piano showoff tunes

[JeffLearman]

Now that my piano is sounding decent (and hopefully after it gets professionally tuned on Monday, even better soon!) I'd like to learn a few more piano gems, ones that work as solo pieces, and aren't too technically demanding.

 

Tunes I do now include:

- Trilogy - ELP

- Phase Dance - Metheney

- San Lorenzo - Metheney (piano solo to ending only -- the easy parts)

- Linus & Lucy

- A meddly of:

-- Let it Be

-- Imagine

-- Layla ending

-- Great Gig in the Sky

-- Rocket Man

-- Night they Drove Ol' Dixie Down

-- Bridge Over Troubled Water

 

(I seem to have lost one; I'm sure there were 8 tunes in that list!)

 

plus old favorites like Desperado, Green Onions, a few Elton John tunes, a bunch of blues, etc, plus a couple originals, and a lot of Steely Dan (Aja, Dr Wu, Rikki, ... and about a dozen more).

 

As you can see, none of this is really virtuoso stuff, but the marks fall for it. ;-)

 

I'm thinking to add a few pieces like The Entertainer, which is probably high on the difficulty scale for me. I suspect most Gershwin is over my head, other than Summertime. I don't sight read but I can pick up by ear pretty quickly as long as no new skills are required. I'm not afraid of learning new skill, it just takes more time. I do a tiny bit of striding and want to add more.

 

Someone posted Dr. John's youtube of Aiko Aiko and I got started on that. I don't quite have the left hand spread for it but won't let that stop me. I got partway through and hit a section where I keep losing the beat when I try to play through it. It's on my list, but more on the "long term" list.

 

Easy classical pieces are good too, like Moonlight Sonata 1st movement. I used to play some of that. Poorly, probably!

 

Got any good suggestions? Please include the artist names too.

 

PS: I already collected all the tunes on Jazz+'s "mercy mercy mercy" thread. (Yeah, I play that too.) I'll be panning that load and expect to find some gold there!

 

Thanks!

[Bridog6996]

Aram Khachaturian's "Toccata" is pretty good with respect to the "showoff-iness vs. technical difficulty" ratio. Not really that tough to learn, but sounds impressive. It's not easy, but I don't think it's any more difficult that The Entertainer. Its challenges are different though, so it may depend on the player. Not sure many people would recognize it either, but it's a cool piece of music.

[CEB]

Misty is a nice a longtime lounge favorite.

 

Take the A Train maybe. I prefer it done at a slower tempo.

 

If you can do the vocals ( I can't ). Then you can do the National Anthem of the future country I may establish if I get bored. Patternwise Fess's left hand work isn't that hard. But with Fess the challenges revolves around polyrythms.

[video:youtube]

[solpincus]

Cherokee, at about quarter note equals 220, with stride,and, or walking 10ths during the inner chorus. All the Things You Are, with rubato chorus upfront, then a Stridish, bassish solo chorus, .

Giant Steps, with a similiar treatment. Let the right hand play bebop, (not TOO far from the melody) on all the choruses. Lots of arpeggioes during the rubato chorus of each. If you wish to impress without playing in time (we're talking SOLO PIANO here.)then work out routines where the head is re-harmonized (a la Tatum?) lots of single runs during breaks between melodic phrases (a la Peterson,Shearing, or , again Tatum ) lots of rhapsodic tempo changes (a la Erroll Garner, for one).

If you don't want to play stride or walking 10ths, then Dave Mc Kenna gives us a nice wrinkle on bass lines (listen carefully to all the little subtleties he slips in) Hampton Hawes did his thing with an album called THE CHALLENGE.

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, THE MAN I LOVE, I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU,....

Something more contemporary ? Keith, Chick, Mc Coy, Herbie, Zawinel.....RICHIE BEIRACH ! NIGHTLAKE !

[The Real MC]

When my friends introduce me as a piano player they always ask me to play Maple Leaf Rag. The music excites the ears and both hands flying excites the eyes.

[FJR]

"Jump"

[CEB]

But don't do it in C#

[Moonglow]

When my friends introduce me as a piano player they always ask me to play Maple Leaf Rag. The music excites the ears and both hands flying excites the eyes.

+1

 

The Entertainer (original version) is a tough tune. Maple Leaf Rag is easier, IMHO.

[rockkeys]

"Jessica" by Chuck Leavall

 

"Thunder Road" (learn it note for note) If you have to ask who wrote Thunder Road....

[David Loving]

Chopin's Waltz in C# minor -- I agree that Maple Leaf Rag is showy, too.

[VLH]

Gaspard de la nuit.

Should take you about an hour to learn the whole thing. Piece of cake ; )

[VegasGT3]

Last Date, rock the twang!

[Musicale]

Couple of accessible tunes that I really like are:

 

The Joint is Jumpin' (Fats Waller)

Jitterbug Waltz (Fats and Tatum)

 

These are great foundation tunes that lead the way to many far away places...

 

Regards,

Musicale

 

[Jazz+]

Sweet Child Of Mine in C

Mercy Mercy Mercy in C

Linus and Lucy

Jerry Lee Lewis imitation in C

James Bond / Mission Impossible / Peter Gun (medley in F minor)

Take 5 in C minor

Guantanamera in C

Work Song in F

Moanin' in F

Ain't Misbehavin' in Eb

[Cygnus64]

When my friends introduce me as a piano player they always ask me to play Maple Leaf Rag. The music excites the ears and both hands flying excites the eyes.

+1

 

The Entertainer (original version) is a tough tune. Maple Leaf Rag is easier, IMHO.

Another good one: Root Beer Rag by Billy Joel:

 

[video:youtube]

[kanker.]

Aram Khachaturian's "Toccata" is pretty good with respect to the "showoff-iness vs. technical difficulty" ratio. Not really that tough to learn, but sounds impressive. It's not easy, but I don't think it's any more difficult that The Entertainer. Its challenges are different though, so it may depend on the player. Not sure many people would recognize it either, but it's a cool piece of music.

I played that one at contest in middle school. Probably one of the last classical pieces I mastered before I moved on to sucking at American music.

[yannis D]

[quote=CEBThen you can do the National Anthem of the future country I may establish if I get bored. Patternwise Fess's left hand work isn't that hard. But with Fess the challenges revolves around polyrythms.

[video:youtube]

 

Can I apply for nationality?

[StevenS]

If you sing:

1) Your song (Elton)

2) Jessie (Joshua Kadisson)

3) Riders on the storm (The Doors)

4) My life (Joel)

5) Lady Madonna (Beatles)

6) Life on Mars (Bowie)

7) Pianoman (Joel)

8) Honky cat (Elton)

9) Feeling alright (Joe Cocker)

[JeffLearman]

Khachaturian's "Toccata" sounds like a real challenge! I'd have to sweat the sheet music too; a lot of it is too fast for my ear to catch. But I'll give it a try, thanks. Might take 5 years.

 

Tipitina is right up my alley, though no idea if I can squawk like that on vocals I play Misty (in E, oddly enough), and an AJ Croce song with the same chords as A Train (Which Way Steinway, fewer passing chords in the turnaround though).

 

Maple Leaf Rag -- good idea. Glad to hear it's easier than The Entertainer.

 

Solpincus, I'll have to cerebrate on that.

 

I never thought of either Jessica or Thunder Road as piano solos, but I'll give them a listen. I've always wanted to play Jessica in a band, or Ain't Wastin' Time which has a similar vibe. Ashley might be a good one to do. I should listen to all Chuck's solo pieces and mine them.

 

Jump in C + 50 cents! Perfect!

 

Chopan Waltz in C#m -- great suggestion! It'll take some skill building but well worth it. Maybe also Claire De Lune, which appeared on the Youtube sidebar. Gaspard de la nuit too (it would take me way more than an hour, though!) Maybe I should start another sidebar on intermediate level classical pieces.

 

Last Date -- cool Wouldn't have thought of that but heck yeah. That would be a quick learn. Meddley with Your Cheatin' Heart and Turn Me on?

 

I'm delighted to hear that there are any accessible Tatum or Waller tunes ... but both of those sound a good bit over my head. Still thanks: I'll look into giving them the ol' college try and see.

 

Jazz+, I play half of those (in different keys) and will look into the others. Moanin' is particularly interesting, though I'd have to woodshed it to manage a solo version. This youtube has lots of good ideas to cop:

but it's 3-piece.

 

StevenS: I do Your Song but haven't ever tried Honky Cat which is nice because it's less "typical EJ" piano style like the other EJ tunes I do (Candle, Rocket Man). I might be able to sing it too, he's usually in my limited range. The only Bowie songs I've done solo are Changes and Space Oddity. I can't hit the high note on Mars, though. Changes is a challenge for me singing. Pianoman should definitely be on my list, along with a bunch of other Joel tunes. I bet my wife would love it if I learned Lullaby.

 

Thanks everyone -- so many tunes, so little time!

 

[Joe P]

Check out Four on Six by Wes Montgomery. Great progression in that tune.

[VLH]

If you like Joplin, his Bethena Waltz is lovely, elegant, charming, accessible, not heard often, not difficult, and would make a nice counter to some of the other things you're considering.

[Mogut]

But don't do it in C#

with Eddie around that is...

[Threadslayer]

I'm thinking to add a few pieces like The Entertainer, which is probably high on the difficulty scale for me.

 

There used to be a piano bar near my house where the house piano player did the "EZ" piano version of Joplin rags, including The Entertainer. I wanted to have him flogged, but the rest of the crowd used to eat it up - and fill his tip jar.

[rick w]

Bohemian Rhapsody.

You can always hear them singing along.

Theme from Mario Bros original video game.

Linus & Lucy already mentioned-that's a killer.

I've been playing lately as a duo or trio with guitarist/singers but I'll usually take a few minutes to play some things by myself.

I prefer the older standards but the "newer" stuff, if you can still even call it that gets a much better response.

[DanS]

When my friends introduce me as a piano player they always ask me to play Maple Leaf Rag. The music excites the ears and both hands flying excites the eyes.

+1

 

The Entertainer (original version) is a tough tune. Maple Leaf Rag is easier, IMHO.

 

See if you can find "Solace"

[Josh Paxton]

See if you can find "Solace"

 

That was gonna be my suggestion as well.

 

Also, Ray Brown's "Gravy Waltz." Catchy, accessible, and sounds more difficult than it actually is.

[drawback]

If you can play ANY Bruce Hornsby solo, you deserve to show off.

 

 

[The Real MC]

See if you can find "Solace"

 

That was gonna be my suggestion as well.

 

I'll add "Pine Apple Rag", another crowd pleaser.

[Moonglow]

When my friends introduce me as a piano player they always ask me to play Maple Leaf Rag. The music excites the ears and both hands flying excites the eyes.

+1

 

The Entertainer (original version) is a tough tune. Maple Leaf Rag is easier, IMHO.

 

See if you can find "Solace"

Yipes! I have an even harder time with Solace than The Entertainer....the fingering gives me fits! It is my favorite Joplin tune, however....

[Mexico Charlie]

Check out Four on Six by Wes Montgomery. Great progression in that tune.

 

Play two choruses of it, then play Summertime over the same changes.

 

Works great.