jeffw_00 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 So after a long hiatus, my wife and I are trying to get into our music again, working by ourselves and going to open-mic nights. We're trying to come up with a list of crowd-familiar pop songs that sound reasonable with -only- keyboard + female vocal, and are appropriate for an open-mic/lounge environment. [and yes, the crowds are generally in their 40s/50s - like us? :-}] For the gigs I have a lightweight 76-key keyboard MIDIed to a PC2R in mono mode. We're not finding a lot of songs that work without a guitar. Ones that have worked for us so far include "Just the Way You Are","Will you love me tomorrow", & "If I Fell". If you have any suggestions we'd love to hear them - thanks! /j PS - I know I'm late to the party, but around the time SM shut down I got distracted by life. It's great to find this forum - many familiar names here :-} K2500X, SP-6, various K1xxx, Kurz MicroPiano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 There is a lot of material. You want more recent Pop stuff? "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Havu Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 "King of Pain" would work, check out Alanis Morissette's version. You could make it work with just piano. [video:youtube] Hardware Yamaha MODX7, DX7, PSR-530, MX61/Korg TR-Rack, 01/W Pro X, Trinity Pro X, Karma/Ensoniq ESQ-1 Behringer DeepMind12, Model D, Odyssey, 2600/Arturia Keylab MKII 61 Software Studio One/V Collection 9/Korg Collection 4/Cherry Audio/UVI SonicPass/EW Composer Cloud/Omnisphere, Stylus RMX, Trilian/IK Total Studio 3.5 MAX/Roland Cloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wineandkeyz Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 My wife and I got into doing the open mic thing over the past couple years at a friend's bar. Off the top of my head, some of the tunes we've run using just keys and vocals include: Only the Lonely - The Motels Big White Gate - Grace Potter Journey tunes (Faithfully, Open Arms, I'll Be Alright Without You...) Is It Over Yet? - Wynonna I Won't Hold You Back - Toto Crazy - Patsy Cline At Last - Etta James Live: Yamaha S70XS (#1); Roland Jupiter-80; Mackie 1202VLZ4: IEMs or Traynor K4 Home: Hammond SK Pro 73; Moog Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue; Yamaha S70XS (#2); Wurlitzer 200A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffw_00 Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 CEB - we lean towards 60s/70s/80s, but have no problem checking out newer stuff, we will also check out wineandkeyz selections - thanks! K2500X, SP-6, various K1xxx, Kurz MicroPiano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 We have even did this as a piano and vocal piece. You can do a pretty wide span of material. This was fun. I probably over play it. It is in F# and lends itself to going fullbore Romantic and channel your inner Liszt. I arpeggio like a mother hubbard on the bridge. [video:youtube] "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadslayer Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Carole King Roberta Flack Fleetwood Mac Linda Ronstadt Shawn Colvin K D Lang Bonnie Raitt Adele Natalie Cole Fiona Apple Norah Jones Billie Holiday And about a hundred more Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 CEB - we lean towards 60s/70s/80s, but have no problem checking out newer stuff, we will also check out wineandkeyz selections - thanks! I wasn't sure. I'm playing very current Pop music. I'm now conditioned to the thinking if it isn't current then it isn't Pop. But frankly in general it is my opinion that wrinting is not as strong as it used to be. In the 60s Rock bands like the Grass Roots understood the elements composition. There was a lot of strong writing in the 70s also. Somewhere in the late 80s that seemed to have gotten lost to some degree. My Top 40 Country band did You and I by Lady Gaga as a piano feature. Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift was a tear jerker. Done quite a bit of Adele and Norah Jones stuff. Time After Time from the 80s is one of my favorite songs. My philosophy is if the lyrical story or compostional elements are strong enough or interesting you can make it work regardless of the original arrangement. You just need a really good hook. If 60s-80s is working then I would keep running with that for sure. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamanczarek Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes These Dreams - Heart C3/122, M102A, Vox V301H, Farfisa Compact, Gibson G101, GEM P, RMI 300A, Piano Bass, Pianet , Prophet 5 rev. 2, Pro-One, Matrix 12, OB8, Korg MS20, Jupiter 6, Juno 60, PX-5S, Nord Stage 3 Compact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxcvbnm098 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Check out Diana Krall stuff. She does a good job with some classic pop tunes over the years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffw_00 Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Thanks guys - we'll get to work on these :-} K2500X, SP-6, various K1xxx, Kurz MicroPiano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug White Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Here are a few I did in a duo, from the era. They arrange out nicely with just piano: [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAE9Stw2vmU [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0F14LJT9EQ [video:youtube] This version is a treat to watch with Ray Charles & Van Morrison on stage together. [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyCAZRKXaQk Live Rig: SV-1 | Sk1 | Prophet 6 | Sub37 > SM10 > SS3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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