John. Try a boat. Can't get slower than that. Played here by one of my favourite Jazz groups - Gunhild Carling Live.

On a Slow boat to China - Gunhild Carling Live



Hugh

An idea for a Challenge ...

A while ago we had a Challenge to all play the same piece .. Over the Rainbow.

We could do that again .. all play the same piece.
How about this one?

Orange Blossom Special




What do you reckon?

Hugh

Ken, I have been listening to you playing this on my laptop while I have been away on holiday. No headphones and no proper stereo. Back home again now. What a difference! With headphones on, that bass line makes such a difference! And the separation between left and right was a real joy to hear. It'...

They delight in sucking all the joy out of it and turning it into math equations just because they can. That is how I feel every time I see a 'Circle of Fifths'! When I listen to music I am listening to the harmony and know immediately what chord would make that sound. Not the actual chord played, ...

Hi Norman,

That was most enjoyable. I gather that using your Tyros 5 you have specifically created the 'backing' we are listening to. Very impressive!

Thunderclap Newman - Something In The Air



Hugh

Wikipedia: The sitar is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India and flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries and arrived at its present form in 18th-century India. A mind-blowing Sitar...

Ernest,

I really like the way you use Freeplay Styles in your pieces. You get an amazing contrast in sound by doing this. This is music for serious listening to .. not music for dancing to (except maybe ballet).

Hugh

Ken, This is one of my favourite hymns. Well played! The Lord's my Shepherd - an arrangement of the hymn (tune: Crimond) by Paul Ayres - live recording at St Thomas's Church Hanwell (London W7) by the Queldryk Choral Ensemble. l1HGlNcpdV4 Some slightly different harmonies in this one! But I prefer t...

Trumpet

Now this is how a real trumpet should sound. Can you get your trumpet on your keyboard to sound like this?

13 Year Old Girl Playing Il Silenzio (The Silence)
André Rieu & Melissa Venema performing Il Silenzio live in Maastricht.

Here's another Glissando (or two, or three) .. a Jon D speciality!

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab
https://app.box.com/s/wgd8aig4ynmn2fbdt9famchaz205si61

Hi Ernest,

Wow! That was some playing! You've worn me out!

Hugh

Brian, Some very interesting comments. I think that you and I are very similar in our approach to music. To me, music is something I enjoy listening to .. and enjoy playing. I just play things according to how I want them to sound .. which may or may not be as originally composed. So the question no...

How well can you pick up a melody 'by ear'? When you listen to music, if you have heard the piece several times before you will find that you will recognise the piece from the melody .. and even be able to sing along with the piece 'in your head'. Maybe you can even sing the melody out loud, or hum...

When looking for a VOICE to play the melody of a song I sometimes struggle to find something I really, really like. Den (dentyr) says that I should play about with voices and create my own sounds. But I can't do that as I don't really know what I am aiming for. I like to LISTEN to sounds, and every ...

There is more on "Freeplay STYLES" here:

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
http://www.tierce-de-picardie.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=479&t=9770

Hi Ernest,

Relaxing? Your opening few bars just about blew me off my perch! Interesting 'watery' backing.

Hugh

Hi Torben,

Not only your singing friend improvising, but you too! A very interesting version of this song.

Hugh

Den,

It's not often I burst into tears when watching a video .. but I nearly did with this one. And you know why!

Hugh

And here's another one. Remember Alma Cogan singing this is 1957? Alma Cogan - You Me And Us ( 1957 ) FYWDscvU0J0 And here is André Rieu with Cielito Lindo . André Rieu & The Platin Tenors performing Cielito Lindo live in Maastricht. rweAUQW9U3I Any similarities? This is what Wikipedia have to s...

Den, Ernest (Jacky) has done a Trumpet Fall in his piece Nadia .. at 1:50. Whether he has used your 'Trumpet Fall' feature you have described above I'm not sure, but it certainly makes the trumpet sound more realistic to make it do something like this. Click the below to listen, and then afterwards ...

Den,

I think button accordions sound great .. and you say they are easy to play? Don't know why you swapped yours for a Tyros 4!

More very talented youngsters, below.

Die Twinnies - Bayernmädels - 2 Girls playing steirische harmonika on rollerskates !



Hugh

Thanks John for commenting. Thing is, these keyboards of ours are very sophisticated pieces of kit. And so they should be, the amount they cost to buy when new. Yes, you can just switch them on and play them, but they do have the technology to do so much more besides. I think it all comes down to if...

**Note**: Den tried carrying out the above on his Tyros 4 .. and every time he chose a new STYLE it reverted back to the 'default' TEMPO. He has looked into it, and here's why .. and what to do about it. I keep saying that these keyboards we have are very complicated bits of kit. At the end of the ...

Changing STYLES as you play through a song When you play a song, how do you go about changing the STYLE as you play through it? Or do you just stick to the same backing from beginning to end? The Yamaha AR Organ has what is known as the ' D ' button. Press that and the STYLE will remain the same wh...

I definitely think that I can't read music because I don't associate the position of a note on the stave with where the note is on the piano keys. I do know instantly all the letters applied to the notes on the piano keys eg. if you pointed to a note on the keyboard/piano I would tell you immediatel...

My friend has a Bb saxophone. This is called a 'transposed instrument'. On my keyboard, I move my Transpose down two semitones. I now have a 'transposed' keyboard. My friend and I can now play together from the same sheet music, written in C. I play a C chord of GCE. My keyboard tells me in the disp...

From a Google Search: Does everyone have to play in the same key or is the key accustomed to the instrument? Yes, and no! Everyone sounds like they're playing in the same key, yes, but looking at the actual music in front of the players, no . There are lots of transposing instruments about, which do...

A look at Portamento again. Going over what Den has said above, the essence of this is: 1. Portamento is a 'pitch' sliding from one note to another. 2. It can only be done with instruments that are capable of doing it eg. clarinet, trombone etc. 3. It does not work with SA (Super Articulation) or SA...

Den, This is the first time I have ever seen a really good explanation of 'how to read the dots'. I have never been able to play from the 'dots on lines' and I now know why. It is because I had music lessons (in my early teens) where I was taught the letters of the piano notes, together with some mn...

Here's another showing how a 'moving' voice (a 'whistle') can be very effective in creating an 'atmosphere' in a piece. Click to listen; then click the back arrow at the top to get back to this page. By Kens: From the final bars of "Hymn to Freedom" played on the Yamaha EL700 organ And her...

How to sing overtones (tutorial)



I can't actually her any 'overtones' in this video above. Can you? This is a bit like trying to get 3D pictures to work. You can really concentrate, and you know what should happen .. but it doesn't!