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Update

I Just Performed As Part Of Greg Kihn’s Band

Last weekend I performed with Greg Kihn live, and I’ll playing with him another 10 or so times over the summer. How that came about is Rick Springfield added Tommy Tutone and Greg Kihn as extra performers on some of our shows, and Rick had in own band (including me) play with Tommy and Greg as well.

I’ve performed with quite a few different bands/artists including Terri Nunn (from Berlin, who had the hit “Take My Breath Away”), Robin Zander (singer for Cheap Trick) and of course Rick Springfield, and Greg Kihn was the first person who actually gave us basic charts of his songs.

With everyone else, I was just given a bunch of MP3s of the songs and told to learn them.  -And that’s why sheet music is so unimportant to me and why I never rely on it… Because for rock/pop and popular music it’s not really used.

Why is that? -Because it’s harder and more trouble, and overall musicians are lazy. 🙂  OK, maybe not exactly lazy, but we want to learn in the most efficient way possible, and once you’ve trained your ear to pick out chords and music parts that IS the quickest way.

Unless I have something memorized I usually play from very simple chord charts, which display just the basic chords in each measure. For instance, this is what the first 4 measures of The Breakup Song  look like:

|   Am   |   F   |   G   |   Am   |

When there’s a lower-case “m” after a chord letter it means it’s a minor chord. So hey, now you know how to play the intro to The Breakup Song. 🙂

It’s not rocket science, heh. Using basic chord charts like that and training your ear to know what sounds right and what doesn’t is all you need to start playing songs right away. If this is even slightly intriguing to you, become a Piano Genius member right now and try it out for a month and see how much easier it is.

Here’s videos of two of Greg Kihn’s biggest hits (this is an old performance below, I’m not in it )

The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em Like That Anymore)

“Jeopardy” was another big hit of Greg’s, this one was fun for me to learn and play because the whole song is based on a keyboard harpsichord sound. 🙂  (Weird Al Yankovich had a big hit with his parody hit “I Lost On Jeopardy” too.)

Once I play some more shows with him I should be able to get some live video to put up, but for now I just wanted to show you these songs. I’m be updating soon – Tim

Related Post: I performed as part of Tommy Tutone’s band

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Performance, Update

I just performed as part of Tommy Tutone’s band (867-5309)

Last weekend I performed with Tommy Tutone live, and I’ll playing with him another 10 or so times over the summer. How that came about is Rick Springfield added Tommy Tutone and Greg Kihn as extra performers on some of our shows, and Rick had in own band (including me) play with Tommy and Greg as well.

It’s always fun to play new gigs with new people, and the first show went really well.  We weren’t given any charts or notes or anything to learn his songs, just MP3s of the songs to listen to and learn.

That’s why relying on sheet music is a bad idea, because often there IS no sheet music. So I learned the songs the same way I always do, and the same way most rock musicians do, which is exactly what I teach my Piano Genius Members in the members area:

  1. Listen to the songs enough to be familiar with them
  2. Figure out the key of the song
  3. Figure out the basic chord progression and write out simple charts
  4. Figure out your actual parts and jot down some notes to refer back to

…All based on just using your ear to tell whether it sounds right or not.

It works like a charm and is much easier, quicker, more effective, and most importantly can always be used. There’s not always sheet music available but your ears are always available to help you play once you’ve trained them to do their job. 🙂

This video below isn’t with me it’s just an old live performance Tommy did of his hit song 867-5309. At some point over the summer I’ll get some live clips of me playing with him and add them to the site. 🙂

Here’s my main point:

Virtually all of my musician friends learn songs exactly the same way that I do.  If there was a better way or a quicker way or a more effective method to learn songs and to learn our parts, we’d use it, but there’s not.

Whether you want to play with Tommy Tutone, or play  songs on the piano at family get-togethers, or you just want to play songs for yourself in the privacy of your room , this is the best way to do it.

If you’re even the slightest bit curious, become a Piano Genius member for a month and see what you think.

Related Post: I performed as part of Greg Kihn’s band

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Performance

Piano Solo from a Star-Studded Jam Session

I just got back from playing on an “80’s Cruise” that had a lot of musicians/bands on it: Rick Springfield, Thomas Dolby, Berlin, Mike & The Mechanics, Billy Ocean, Lou Gramm (singer for Foreigner), Loverboy, Tommy Tutone, and more.

Here’s a bit of a piano solo my wife recorded during a midnight jam session. Rick Springfield and Tommy Tutone are on stage to the left of me, and Mike Reno (singer for Loverboy) is behind me. Also on guitar is Kevin Armstrong, who plays with Iggy Pop and Thomas Dolby and previously played with David Bowie.

With these kind of impromptu things sheet music is obviously out the window (even if I was someone who reads sheet music), the best you can hop for is to hopefully recognize a song a bit so you can anticipate chord changes, and use your ear to work out chords on the fly.

Anyway, here’s a snippet from the night:

Note: The above video is from a Facebook post, if it’s not showing up on this page for you, it may be because you’re in “private browsing” mode. Also, by default the Volume is OFF on the video, so click to turn on volume.

If you want to be able to play songs you don’t really know with musicians you’ve never met before and be able to HOLD YOUR OWN on stage with them, you should try a Piano Genius piano lessons membership. You’ve got nothing to lose. And a lifetime of fun and enjoyment to gain.

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News

I’m performing on ABC Thursday June 30th

Hi, this is Tim, creator of PianoGenius.com. I’m performing playing keyboards this Thursday June 30th 2016 at 9PM on ABC on “ABC’s Greatest Hits” show with Rick Springfield.  Kenny Loggins, REO Speedwagon, Kim Carnes, and Pitbull will also be on the show. (That’s me on the far right 🙂

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This next photo is from the same upcoming show:

GREATEST HITS - "Greatest Hits - Episode 1" - The series premiere episode will kick off the six-week music event with chart toppers from 1980-1985, with performances by Pitbull, REO Speedwagon, Ray Parker, Jr., Jason Derulo, Kenny Loggins, Kim Carnes, Rick Springfield and Kool & The Gang. The episode will showcase some of the greatest hits from the early '80s, including a duet with REO Speedwagon and Pitbull, and a special tribute to Michael Jackson performed by Jason Derulo. Hosted by actor and comedian Arsenio Hall and country music star Kelsea Ballerini, "Greatest Hits" will air THURSDAY, JUNE 30 (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Tyler Golden) RICK SPRINGFIELD
GREATEST HITS – “Greatest Hits – Episode 1” – The series premiere episode will kick off the six-week music event with chart toppers from 1980-1985, with performances by Pitbull, REO Speedwagon, Ray Parker, Jr., Jason Derulo, Kenny Loggins, Kim Carnes, Rick Springfield and Kool & The Gang. The episode will showcase some of the greatest hits from the early ’80s, including a duet with REO Speedwagon and Pitbull, and a special tribute to Michael Jackson performed by Jason Derulo. Hosted by actor and comedian Arsenio Hall and country music star Kelsea Ballerini, “Greatest Hits” will air THURSDAY, JUNE 30 (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Tyler Golden)
RICK SPRINGFIELD

When you register to become an All Access PianoGenius.com member, one of the bonus Modules you get covers how I prepared to start learning the 30 songs I needed to know. You can Register Here for access to all 300+ piano training videos.

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