Did you see the Grammy Awards on TV? There was a lot of piano this year!
For starters, the pianist Alicia Keys hosted again and she didn’t waste any time getting to the keyboard, improvising some nice underscoring music beneath her opening monologue. She effortlessly “noodled” around using what I call the “Adele” chord progression, and reminded us all, beginners and pros alike, how music has the power to relax and soothe us. Here’s the clip:
Alicia Keys: 2020 Grammys Opening
https://www.vulture.com/amp/2020/01/alicia-keys-grammys-opening-2020.html
Another piano highlight was Camila Cabello’s performance of “First Man,” her tribute to her father, which she sang to solo piano accompaniment. It was the kind of simple yet beautiful piano chording which you can learn in my Classic Rock, Pop, and Country Songs Lessons 1-3. Once you get the basic patterns under your fingers, you’ll be able to easily apply them to songs like this and many more. Check it out here:
Camila Cabello: First Man from 2020 Grammys
There was also a wonderful and extended string synth solo during Usher’s medley of Prince songs, but I didn’t find any videos of this online. Perhaps you can find one by doing a quick Google search.
There were some other piano “moments” as well during the broadcast, and all-in-all, the evening was a nice reminder that even with highly commercial and “produced” music, the piano strikes a warm chord in people’s hearts that is profound and timeless.
Let’s all follow Alicia Keys’ example and sit down at our pianos today and simply “noodle around.” You may be surprised at how good it sounds!
Ron
PS – If you want to learn about the behind-the-scenes drama concerning the Grammy’s this year, have a look at Bob Lefsetz’ blog:
The Lefsetz Letter
https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
Yes, Bob is highly opinionated and doesn’t “hold back” in expressing his thoughts, but he is an informed music industry insider and everyone in the business reads his blog including Quincy Jones and Elton John. You can find a couple of recent posts about the Grammy Awards as well as info on his Sirius podcast about them.