This week, I focused on getting the 1st verse of the song “Piano Man” by Billy Joel to perfection. I have struggled with getting a little part of the 1st verse correct for 2 weeks now. At the time 16:30 of this video I embedded below, is the part that I struggle with the most.
The verse goes from all chords to 4 little notes and then another 4 little notes, kind of like a little, quick riff. This is the hardest transition of the song that I have ever done. I spent this last week just working on the transitions from the chords to the little filler notes. I used this YouTube video to help guide me with the notes. The instructor in this video names out all the notes as she is playing them making it so much easier to find the notes on the keyboard while I am trying to follow along. After about 100 attempts (or more), I was finally able to play the JUST the note filler part with no error.
The next part I attempted was tricky though. I wanted to be able to transition from the chords to the note filler riff with ease also by this week. I just kept trying and kept trying with attempt after attempt and I could never get it perfect. I thought that maybe I was out of time so I used the metronome app that I mentioned in my last blog post. After trying with the the metronome, it only made it harder and more confusing for me to play the notes correctly. I then realized that I can’t be focused on two things at once while I am still learning.
I decided to take another route and look up how my hand posture should be on the piano and I found this nifty website that has many tips and tricks for correct hand posture. After reading this website, I found out that my hands were not in the correct posture to play the piano in the most effective way. My fingers were tense and flat and I read that I needed to keep my fingers curved and relaxed. I tried out this new technique and it honestly helped me avoid hitting keys beside keys that I wasn’t trying to play. After many, many, many attempts at the transition from the chords to the 4 note riff, I was finally able to do it…slowly.
Next week, I want to get all of verse 1 down smoothly and start chipping away at verse 2!
Hi, I think it is really important to be able to face the struggles we have! I think your doing amazing and you even found a website to help you out more! Great job
You know, this really is a genius song about a man singing a song. I grew up on this song, and I worked in the bar industry for years. Its a very true song. Glad to see younger folk liking the golden oldies 😛
Rob
Hey Kenzie,
I love the alternate route you decided to look into, definitely wouldn’t have been something I would think about. I completely understand how hand and finger positions could affect your transitions between keys though! I don’t have any piano playing experience but this sounds like a tough song to learn but seems like you have a great start!
Hello Kenzie, the piano can be a very hard instrument to play (from personal experiences as well with my own learning project journey). It’s great to see that you have a lot of determination while learning the piano song, you are doing great!
-Elyse Woodard
Hi Kenzie,
Billy Joel is such an amazing musician with fantastic songs! I want to go to Madison Square Garden and listen to him live one day. You persevere with the struggles of learning, and that is nice to see. I hope your work on the end of verse one and the whole of verse two goes well!
Hey Kenzie, im still loving getting to listen to this classic every week.
As a fellow perfectionist, I can understand your frustration and also admire your perseverance! Keep up the good work 🙂