PIYW #8 — Meta Feedback

rsl12 · 2026-04-16T04:28:10+00:00

June 15, 2026 EDIT: "Play 'How Long Blues' Your Way" is now live! Click to listen. You can continue to use this thread to discuss your preparation of the piece, or to discuss any other matters regarding Play It Your Way. PIYW #8: Play "How Long Blues" Your Way Play It Your Way is a quasi-monthly event for beginners, professionals, classical, jazz, or pop pianists and everyone in between! We are starting work on "How Long Blues" by Leroy Carr. Use the links below to find the sheet music you like, and when you are ready, post your performance in the submission thread. Perfection is not expected! Previous PIYWs: PIYW #5: Play Haydn's "Divertimento in G Major" Your Way PIYW #6: Play "Lean On Me" Your Way PIYW #7: Play "Over the Rainbow" Your Way Full List of Previous PIYWs Thanks to WieWaldi for this month's selection! Please suggest pieces for future "Play It Your Way" events by using the suggestion box. The theme of the next PIYW (to be announced in April) is Classical, but feel free to submit good ideas across all genres. Guidelines This is not a contest! It is meant to be a casual and fun event. You can use this thread to discuss your preparation of the piece, or anything else related to PIYW. To submit a recording of your performance, go to the submission thread. All PIYW submissions will remain hidden from public view until June 15. However, there is no deadline for when you need to submit your performance. Although most participants submit their recording before that date, you may submit at any time. Use the recital schedule to plan your participation in future recitals! "How Long Blues" by Leroy Carr (1928) From Leroy Carr - The Bluesman Who Behaved Too Well: Carr was the most influential male blues singer and songwriter of the first half of the 20th century, but he was nothing like the current stereotype of an early bluesman. An understated pianist with a gentle, expressive voice, he was known for his natty suits and lived most of his life in Indianapolis. His first record, "How Long — How Long Blues," in 1928, had an effect as revolutionary as Bing Crosby's pop crooning, and for similar reasons. Previous blues stars, whether vaudevillians like Bessie Smith or street singers like Blind Lemon Jefferson, had needed huge voices to project their music, but with the help of new microphone and recording technologies, Carr sounded like a cool city dude carrying on a conversation with a few close friends. Carr's lyrics were carefully written, blending soulful poetry with wry humor, and his music had a light, lilting swing that could shift in a moment to a driving boogie. Rather than Smith's vaudeville jazz combos or Jefferson's idiosyncratic country picking, Carr sang over the solid beat of his piano and the biting guitar of his constant partner Francis (Scrapper) Blackwell. The outcome was a hip, urban club style that signaled a new era in popular music. Links to Sheet Music / Lead Sheet You are not limited to only the music linked below. Feel free to find or create your own version. You do not have to complete or perfect the piece to submit it, and don't be afraid to simplify or shorten the piece. Improvisation, backing tracks, and backing humans are all allowed. Sheet music (Listed easiest to hardest): https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0095235 https://musescore.com/user/39593079/scores/15915238 https://musescore.com/official_scores/scores/6940448 https://christianssheetmusic.com/products/how-long-blues https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0043017 https://musescore.com/user/188849/scores/1009141 https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0095173 Lead Sheet (another thanks to WieWaldi for providing so many sheet music links!)

diretonic

TC3 I think it's quite an easy mistake to make because it flows just as naturally as a 12-bar with very similar changes but it's funny none-the-less - some expert's face is probably burning.

rsl12

Another practice recording. I'm still in the "messing around" phase of preparation, not much fun to listen to. Lots of possible directions, and it's fun to experiment.

EDIT: the more I listen to my practice recording, the more I like it, even though it's messy.

BTW, @TC3 has the first submission. Congratulations!

Sophia

That sounds very nice rsl, I can already hear some lovely harmonies and ornaments. It's going to be spectacular 🙂

Congrats @TC3! I'm still in the polishing phase - I will probably another week... hopefully.

TC3

Sophia Well, don't give me too much credit. I'm cheating ... I'm not going to have time to come up with anything new, especially since I'm going to be travelling for a decent chunk starting next week. What I've submitted is me with my "band" -- my wife on drums and my pal on guitar (he's new, go easy on him ... ) playing it as part of a set we did for guests at a little party we hosted a while back. It's more or less the same arrangement as the solo version I posted a couple of years ago, just with accompaniment. So, yah: not a big accomplishment on my part, but at least it's something!

Sophia

TC3 I'm cheating

Nah! The drums and guitar will actually be an additional bonus!

WieWaldi

rsl12 Am I mistaken, or did you find a more or less generic intro style for a lot of bluesy and jazzy songs? Well - it works! You manage to glide smooth into the theme. Big parts sound very much like your own, probably closer to an original than to the original.

TC3 YouTube says "This video isn't available anymore". But I remind it very well from the Jazz and Blues Themed Recital - July 2023. Curious, how it will sound in 25 days.

TC3

WieWaldi Yah, I tend to clean up YT here and there, not really looking to build a media presence ...

It'll sounds very similar to the other version, but sloppier! 😃

rsl12

WieWaldi Am I mistaken, or did you find a more or less generic intro style for a lot of bluesy and jazzy songs?

In this case, I just improvised on the How Long chord changes, but I'm sure I've used a very similar set of chords in the past as an intro, as it's a common progression. As a way of getting "warmed up", I like a simple intro, so I guess they do sound the same a lot of the time.

Sophia

Well, I tried a recording for the first time. It proved without a doubt that I'm not ready yet for a recording 😃

Side note: thanks to all the regular recitals, PIYW additional recitals, challenges such 'post your first attempt of the day' etc, I completely lost my fear of the camera red dot. It also taught me to spend longer on certain pieces, rather than just practising it enough to hope that a fluke recording turns out well enough.

So, thank you once again for having started the PIYW series, @rsl12 ❤️

Sophia

Pfff. Done! Submitted 😃

TC3

Sophia 🥳

WieWaldi

Sophia Congratulations!

KevinM

rsl12 I've just watched the Pinetop Perkins video and brought back of ancient memories of turning up to see Johnnie Johnson playing in a tiny venue in the same Melbourne suburb I lived in at the time. I saw him twice, once in '95 and again in '96. The first time was just luck, looking for something to do locally that night and then I noticed he was back again a year later. Why he decided Melbourne, Australia was the place to go once a year I don't know. But it was a privilege.

rsl12

KevinM I didn't know Johnnie Johnson. Thanks for the recommendation!

twocats

Reminder: two weeks left!

rsl12

My recording today wasn't great, but it's something! I'll try to get a better one in before the deadline.

diretonic

Trying to keep an 8 bar tune interesting absent vocals isn't easy. I may have to resort to a key change.
"A key change is the last refuge of a scoundrel." -F. Chopin.

WieWaldi

diretonic I have no doubt, whatever you do, it will sound amazing.

rsl12

diretonic I may have to resort to a key change.

I resorted to a key change in Over the Rainbow. I regret my cheap trick!

Not sure how you're going to do it with How Long Blues. I'm definitely curious.

diretonic

rsl12 I resorted to a key change in Over the Rainbow. I regret my cheap trick!

Well, as a repeat past offender myself I’m inclined towards ‘good value’ rather than cheap. But what to do? At the moment I have the following ideas.

Start quiet and get louder.
Start sparse and get busier.
Key change.
The more I work on it, the stiffer I seem to become. I’m definitely in the ‘not enjoying this’ phase.

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