Be creative at the Piano (Part 1) Here’s the method I use every time I want to capture an idea. I draw out 8-bars (or measures) first. Why eight bars? Because it is an ideal framework to work in. Eight bars of music are enough to generate a complete musicalsentence and can usually be repeated […]
Month: July 2021
John Cage: the 100 most inspiring musicians of all time Music of the mid-20th century was profoundly influenced by the inventive compositions and unorthodox ideas of American avant-garde composer John Milton Cage, Jr. (b. Sept. 5, 1912, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.—d. Aug. 12, 1992, New York, N.Y.). The son of an inventor, Cage briefly attended […]
Woody Guthrie: the 100 most inspiring musicians of all time The songs of prolific American folksinger and songwriter Woodrow (“Woody”) Wilson Guthrie (b. July 14, 1912, Okemah, Okla., U.S.—d. Oct. 3, 1967, New York, N.Y.) chronicled the plight of common people, especially during the Great Depression. Woody Guthrie, the third of five children, was the […]
Robert Johnson: the 100 most inspiring musicians of all time Robert Johnson (b. c. 1911, Hazlehurst, Miss., U.S.—d. Aug. 16, 1938, near Greenwood, Miss.) was an American blues composer, guitarist, and singer whose eerie falsetto singing voice and masterful, rhythmic slide guitar influenced both his contemporaries and many later blues and rock musicians. Robert Johnson […]
Mahalia Jackson: the 100 most inspiring musicians of all time American gospel music singer Mahalia Jackson (b. Oct. 26, 1911, New Orleans, La., U.S.—d. Jan. 27, 1972, EvergreenPark, near Chicago, Ill.) is known as the “Queen of Gospel Song. Jackson was brought up in a strict religious atmosphere. Her father’s family included several entertainers, but […]
The Girl from Ipanema – Piano transcription by Oscar Peterson (with sheet music here) “Garota de Ipanema” (“The Girl from Ipanema“) is a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz song. It was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music […]
Bill Monroe: The 100 most inspiring musicians of all time Bill Monroe (b. Sept. 13, 1911, Rosine, Ky., U.S.—d. Sept. 9, 1996, Springfield, near Nashville, Tenn.) Creation of the bluegrass style of country music is credited to American singer, songwriter, and mandolin player William (“Bill”) Smith Monroe. The youngest of eight children of a Kentucky […]
Le Vent, Le Cri – Ennio Morricone (Guitar arrangement) with sheet music
Table of Contents Aram Khachaturian – Album for Children, Volume I for Piano (1947) with sheet music Most people are familiar only with Khachaturian’s ballet music for Gayaneh and Spartacus, which regularly appears in concert programmes, but he also wrote a considerable amount of piano music, though only the sparkling, technically-challenging Toccata has made it […]
Table of Contents Aaron Copland: the 100 most inspiring musicians of all time Aaron Copland’s sheet music download here. Copland Plays Copland Piano Concerto Aaron Copland: the 100 most inspiring musicians of all time American composer Aaron Copland (b. Nov. 14, 1900, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 2, 1990, North Tarrytown [now Sleepy Hollow], N.Y.) achieved […]