Montunoman 2 Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 A regular client at a restaurant that I play piano at has hired me to play for his "pre wedding" party dinner. His bride to be is Indian and many of the guest will be Indian as well. Besides my usual material, he requested that I play a few popular Indian pop tunes (instrumentally) on the piano. He nor I are familiar with Indian pop, and he wants this to be a surprise for his finance, so just wondering if anyone on this great forum might know of some Indian pop tunes that can be played on piano and would be recognized by Indian in the 20- 50 age group range. Resources for leadsheets and backing tracks would be awesome too! My "plan B" is just to play some pre- recorded Indian pop on my breaks, but I still need some song suggestions. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 The only song I can think of that comes close to meeting the criterion is this huge UK hit from 1997: Check out the Norman Cook remix for a more upbeat feel. If you relax the rules further, Freddie Mercury has Indian ancestry... Cheers, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 There's not much here musically, but Paper Planes was a huge worldwide hit around 15 years ago. It was also featured in Slumdog Millionaire. M.I.A. is a Tamili activist - a sensitive subject with some Indian ethnic groups. And I believe she's currently living in the UK, so she may not even qualify as authentic Indian pop. So I'd ask questions first - if you even want to go there at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montunoman 2 Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 Thanks guys, but neither strike as melodic enough for solo piano or romantic themes. Actually I'm not even sure I'd play these as pre-recorded versions over the sound system during my break. This is an upscale restaurant/dinner party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod S Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 India is a large, culturally complex country. I would ask the person to be specific, check with the bride and supply you examples. You could make a huge effort, and miss the mark at best, at worst embarrass or irritate the guests. Having had close relations with people from over 40 different countries, I've seen a huge share of binational couple where one part has extremely low, embarrassingly incorrect or stereotypical knowledge of the other ones' culture. 2 Quote Korg Kronos X73 / ARP Odyssey / Motif ES Rack / Roland D-05 / JP-08 / SE-05 / Jupiter Xm / Novation Mininova / NL2X / Waldorf Pulse II MBP-LOGIC American Deluxe P-Bass, Yamaha RBX760 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montunoman 2 Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 53 minutes ago, Rod S said: India is a large, culturally complex country. I would ask the person to be specific, check with the bride and supply you examples. You could make a huge effort, and miss the mark at best, at worst embarrass or irritate the guests. Having had close relations with people from over 40 different countries, I've seen a huge share of binational couple where one part has extremely low, embarrassingly incorrect or stereotypical knowledge of the other ones' culture. Absolutely! I'll try to get more details. I really don't have enough to go on now. Thank you for perspective, Rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamanzarek Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 Many of my Piano students over the years have been from Indian families. One day I was teaching a young student Polly Wolly Doodle and his dad comes in the room and says, "Hey, that's an Indian song." That is when I found out many American and British songs were adapted (or stolen) for the Indian market and are well-known there. Many Indians would be familiar with the songs on the list below and are also known to most English speakers as well. Some examples: Uthe Sabke Kadam - Polly Wolly Doodle Koi Mil Gaya - Take That Look Off Your Face by Andrew Lloyd Webber Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle - The Yellow Rose of Texas Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya - The Heretic Theme from Exorcist II Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan - Oh My Darling Clementine Aye Dil Laya Hai Bahaar - Oh Carol by Neil Sedaka Tumse Milke Aisa Laga - When I Need You by Leo Sayer Mere Rang Mein - The Final Countdown by Europe and Where Do I Begin from Love Story Koi Yahan Nache Nache - Video Killed the Radio Star by Buggles Na Jaane Ne - Part Time Lover by Stevie Wonder Kambakht Ishq - Eireann by Afro Celt Sound System Dil Deke Dekho - Sugartime by McGuire Sisters Jiyein Kyun - Fix You by Coldplay Sau Tarah Ke - Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya - Love Theme from The Godfather Tare Hai Barati Chandni Hai Barat - El Condor Pasa by Paul Simon In The Night No Control - Self Control by Laura Branigan Dil Le Le Lena - Macarena by Los Del Rio Aasman Pe Bahiti Chandni - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head Mil gaya humko saathi mil gaya - Mama Mia by ABBA Chori Chori Yoon Jab - Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles Quote Gibson G101, Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, Vox Continental, RMI Electra-Piano and Harpsichord 300A, Hammond M102A, Hohner Combo Pianet, OB8, Matrix 12, Jupiter 6, Prophet 5 rev. 2, Pro-One, CS70M, CP35, PX-5S, WK-3800, Stage 3 Compact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 Come and Get Your Love? (ducking) Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montunoman 2 Posted April 2, 2022 Author Share Posted April 2, 2022 15 hours ago, Shamanzarek said: Many of my Piano students over the years have been from Indian families. One day I was teaching a young student Polly Wolly Doodle and his dad comes in the room and says, "Hey, that's an Indian song." That is when I found out many American and British songs were adapted (or stolen) for the Indian market and are well-known there. Many Indians would be familiar with the songs on the list below and are also known to most English speakers as well. Some examples: Uthe Sabke Kadam - Polly Wolly Doodle Koi Mil Gaya - Take That Look Off Your Face by Andrew Lloyd Webber Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle - The Yellow Rose of Texas Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya - The Heretic Theme from Exorcist II Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan - Oh My Darling Clementine Aye Dil Laya Hai Bahaar - Oh Carol by Neil Sedaka Tumse Milke Aisa Laga - When I Need You by Leo Sayer Mere Rang Mein - The Final Countdown by Europe and Where Do I Begin from Love Story Koi Yahan Nache Nache - Video Killed the Radio Star by Buggles Na Jaane Ne - Part Time Lover by Stevie Wonder Kambakht Ishq - Eireann by Afro Celt Sound System Dil Deke Dekho - Sugartime by McGuire Sisters Jiyein Kyun - Fix You by Coldplay Sau Tarah Ke - Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya - Love Theme from The Godfather Tare Hai Barati Chandni Hai Barat - El Condor Pasa by Paul Simon In The Night No Control - Self Control by Laura Branigan Dil Le Le Lena - Macarena by Los Del Rio Aasman Pe Bahiti Chandni - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head Mil gaya humko saathi mil gaya - Mama Mia by ABBA Chori Chori Yoon Jab - Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles That's really helpful Shamanzarek, thank you! Many of those tunes could work nicely on solo piano too. I'll send this list to my client and see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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