For better or worse, I found the public to gravitate towards the more mainstream/contemporary music. If I went to a public venue right now, and played my version of "Golden Hour" there would be many folks complimenting me to say I'm good/great a piano.

For me, it's super simple to do. But I think folks like it because it's music they're used to hearing. So it's less about my piano abilities (which is okay, but not great), and more about familiarity. Most folks get bored (unfortunately) if someone whipped out a very impressive classical piece. To me, I'd be mesmerized, but in public places, I've seen then get bored. Even when the player is phenomenal!

With that said, for those of us who play non-Classical, it does make the music we play more fun and attractive to laypeople who are not deeply into the arts. It is what it is : )

    I very much enjoy the fewer forum sections - it allows me to actually read everything more easily. I think "PIanist zone" covers both classical and non-classical anyway!

    Being very much a beginner I can't claim to be either, but I certainly love both. Classical pieces can move me to tears, but so can great non classical. I want to learn both! As long as it doesn't require feet and elbows on the keys ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

      HeartKeys If I went to a public venue right now, and played my version of "Golden Hour" there would be many folks complimenting me to say I'm good/great a piano.

      I take it up a notch by playing songs by ear on the spot! People think you're a genius then lol.

        kanadajin

        I always wondered about Michel Legrand. How much improvising is he doing when he plays solo piano? It's so impressive--I wish I could command as many styles as he seems to be able.

            I have always been an ear player. One of the things I wanted to do when I started out playing piano was to be able to transcribe any song by ear. Improvising has always been something I've done at the piano, often for hours at a time.

            That said, I really want to get into jazz, but haven't found the time yet. I did jam along with some people a while back and I tried my best to keep up, but it's not the same. Most of my improv is classical-ish.

              rsl12

              I just saw some videos and read his biography and currently think itโ€™s a combination of both improv and prepared. Very fun music he plays!

                  ranjit Most of my improv is classical-ish

                  Do you do this more on a digital or acoustic? For me, classical improv on an acoustic sounds super majestic!

                      rsl12, it sounds like we're in kinda similar places in numerous ways.

                      I had thought about adding some vocals to what I do in the band. Our bass player does some vocals. But I got kind of a snide remark from the drummer one time when I was trying to hum out how a tune went one time, something about not being able to carry a tune. That kinda did it for me. Even though I wasn't really trying to do anything at the time, I have never even had a microphone on stage with me since. I have sung before, in performance settings. But that pushed my buttons to the point I won't get my voice out for this group. I have, however, considered getting it out for some solo work and working on it. Frank Sinatra I ain't but considering some of the "talent" I've seen around me, some of 'em set the bar pretty low.

                      Indeed, riffs fascinate me. And occasionally, I'll pick something up. Would like to have more of them in my general musical vocabulary. Blues, "scales" of sorts, two finger runs, so many goodies, so little time. LOL!

                      We've done several concerts for one of the more upscale nursing homes in the area. They actually pay pretty well. Had one old guy there that would play sax on occasion up until nearly the end. He just passed away, I think at 101. I'd not gotten to play with him but had been looking forward to it. With us playin' some of the "oldies", (swing, jazz, lots of stuff from the 20's, 30's, & 40's) they probably heard quite a lot of in their younger days, it's a good audience. And many really nice people, too.

                      Anyway, gettin' long-winded. Have a good day!

                          rsl12

                          I agree with what HeartKeys said.

                          Of course I do not have the definitive answer, but after spending time with recordings and working out some arrangements, the way I humbly view it is this: the harmonic framework for each song would likely be pretty well defined (chord progressions, often used substitutions, other style-istic trademarks of his). Therefore when performing, one can be in a say semi automatic mode where one can "play around ยป up to a certain point at whim within the melody constraints. It would be a little like having a toolbox where one can pull out different tricks to suit particular musical contexts at specific points.

                          I may be totally out to lunch on this, btw ๐Ÿ™‚ In any case this is what I strive to do when I dabble at the keyboard in general; I seem to have certain hand imprints or accompaniment sequences which I naturally gravitate towards without having to think about it too much. Of course, my problem is that I do not have all that wide a range of such reflexes and I fall flat into the trap of sounding too repetitive, grrrโ€ฆ..

                              HeartKeys Do you do this more on a digital or acoustic?

                              Acoustic! And yes.

                                HeartKeys Agreed on the pop and Taylor Swift stuff. Anytime I play that on a public piano, folks love it.

                                I can't listen to any of her songs without thinking "I'm definitely not the target audience for this." But I know I should add a few to my bank of songs!

                                  kanadajin

                                  I've heard your transcriptions in the ABF recitals but I don't think I've heard you improvise yet! What are you working on now?

                                    Sophia I very much enjoy the fewer forum sections - it allows me to actually read everything more easily. I think "PIanist zone" covers both classical and non-classical anyway!

                                    I guess we should enjoy the smallness while it lasts! In PW, I was very much stuck only between the non-classical forum and the ABF recitals and nothing else. I only found out about the Navindra drama in the PW Piano Forum by accident. I would applaud you if you decide to learn how to use fake books (which is the non-sheet music route for playing pop and jazz). It's quite different and for me it was very intimidating at first.

                                        Thanks for the insight into Michel Legrand.

                                        HeartKeys I just saw some videos and read his biography and currently think itโ€™s a combination of both improv and prepared. Very fun music he plays!

                                        kanadajin the way I humbly view it is this: the harmonic framework for each song would likely be pretty well defined (chord progressions, often used substitutions, other style-istic trademarks of his). Therefore when performing, one can be in a say semi automatic mode where one can "play around ยป up to a certain point at whim within the melody constraints. It would be a little like having a toolbox where one can pull out different tricks to suit particular musical contexts at specific points.

                                        I suspected that must be the case. I'm of two minds whether I should adopt this kind of approach. As Kanadajin(ใ‚ซใƒŠใƒ€ไบบ?) notes, if you only have a limited bank of phrases (which I would have due to lack of time), it can become very repetitive. And even though it sounds wonderful as a listener, when I play jazz I'm striving to connect my spur-of-the-moment emotions and musical ideas to my fingers, and too many complicated long phrases pulls me away from that. But I do love listening to people who take this approach.

                                            Bellyman I had thought about adding some vocals to what I do in the band.

                                            Please do! I'm sure you've heard people say "I could never improvise--you're so lucky you were born being able to come up with music just like that." And the truth is anyone with some musical talent could learn to improvise. Well I'm pretty sure the same is often true of singing. What I've learned from voice lessons is that the professional voice sound doesn't come naturally--it comes from practicing things that to me seem extremely non-intuitive. And it would be great to have someone else trying to figure out voice at the same time as me!

                                            Also, based on other stories you've told about your drummer, I don't think you should take his criticism to heart.

                                                rsl12 Does this count?

                                                !!

                                                (Sorry I don't know yet how to make larger images small)

                                                I got that in the 1990s because everyone with a guitar was supposed to have it ๐Ÿ˜ƒ However I'll be honest, I'm MILES away from trying anything just yet... I'm still at "Mary Had a Little Lamb" level. Ok, just beyond, but close ๐Ÿ˜…

                                                    Sophia Yes! A real book is the same thing as a fake book. Originally, there were only fake books, which were printed in the basements of university music departments. These were created without any permission from the copyright holders, and allowed musicians to "fake" their way through a performance, without the actual sheet music. So when legal version of fake books were created, they were marketed as "Real Books". Now that real books are commonplace, the illegal versions do not have to be smuggled and copied clandestinely (though people now can easily illegally obtain real books, so are they fake again?).

                                                    I would choose an easier fake book, though, to start with. Something like this. Or if you don't have a teacher who can teach you, something like this (sorry it's out of print--I remember looking through it and thinking it was pretty good, but I'm sure there are similar beginner-level books about using fake books).

                                                      I have probably played more classical than anything else, but I like listening to and playing all kinds of music. In addition to classical I've played a lot of ragtime and some new age and rock/pop from sheet music.

                                                      I have dabbled with lead sheets, using them to make some simple arrangements of Christmas songs. I've learned a few things by ear although I'm really slow. I need to work on my ear training!

                                                      These days I do a lot of improvising. I'm not trying for any genre when I improvise, I just play.

                                                        rogerch

                                                        I say this as a compliment, you remind me of Nahre Sol, who is a classically trained (Juilliard) musician who delves into different genres. It's always encouraging to me, to see folks branch out of one certain type of music. I imagine a lot of the techniques and ideas you get from one genre complements and generates ideas for the other genres.

                                                            HeartKeys Wow, thanks HeartKeys! Nahre Sol is amazing and someone I look up to and have learned from so I am flattered!