharing!
Incidentally, as CinnamonBear indicated, the non-Classical Forum, for whatever reason, doesn't have many Member Recordings, and so it's really better to post here in Pianist's Corner. It's not that the other site is dying, it's just that the Member Recording feature in the NonClassical Forum isn't utilized very much.
Ah I see... in this case, should I repost these recordings? The one I post after posting "Send One Your Love"? Or there is only you (Tim) and Cinnamonbear, in this subforum who are interested in non classcial recording here.... If that's the case, I wouldn't repost them...
champy, from what I can tell in the NonClassical Forum, if people do post a recording, they place it right in the general category of threads, even though, like Piano Corner, there is a special section for member recordings. Why this is, I don't know -- but if you're looking for additional feedback, that's how I'd approach it.
champy, from what I can tell in the NonClassical Forum, if people do post a recording, they place it right in the general category of threads, even though, like Piano Corner, there is a special section for member recordings. Why this is, I don't know -- but if you're looking for additional feedback, that's how I'd approach it.
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