Play as many songs as possible using digital home piano
My goal in life currently seems to be able to play as many songs as possible, without memorizing, but well enough so that it doesn’t sound like I’m reading music.
I woke up yesterday morning humming the old Frank Sinatra hit, I’ve Got You Under My Skin. So I proceeded to pick it out, playing piano by ear for a few minutes using my digital home paino. Then I found the music, that I happen to have in my new Fake Book and started playing from it. I wasn’t happy with their very simple harmonies/chords, so I googled the song, adding “chords” to the search, and found better chords. However, they were in the key of D, and my sheet music is in the key of F. So I needed to transpose the new chords up to F. Then I played that piece quite awhile. It’s a great song that I’m sure my retirement home folks will like.
I’m also working on the old Crystal Gayle hit “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” which can be heard on YouTube. I’m trying to memorize this piece. It uses simple chording in parts, similar to Heart and Soul. I, vi, ii, and V. In the key of C these are C, A min, D min and G. Some of these have a 7th added. The B section of the song is trickier. I’m trying to get that memorized. It works well with the harmonies played in the right hand, with the melody on top….which is what Dale and I have been talking about.
That’s some of what I’m doing. I’m hoping to play at the retirement home more often, so that means keeping a selection of 15 or 20 songs – easy to difficult – practiced so I can play them decently. I also want to be able to play some different pieces each time. Mostly I’m reding music, but some of these I have memorized.
