Vote for Jazz or Ragtime PIYW (October)

rsl12 · 2026-08-01T01:33:45+00:00

The October Play It Your Way is due to be announced on August 16, so let's vote on what we will learn! The genre is "Jazz or Ragtime". The suggestions below came from the suggestion box: In a Mellow Tone (Duke Ellington) Body And Soul (Johnny Green) From the Start (Laufey) Don't know why (Jesse Harris) Vote below. You are not limited to just these suggestions, but if you add a new one, please be prepared to help me find links to sheet music if your selection wins! PS. Feel free to submit ideas to the suggestion box for future PIYWs. Here's the schedule for the next few months: Announcement/Publication date: Aug/Oct 2026: Jazz or Ragtime PIYW (Nov 2027: Quarterly Recital) Oct/Dec 2027: Winter Holiday Recital and Holiday PIYW Nov 2027/Jan 2028: Classical PIYW

ShiroKuro

twocats I’m sorry to hear that! I’m sure it will come back though. Those aspects probably take more time than we expect, and I think often surgeons don’t attend to those kind of side effects when they tell patients what to expect post-op.

rsl12

twocats oh no, I hope losing your karaoke voice is the extent of your inconveniences!

Nightowl

twocats I think "Don't Know Why" needs the vocals for sure!

I agree. There are probably nice arrangements which compensate for the lack of vocals, but they would be for advanced players.

I had never heard Laufey's song "From The Start" before, but I enjoyed watching the video - very slick and stylish.

I won't vote this time around as I won't be participating, but I look forward to watching your submissions (as long as you don't choose the Duke Ellington piece - not my thing at all).

Nightowl

ShiroKuro I think I like the "Piano With Jonny" version best.

I just listened - that's a lovely arrangement but way beyond me. He makes it look so easy.

KevinM

twocats I hope your voice recovers soon and I hope whatever the surgery was for it has done what is needed for you.

ShiroKuro

Nightowl He makes it look so easy.

He certainly does! His arrangements are often quite lush. I haven't purchased the score yet, or rather, I haven't decided which score I would purchase if this ends up being the PIYW piece, but I have no doubt his is among the more challenging ones.

twocats

rsl12 twocats oh no, I hope losing your karaoke voice is the extent of your inconveniences!

My voice is kinda back! There's a catch in it though, hahaha adds a little sultriness if we end up doing Norah Jones 😂

KevinM twocats I hope your voice recovers soon and I hope whatever the surgery was for it has done what is needed for you.

Thank you, I think it will have solved a lot of problems and I'm glad I didn't wait and see if things got worse! I'm back to practicing piano as of yesterday 🙂

ShiroKuro

@rsl12 can you remind me when the voting will end and the final announcement of the piece will be? (I’m planning my fall pieces)
TIA!

rsl12

Voting closes at the end of August 14th.

ShiroKuro

rsl12 great, thank you!

rsl12

kanadajin 2 - Body And Soul

Thanks for the Body & Soul vote! It's such a good jazz tune, but doesn't look like it has a hope of winning. It's on my list of tunes to work up someday.

Simonb

Hi rsl12

Body & Soul is great, but very difficult to play. Even a simple version could still be difficult because of the key changes.

I'll settle for something easier!

Cheers

WieWaldi

rsl12

3 - In a Mellow Tone
2 - Body And Soul
1 - From the Start
7 - Don't know why

A big reason for my decision is the availability of sheet music and tutorial.
Guess you know where I would get it from... 😉
Anyway, currently I like to play songs in B♭ major.

rsl12

Simonb Body & Soul is great, but very difficult to play. Even a simple version could still be difficult because of the key changes.

Yes, at the top of this discussion, I said "there are beginner-friendly options for all choices" but I hesitated a little when considering Body & Soul. Even plunking out chords requires lots of flats and sharps! "In a Mellow Tone" would have been a little easier, much more if transcribed to C. But I'm happy with any choice that attracts lots of participation.

rsl12

WieWaldi Guess you know where I would get it from..

I took a listen to this version. It sounds very nice! I won't link it in case you want to keep it for yourself.

ShiroKuro

rsl12 I took a listen to this version. It sounds very nice! I won't link it in case you want to keep it for yourself.

Now I'm super curious about which version it is! (Though presumably not one linked in this thread)

WieWaldi

ShiroKuro If you follow my recital pieces, about 90% are from this source.

Here is the according tutorial (playthrough @0:49):

rsl12 Thanks for your offer to keep it secret. But it would be nice if someone else has a go with it. Apart from that, I am curious how you would rate it in terms of difficulty. I think it should be either intermediate or early intermediate. It is definitely easier than (any) Jonny May, but still beyond easy - which is a challenge for me.

rsl12

If you don't include the solo, I think you will have no problem. With the solo, you may struggle like you did on How Long Blues. I'm sure you will be able to get a good recording, but you may be stressed out about it.

kanadajin

rsl12

rsl12, I appreciate your comment. Yes of course I did realize that Body and Soul was way down the list of preferences but I went ahead anyway. The main reason being that I did transcribe a piano solo version of it years ago that I quite liked (I think it may have been by Pascal Wintz, not 100% sure) and recently stumbled upon it almost by accident. If selected I then would have just needed to re-practice it; i.e. less effort and time than learning something from scratch ha, ha 😉

ShiroKuro

kanadajin The main reason being that I did transcribe a piano solo version of it years ago that I quite liked (I think it may have been by Pascal Wintz, not 100% sure) and recently stumbled upon it almost by accident.

If Body and Soul doesn’t get selected, perhaps you could share your versions in a regular PT recital? I would love to hear it!

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