The Role of the Performer - The Piano Guys
The Piano Guys have been an all-time favorite of mine for almost ten years. They started in a piano shop in Utah and released their debut album in 2011. Technically they are the duet of pianist Jon Schmidt and cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, but Paul Anderson is the man who owned the piano shop where it all started and was the first to record the music and post them on youtube. Anderson was just looking for a new way to market pianos, he thought that viral videos would help with the marketing process. In his search for internet fame, Jon Schmidt literally walked in one day to ask if he could practice on one of the pianos, and the rest is history. Schmidt had known Nelson for a while, and along with Nelson's talent and creativity, the group quickly became an internet sensation. They were known for beautifully blending popular music pieces together in ways that leave the audience in awe, using mainly the cello and piano of course.
This song has always been a favorite of mine, yes because I love Kung Fu Panda but also because the entire song is just such an entrancing contrast of action and serenity. I really believe that The Piano Guys are really amazing at creating counterpoint melodies, or melodies that work together while actually act very differently. Just listen to the way the piano carries on the soft melody in the serene section, while the cello sings out its long and sad notes. Independent, both of these melodies would be lovely, but together they are spectacular. On top of that, I feel like this song is a good example of through-composed music, as it very rarely repeats itself, it constantly transitions into new melodies and sections. The song returns to the main kung fu panda theme a couple times, but as a whole, it tends to transition in and out playing it upbeat and playing it slow and peacefully. Overall the song as a whole is one long piece of artwork.
Themes from Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is hands down a musical classic, maybe I'm just weird but I can remember multiple instances of just blasting the main theme in car rides just to be crazy and freak out the people outside of the car. What makes this song so pumping is the strict binary form it adapts when playing the main theme, the main theme is the melody that everyone recognizes, followed by another half, and then back to the main melody all over again. The song is like a billowing wave that lulls in and out of the chorus. Another thing that makes this song pumping is the fact that it maintains its energy throughout the entire piece by painting the loud and aggressive forte dynamics in and out.
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I really really enjoy the creative twist that The Piano Guys introduce to the musical world, they make music that we can easily recognize and play it so wonderfully on instruments that aren't heard enough in today's period of electronic synthesizers and artificial sounds. Their music touches all ranges of my emotions in a single song, the cello can get pumped up and excited, and in just a moment decelerate into a serene, almost mournful, ballad. While the piano can plod along with power chords, and then suddenly transition into a deep and colorful melody that leaves your mouth hanging open a little. All of this within the music that we hear sung by pop singers, played in movies or played in restaurants. The Piano Guys have a knack for performing the music in a way that paints it a whole new color, in a way making the original piece even more beautiful, because people as artistic as the piano guys were willing to take a creative jab at it. Overall, I find this music inspiring, and breathtaking, it is the kind of music that immediately starts conversation, and brings forth a mutual appreciation for all types of music.
Leggett, Steve. "Artist Biography". allmusic.com. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-piano-guys-mn0002895189/biography#:~:text=Technically%2C%20the%20Piano%20Guys%20are,writer%20Al%20van%20der%20Beek.&text=The%20Piano%20Guys%20began%20in,Anderson%20owned%20a%20piano%20shop.
"THE "GUYS" BEHIND THE PIANO GUYS". thepianoguys.com. https://thepianoguys.com/pages/about-us.
Man the talent of these guys is insane. Like you said, they posses the ability to blend and layer music to evoke many different moods in the same piece. Even their medleys from movies are astounding, being able to weave a melody through many different layers of harmonies that can be soothing and relaxing or get you pumped up. It was nice to know a little bit of their back story as well. It's awesome how they started out so nonchalantly, it all just came together just cause they loved the music so much. Great post man!
ReplyDeleteI've never listened to The Piano Guys but after listening to Kung Fu Piano I certainly will listen to them more! I love people that put their own spin on classic songs that we all know and love. It's not that they just put their own spin on it but they put their personality and talents into their work. It's what makes every cover so unique.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of The Piano Guys before, but the duo of their music is so soothing. I am a big fan of Pirate of Caribbean and I did not know they did their part of the theme song to the movie! which makes it interesting to learn more of. Their talent is spot on, along with your blog.
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