Update on the options I was considering:
rsl12 the jumpy Johann variations are very interesting to me! Improv in decidedly non-jazz styles. Of course I can't learn the whole thing, but learning a portion might give me a few more ideas to pull from for my own improv.
I played a little bit of the beginning section and decided this isn't for me. It's an interesting sound, but a little showy and I don't see myself using the technique spontaneously in improv. Jumpy Johann is off my short list!
Maroon 5 might go over well with a younger audience, and give me another singing practice opportunity.
I took a closer listen to the song. The song was inspired by a friend who passed away, I like it more now. At first I thought it a bit derivative and the studio recording too autotuned, but in a real voice performance I hear the emotion in it. I'm not sure I can pull this one off, but that makes it a challenge to learn from. So it stays on the short list!
This bossa nova approach is so sweet and mellow! In the video, two or three pianos are playing, but I think it could be condensed to one. It would be good rhythm practice for me, and therefore good for my current project of learning New Orleans piano.
Upon further digging, I found out that this version is actually from a Kdrama! If I had to guess the plot from the little YouTube clip I found, I would say that there were two boys who grew up as friends, but teenage hormones caused them to hate each other, and then one day in high school they were forced to play a piano duet, and the music was so beautiful it reminded them of their childhood friendship. You can see for yourself.
Anyways, further digging revealed that sheet music was available for the duet, though I would have to purchase it from a Korean website! Fortunate for me, my Korean is passable, though I'm not sure how to get the payment through in Korean Won. Putting aside the decision to buy, I played with the free sample page. As I was playing, my daughter came up with her flute and said she wanted to play.
"oh, you know this song"? "
"yes, it's the shampoo commercial! "
When she was in kindergarten she fell in love with a shampoo commercial she found on YouTube. We watched it together dozens of times. The plot is that a shy preschooler falls in love with a ribbon gymnastics routine she sees on TV. Her grandmother eventually enrolls her in classes but everyone laughs at her for being a beginner. She takes comfort in the butterfly barrette her grandmother gave her and works hard for fifteen years. She leaves her grandmother to enter conservatory, where she finds a jealous rival. At the big competition, she is shocked to find that her rival sabotaged her costume, but she pulls herself together, removes the butterfly barrette, and wins the ribbon dance competition with no costume and with her long hair flowing like a second ribbon. You can see for yourself. Because of this commercial, for years my daughter wanted to grow up to be a ribbon dancer! She was devastated the day I pointed out that the beautiful story was a shampoo commercial.
I digressed too much. The Canon features heavily in the commercial. And now she wants to learn the melody line on flute! That's enough reason for me to purchase the sheet music. But as for PIYW, I'm not sure I can commit to this piece. As a solo piano piece, I see more clearly now that it will be very tricky! Every solo bossa nova tune I've done has required lots of slow practice, and this one has a faster melody line than any I've ever done. But of course it has to stay on the short list. At the very least, I'm going to learn the written part so I can accompany my daughter on flute.
Sorry for the wall of text!