PIYW #1: "Play 'Beale Street Blues' Your Way" is Now Live!

rsl12

PIYW #1: Play "Beale Street Blues" Your Way (July 2025)

Play It Your Way is a quasi-monthly event for beginners, professionals, classical, jazz, or pop pianists and everyone in between! Since June 1, participants have been working on "Beale Street Blues" by W. C. Handy (1917). Enjoy their performances below! More information about Play It Your Way and about how participants prepared this piece can be found in the Meta Feedback discussion. The next Play It Your Way piece will be announced August 16.

ALL comments must be polite and supportive, even when the performer has stated that any comments are allowed. "How to Give Criticism in a Nice Way: A Comprehensive Guide". Thanks for helping us to keep things friendly!

Suggest pieces for future "Play It Your Way" events by using the suggestion box. We need suggestions for all genres of music! (Ideally, the Play It Your Way piece will be playable by many different skill levels, but it doesn't necessarily have to be.)

If you are still working on Beale Street Blues, you can submit your recording here at any time.

Click for the submission template:

**Performer:** Name or Alias + Location + Experience
**Comment Policy:** Feedback type desired (see below)

Put the link to your performance here (see below for details).

**Source of music:** ...
**Instrument:** ...
**Recording method:** ...
**Additional info:** Tell your story or share any interesting details related to your performance!

You may use the following to specify the Comment Policy:

No Comments Please!
Positive comments only (no criticism or suggestions for improvement please).
Positive comments and suggestions for improvement (no direct criticism please).
All comments; anything goes!

Link To Your Performance:

If you have a video, that's great! Otherwise, audio-only is fine.
Upload your performance to YouTube, Vimeo, Rumble, SoundCloud, or Google Drive.
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The direct link needs to be posted so that the performance is embedded on PT.
Dropbox option: If hosting your performance using YouTube or other service is not possible, then we will provide an upload option.

Submitters are requested to keep their performances up for at least a period of 30 days and as long as possible after that.

Sophia

Performer: Sophia (restarted January 2024)
Comment Policy: Anything goes!

Source of music: Virtual Sheet Music
Instrument: Clavinova
Recording method: iPhone
Additional info: I decided to go for the easiest version, and it took me about two weeks to learn. I'm not super happy with how I played it, it sounds a little rushed in places. I would like it to sound a lot smoother and more musical still, but I thought it's time to move on with other pieces. At least it provides a snapshot of where I am in my process of learning piano 🙂

Simonb

Hi Sophia

Well done, that was lovely!

Cheers

WieWaldi

Sophia Well done Simba. You made the purrfect power chord just in the right spot in the very best moment. I love the elegance and the agility, how you put all of your body weight into an enourmous controlled opening chord. Powerful, but not too much. Very crisp in the tone. The mixture of the harmonies and some dissonances is just amazing. You made it look so easy, no struggling at all. It's a very playful way, so effortlessly performed. You are a huge improviser, not to mention your showmanship skills.
Your mommy played also not that bad, she has this feel for the swing paired with some very nice rubato. Her left hand does a refreshing mixture between legato and staccato, while her right hand kept swinging along. Very impressive, it took her only ten days or so to get this beautiful piece running. She did a very good job, featuring your killer chord. Simba, you can be very proud of yourself and your can-opener for this recording. I was enjoying it from top to bottom.

rsl12

Thanks to everyone for participating with me! At Reddit, I would have been lucky if there were two or three people preparing the same piece, and here I've already got four!! And four very different approaches to boot. It's fun to hear so many interpretations!

Sophia I appreciate that you select the most interesting recording, and not necessarily the one where you play best (though you played well!). Also, I'm jealous that you have cats that will simply sit and listen to you, and not constantly meow for attention and food! For two weeks' preparation, it's very good, and I'm glad it didn't stress you out! As usual, you show great ability with hand independence, rhythm, and jumping around with the left hand. Did you slow down for "married men would have to take their beds and walk" for musical reasons or because of difficulty reasons? It's the only place you apply rubato--I would either keep the rhythm strict throughout or use more rubato in other places. Because it's only in that one place it's a little conspicuous. But that's a minor nitpick--if slowing down there allowed you to get a good result in a difficult passage, then it was worth it!

twocats

Sophia I love the ease with which you're playing most of this piece! Great job!!

WieWaldi you put so much work into learning this! I absolutely love the jazz chord at the end, it adds a lot to your performance!

rsl12 absolutely fabulous (and sexy 🤣), with so many different styles and also singing! I especially enjoyed the beginning, it was beautifully played blues. It has come so far from your tentative rehearsal video!

Simonb wow, awesome job improvising this on short notice! I enjoyed your style and I'm glad you submitted a video 🙂

rsl12 Thanks to everyone for participating with me! At Reddit, I would have been lucky if there were two or three people preparing the same piece, and here I've already got four!! And four very different approaches to boot. It's fun to hear so many interpretations!

Yes!! This was a lot of fun and all the interpretations are totally different! Thank you for organizing this, I'm looking forward to whatever the next one is 😃

WieWaldi

Performer: WieWaldi, Bavaria (near Germany) — 3¼ years of active practicing
Comment Policy: All comments; anything goes!

Source of music: sheet music
Instrument: Kawai CN-29 (Upright Piano sample)
Recording method: Headphone-jack to PC (OBS-Studio)
Additional info: This piece in its original sheet music was too difficult for me. So I copied down the notes into musescore and started to make it easier with my own edits. Transposing to the beginner friendly keys of G-Major and C-Major was the biggest step. This made an easy arrangement out of something that was labeled as intermediate. I can confirm, this one is about the same difficulty as the "Eight Easy Blues Pieces"-collection by Christian Fuchs.

Initially I wanted to add some own improvisations, but after listening to some intermediate results, I realized, this ain't gonna happen; it could never hold a candle to it. Therefore, stuck quite well to the sheet music, played the beginning with some extra pauses, and added a trick to the ending. I wanted to have at least something different from the sheet music. After all, this recital is called "Play It Your Way".

btw: if you hear a gap at 1:20... 🙄... I was synching up to the metronome again 😔. But I am quite happy with the rest of the recording. Call it a 95% take. 😃

Simonb

Hi WieWaldi

Well done, you captured the spirit nicely.
I have worked on a similar version to this but in another key, and have yet to get it recorded.

Cheers

rsl12

WieWaldi I'm so proud of you. In preparing this piece, you assembled bits from multiple arrangements, transposed, made a decision about switching registers, produced a score, and added a fun little change-up! So many creative decisions! It would have been fun to hear your improvisation attempt, even if it didn't sound as good as this. But I understand, because I did the same thing in my recording--I chose to stick to the arrangement in the C section because my improvisation would have been terrible. We will get there eventually!

Sophia

WieWaldi Wie Wie that was great! Well done!! As always, you are proving to have mastered the blues "feel" to perfection... I thoroughly enjoyed it - and you truly made it your own. I loved those little pauses and repeats at the start, and then again about 90% in. Then an end chord Simba would have been jealous of. Wonderful performance through and through! Very nice balance between the hands too, something that doesn't always come naturally to us total beginners 🙂

twocats

Performer: twocats from Portland, Oregon (30+ years playing classical piano)
Comment Policy: All comments; anything goes!

Source of music: first two pages from link
Instrument: Bösendorfer 225
Recording method: iPad
Additional info: I took an embarrassing number of takes and this one isn't a total disaster, so I'm considering it done and submitting it!

Simonb

Hi twocats

A vibrant and enjoyable performance - well done.

Cheers

WieWaldi

twocats Glad, you opted for the original version of the sheet music. Not that glad, you played only the first two pages, I could have had listened way longer to your relaxed mood of playing it. Your playstyle is the one, I want to listen to, when I am having a bad day and I just want to chill and enjoy life and relax.

rsl12

twocats As expected, very nicely performed! Your performance is WAY better than the youtube video I linked for this score six weeks ago!! Particularly, the part where the left hand takes the melody, and the way you get multiple voices to speak out simultaneously. I definitely hear the different instruments in an orchestra, and it comes together to give a very relaxed vibe (until the very end!). This took many takes? What part tripped you up?

Sophia

twocats Hahahaha, the ending made me start laughing out loud. The audience assumes it's finished and starts leaving the room... Wait! One more chord! BOOM. NOW it's done. Priceless!

Well played, you are obviously a well rounded artist who masters classical just as well as having a true feel for blues. It's amazing how one piece can have so many versions and styles - even discounting the difference in skill level. As for the embarrassing number of takes, I know exactly what a battle of willpower that can turn out to be... I recently recorded another piece and I think attempts reached triple digits in trying to make it sound spontaneous and effortless.

I can't wait to hear your next performance twocats!

rsl12

Performer: rsl12 (USA). Piano has been a hobby for decades. First half of my piano life was focused on classical, but now I'm into jazz.
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: Intro, A, and B sections are improvised. C section is mostly stolen from Dr. John's version (ala Prof. Longhair) of Frankie and Johnny, but with a little arranging by yours truly.
Recording method: Phone
Additional info: I used this opportunity as a chance to work on blues skills, which I haven't worked on specifically very much. With my jazz knowledge, my previous attempts at blues have sounded not particularly bluesy. So I did a deeper dive into a favorite player of New Orleans music, Dr. John, and in particular I studied (and for this recording, I stole from) "Dr. John Teaches Piano". My original plan was to internalize all that stuff to the point where I could improvise the C section with it. That didn't happen in time, so I stole blatantly! Pretty happy with this recording. (It even beats my recording ruined by my wife walking in the background wearing a towel. Well, it beats it musically at least.) It took many attempts, as you can tell by my exasperation at the beginning! The hard part is the ending. So each take would be a few minutes, and I would mess up seconds away from finishing! But it's all over now! Time to work on the Pianotell Recital piece (oh no, only 1 month to go)!

Simonb

Hi rsl12

Lovely. I haven't heard, or more likely have forgotten (!) Dr John's recording, which I probably own.
I could hear that Prof Longhair influence. Tipitina!
Well played, and sung, which I wasn't expecting.

Cheers

WieWaldi

rsl12 Kudos to your wife, ruining the previous take. This one was just perfect. Love the different styles you mix into it. The classy-jazzy intro alone would make a recording for its own. You blend so nicely over to the theme of Beale Street Blues. Loved the the bar piano blues style. The singing part is placed very cleverly to transition over to your Dr. John style part. Nice to hear, you didn't hold back your voice, as you did in your preview recording. Congrats, you learned the Dr. John style. Especially the improv part when you go crazy around the 3 minute mark is amazing.
Thank you for sharing this recording and thank you for setting up this recital with the wonderful idea of PIYW.

Sophia

rsl12 OMG, rsl... do you have a fan club? You have a fan club right? Can I be a member? I don't care what it costs... I'll be in 😃 That was seriously good, both the piano and the singing. Such an improvement from when you started, your perseverance is paying off. You just never cease to baffle me! Fantastic!

Tiny, TINY nitpick: your voice was a bit drowned out by the piano. I don't think recording from a phone could do much to improve that, but perhaps something could be done with an external mike? I have no idea if that is even possible. I guess that's one advantage of a DP, you can adjust the volume ^_^

Seriously, get that fan club going. I'll be your #1 fan 😍

Simonb

Performer: Simon (a very long time)
Comment Policy: Anything goes, but be polite :-)

Source of music: Lead Sheet in Bb
Instrument: Yamaha B3 Upright
Recording method: Phone (over 5 years old)
Additional info: Done very quickly, 2nd take this morning, lots of errors though I think it improved as it went along.

Note: This is a copy of Simonb's submission so that it shows up at the top!

Sophia

Simonb Oooh I loved the boogie vibes on this one! Very bright and bouncy, and I loved the improvisations. I was very heartened (if that is even the correct opposite of disheartened) that you speeded up ever so slightly throughout. This is something I do all the time, and to hear someone as seasoned and skilled as yourself do it too made me feel infinitely better instantly 😃

Some very nice harmony choices around the 1:10 mark and other places too, they worked so well for the piece! And then a very jarring jam session around 2:15 followed by a very mild and sweet ending. I liked it a lot!!

I won't even mention that you managed to get it to this level in two takes 😍 Jealousy 🤢 is not a pretty colour... 😅

rsl12

Feel free to add comments and late submissions below. Enjoy!

Sophia

Simonb Well done, that was lovely!

Thanks so much for your kind words, Simon 🙂

WieWaldi Simba, you can be very proud of yourself and your can-opener

Simba thanks you, but what particularly impressed him is the fact that you recognize the finer nuances of the hierarchy in the Burns residence... can-opener indeed. He is a bit disappointed you failed to mention his subtle tail directing efforts throughout, it wasn't just the one chord he contributed!

rsl12 Did you slow down for "married men would have to take their beds and walk" for musical reasons or because of difficulty reasons? It's the only place you apply rubato--I would either keep the rhythm strict throughout or use more rubato in other places. Because it's only in that one place it's a little conspicuous

Thanks rsl! I had to listen to your singing again to know which part you were talking about 😃 I wasn't really aware I was doing it, so if it was for musical reasons, it would have been something my subconsciousness decided on all by itself. Definitely not deliberately singled that spot out. I think of the two options you mentioned, using more rubato in other places might be more effective than keeping the rhythm strict. That is definitely a tendency I have, so I might be better off trying to loosen up a bit... what do you think?

twocats I love the ease with which you're playing most of this piece!

Thanks so much! But I did cheat a little, in picking the most simplified version I could find. Quite the contrast with everyone else. So if it seemed easy, that was because basically it WAS easy (objectively, that is, because it was still a bit of an effort for me).

Nightowl

Sophia Another confident performance from you and Simba - you're a great double act! 😁 I agree that a little bit of rubato here and there might benefit the musicality a bit, but this was a nicely played piece.

WieWaldi I loved your review - very witty! 😃 I also enjoyed your version of this piece, although I think the original key signature seemed to fit the piece better.

rsl12

Simonb I haven't heard, or more likely have forgotten (!) Dr John's recording

I looked for another recording of it and couldn't find anything other than what's in the tutorial video. So even if you're a big Dr. John fan, your memory is probably still intact! But here's a bonus: I think I found the Professor Longhair tune that inspired Dr. John:

I stole a little bit from this recording too!

twocats

WieWaldi Your playstyle is the one, I want to listen to, when I am having a bad day and I just want to chill and enjoy life and relax.

Thank you!

rsl12 As expected, very nicely performed! Your performance is WAY better than the youtube video I linked for this score six weeks ago!!

Thank you!!

rsl12 This took many takes? What part tripped you up?

Playing the correct notes 😂 I had practiced for a bit several weeks before but I just wanted to get the recording done that day and at a faster tempo, and I kept making a ton of very obvious mistakes! You'll notice that the last bars of each page (the second page is mostly repeated from the first page) are awkwardly fudged. Also for whatever reason it took me a while to get the first few bars. At least those takes were very short!

rsl12

WieWaldi The singing part is placed very cleverly to transition over to your Dr. John style part. Nice to hear, you didn't hold back your voice, as you did in your preview recording.

Yes, that transition is built into the lyrics: "the blind man in the corner, who sings the Beale Street Blues. He says..." is a great place to change styles. Interesting that in the original sheet music, the blind man is singing a tango. It's like that movie. Scent Of A Woman.

As for me, I think I started the section pretty strong with my voice, but once the piano part got complicated, my voice quickly lost its dirtiness and projection. I think the key will be to know the piano part VERY well so I can focus more on singing.

WieWaldi Congrats, you learned the Dr. John style. Especially the improv part when you go crazy around the 3 minute mark is amazing.

All I learned so far is how to steal! The solo in the C section was entirely "canned" (i.e. prepared) and never in my life will I be able to improv that fast! But I'm happy with my progress in playing that particular style.

Simonb

Performer: Simon (a very long time)
Comment Policy: Anything goes, but be polite :-)

Source of music: Lead Sheet in Bb
Instrument: Yamaha B3 Upright
Recording method: Phone (over 5 years old)
Additional info: Done very quickly, 2nd take this morning, lots of errors though I think it improved as it went along.

WieWaldi

Simonb You did it just in time. Pushing a recording within this limited time is worth another mention. Well done! I love how you beef up the lead sheet with improvisation elements and how you return to the recognizable parts of the theme. Maybe, sometimes you stuck a bit too long in the improv sections before returning. Seems, as if you are waiting for the right spot to get out.
Bottom line: I enjoyed how you played it. I enjoyed the energy you put into your playing. Enjoyed the tempo, the mood, and the fact you made this one your own interpretation. Well done!

rsl12

Simonb I love it, and I'm going to steal some of the things you did in it!! The one skill I'm most jealous of is your ability to keep plowing through, keeping the left hand going and the energy up, even when going sideways from the lead sheet. I can sort of do it, but not as smoothly as you did.

Nightowl

Simonb That was a very fast paced performance and you packed a lot into it - respect. I liked the gentle ending, it was very nicely done.

Simonb

Hi WieWaldi

You are a very perceptive man! I just didn't have the time to spend working out an arrangement, or for that matter, practising it - at all (!), as I've been really busy with other music (such as finishing my grade 8 which was submitted this morning). To be honest I didn't even know that today was the unofficial submission end date. But as my grade 8 was dealt with it was a good opportunity to get it done.

So it wasn't planned at all, and I had no idea before I started playing how many times I was going to play the head, or how long the solo(s) would be. So what you said is spot on, I was working on how to get out of it as I was playing it.

Cheers

WieWaldi

Thanks a lot for all the kind words, @Sophia @rsl12 @twocats and @Simonb.

rsl12 you assembled bits from multiple arrangements

Actually, it was just a single arrangement I butchered. The only thing I did was listening to another one in the key of C to find out what registers they are using; but I went for something else, anyway.

twocats I absolutely love the jazz chord at the end, it adds a lot to your performance!

Oh yes - I love that, too. Unfortunately I didn't come up with that by my own. It was already printed in the sheet music. All I did, was telling musescore to transpose it.

Sophia Then an end chord Simba would have been jealous of.

As I said... Just stolen from a real musician. 🕵🏻

Sophia Very nice balance between the hands too, something that doesn't always come naturally to us total beginners 🙂

Yeah - total beginners^TM united . Actually, I am very proud of us both, swimming in the same pond as the experts and veterans. (Even if we stick in the shallow parts of it.)

Sophia He is a bit disappointed you failed to mention his subtle tail directing efforts throughout

Of course I noticed his conductoring tail. I just kept quiet, because I didn't want him being a big head in ~~your~~ his house.