There is something fascinating about hard core rock anthems transformed into soft acoustic versions, especially if accompanied by the romantic and pristine sounds of a grand piano.
That said, I have been obsessed with this piece since early 2000's when I first saw a version of it in YouTube. I couldn't believe that a Linkin Park song can sound so melodic and tender, but unquestionably powerful at the same time. I then found a music sheet on the Internet and after doing some alterations (because the author of the sheet probably thought pianists have 3 hands instead of two), proceeded in learning, memorizing and polishing it so it could be fit enough for public consumption.
This isn't really my best shot, but after recording for hours and almost dislocating my right pinky finger after doing numerous faulty takes, this will do.
When it comes to forbidden love between two unlikely people with contradicting destinies, there's only one legendary couple that comes to mind.
Here is my musical tribute to one of the greatest fictional couples to grace television screens all around the world. Buffy Summers, the vampire slayer, and Angel, the vampire with a soul.
I think every Buffy/Angel fan can attest that in these times of teenage vampire-hysteria, no Elena or Stefan nor mopey Bella and sparkly Edward can compete with the original.
The instrumental Close Your Eyes is composed by Christophe Beck and featured in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2, Episode 22 "Becoming Part 2". In the heart-wrenching scene where the music is featured, Buffy was forced to sacrifice her one true love's life to save the world. Up to this day, the scene is still regarded as one of the most powerful moments of the cult classic's history.
I know how you must feel right now, cloaked under a foamy plastic cover while renegade dusts settle in between your buttons and keys. I know you feel disused, forgotten, abandoned even, and I don't blame you for that. I admit, I have been busy with something else lately and it must be painful for you to watch me as I cuddle up with my laptop night after night while you stay sulking quietly beside me.
But please know that my love for you have not lessened over the years. I remember the time when we would spend time with each other for hours, me attempting to do the scales and rigorous finger bending Hanon routines at the start of every session. Sometimes, I would just jump straight to playing a piece but my hands would feel stiff and the keys foreign. After a few minutes of treading blindly did I only start to feel the familiarity of your ivory keys, and the composition would start to sound the way that it should.
I remember the hours and days of arduously studying a sheet music as well as the feeling of absolute freedom of trying to arrange my own version of a song. The best part of everything is performing a well-mastered piece, the feeling of my fingers gliding effortlessly across your vast expanse of musical possibilities.
I think you already have memorized my favorite ones so well, the ones that I would not fail to play every time we are together. Canon in C takes the cake, always the first of many classical and modern pieces that would follow after it. Its swaying melody and simple thrills relaxes me and makes me remember everything beautiful about music and you, my instrument. Valentineby Jim Brickman would probably follow afterwards, just because I know it so well I could probably play it blindfolded.
Later would the more articulate pieces follow. The Swan by Camille Saint Saens, Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms, The Entertainer by Scott Joplin, Canon in D by Pachelbel, Gymnopedie by Erik Satie and Claire de Lune by Debussy (yes, regrettably Sparkly Edward's favorite) will flow from your speakers on those times I was feeling a bit peckish for the classical era. It doesn't make me think less of myself to know that most of the sheet music are simplified arrangements. Just as long as the heart and the melody is there, I am happy.
The rest I know by chords and playing these kinds of songs straight from my brain without notes and meters to follow was liberating. Sometimes, when I haven't played an arrangement for a while, since I don't have a piece of paper telling me which keys to press, I would struggle to remember the notes that followed and exasperation will grow on me until such time that I finally get a hold of it. And I always do. I always knew how to find my way back to you.
I guess all I want to say is that I've missed you and I hope that you and I can still make great music together even after all these months.
So you see, dearest friend, you have nothing to worry about, nothing to fear. For the dusts may accumulate but the music is never forgotten.
A simple rendition of the love song classic originally sung by Michael Ruff (who I thought was Side A from the start) and is still popular in the country despite the decades of pop/rap/rock music that it has been sharing the airwaves with.
For me, the song has such an effortless melody torn between romantic and melancholy that it is a perfect soundtrack for bittersweet lovers.
Almost like a lullaby, this arrangement was made by my piano teacher for another student for a recital. It is so simple that it is supposed to be played with loving caresses like there's something going to happen later that night with you and the instrument. I don't know if I succeeded in such a task but since I managed to record it in one take, it seemed suited for public consumption.
As for those asking, well, yes, there is a music sheet for this exact arrangement, however, I still need to ask the permission of the one who actually made it and add to that that I don't have a soft copy, I doubt that it is coming up anytime soon. I will look for the chords used for this specific piece and maybe upload it soon. Stay in love.. ;)
There's this scene that always enters my brain whenever I think of the words Piano + Romance. It's the scene from the Korean (Yes, Korean, NOT the sell out American version) romantic comedy My Sassy Girl. It is a story about a mediocre guy falling in love with a girl he can't seem to put his finger on, much less handle.
I first watched this movie when I was in high school, still speculative if it was really as good as they said it was since I've never really been fond of Asian movies. And let me tell you, it was.
Since then, I fell in love with the piece that the lead female character played on this auditorium scene where she, more or less, demanded the guy to trick his way past the guards of her all girl's school to give her a rose in front of hundreds of people inside the auditorium. He didn't know that she could play the piano and was scheduled to perform that day.
Canon in C is a derivative of Pachelbel's classical hit, Canon in D. In my opinion, it loses it's strictly-classical property and makes it a much more mellow and sentimental piece. It is a joy to hear and play. Even after years, this still remains as one of my favorite pieces.
I omitted the trill part in the middle of the piece because I wanted to retain the lullaby quality of the music which I think the sudden trill shatters upon impact.
For those who have stumbled upon this site and have miraculously watched the video, thank you. You have made my day.
Hopeless romantics and emo kids rejoice. Here is the breakup song of yesteryears made popular again by Juris's melancholy voice and that other guy's guitar strums. It's romantic, it's depressing, it makes you want to vomit out your lunch with all the emo-ness, but it makes for a good piano piece.
This is the first cover I've done using guitar chords. Certainly, it is the piece that made me realize that I can stand on my own and doesn't have to be ever so reliant on music sheets. Major yay.
And yes, I am aware of the crooked angle of the camera and how fat my arm looks in the video. I'm sorry I've ruined everybody's appetite. End scene.
"Sandali na lang, maaari bang pagbigyan Aalis na nga, maari bang hawakan ang iyong mga kamay Sana ay maabot ang langit, ang iyong mga ngiti Sana ay masilip..."
There's something about Original Pinoy Music that just hits closer to home. And although I loathe Regine Velasquez's vocal range (especially the higher ones that she keeps showing off) and repetitive ballads that the industry is so keen on producing, I am quite fond of local bands who write and perform their own music and don't feel compelled to put on inhuman high notes on their songs.
That said, Torete is a song about love that can't be expressed nor spoken about. The lyrics are vague at best but what I like about this song is it's simple melody and the chill out air it gives off. Since the song is best played using a guitar, I think it's quite interesting and fortunate that I was able to transfer those strums to the keyboard. I certainly did not expect to finish the whole thing.
I tried to stay faithful to the original tone of the song and didn't romanticize it with arpeggios and extra notes. I hope to be able to transcribe other songs as well, mostly singles which are not made for the piano.
Sorry for the weird camera angle and static-y audio, I'll try to work those out with upcoming recordings. :)
A sort of memento for the first contemporary piece I've learned since I started my lessons more than 10 years ago. Valentine, composed by Jim Brickman and sung by Martina McBride, is melodic as it is romantic.
I used a music sheet I found in National Bookstore arranged by someone with Priscilla included in her name. Sorry, I cannot give complete credit as I have already lost the copy and was playing from memory. (The sheet music on the keyboard is a different piece.)
I've been meaning to record my piano pieces since forever and now that I have a decent digicam and some spare time on my hands I've actually managed to do just that. So expect more to come. :)
After semesters of reviewing for the board exam and another couple of months being a Facebook addict, I finally got in the mood to plug in my Yamaha DGX305 Keyboard and put into rigorous exercise these 10 lazy fingers.
I'll admit, it felt so refreshing playing again after some time. Playing the piano (well, technically it's a keyboard but I almost never put the other sounds into use because I'm a classically trained pianist and mixing techno beats into my pieces were never my thing) almost always makes me feel sort of beautiful and talented even though I know there are tons of people better than I am in manipulating musical keys.
So, there I was, my hands feeling all foreign and out of place. I played Canon in C for warm up like I always do (I don't know why when I should always start with my scales). After a few bars I got lost so I switched to its (key of) D counterpart. Again after a few seconds I forgot what came next.
Frustration was what eventually came next. Pieces that I worked so hard on learning (by notes) and memorizing were now lost in my subconsciousness. I still have the music sheets, but still, playing from the sheets and from memory are two very different experiences. One's very tiring and complicated while the other's quite enjoyable. Guess which is which.
Anyways, long story short, I got out my copies and starting to re-remember (because I've forgotten and relearned them so many times) those pieces that I love and will always love. Some of them I'll list here, starting with the piano version of Numb by Linkin Park.
As crowded as the notes may seem on the page, in reality, it's not that complicated. My left hand only has 4 task. To repeat arpeggios of D, Bb, C and F, respectively. To those who don't know the original song, it actually can sound boring because it's so repetitive. But what I especially like about this piece is that it gives the listeners an impression that you're one heck of a piano player because you played a whole rock song with only your 10 fingers.
My warm up piece, Canon in C, from the Korean smash hit movie My Sassy Girl is one and will always be one of my favorites. My inspiration in learning it came from this scene (see video above) from the said movie where the lead guy discovers that his brutal and sadistang girl friend can actually play the piano. Again, piano, to me has always been the greatest, most romantic instrument ever invented. Cue in the Rose Ceremony and the wisely placed audience and you've got a kilig scene ready for the hopeless romantics.
Last but not the least is the heartbreaking and haunting theme of Buffy the Vampire Slayer entitled Close Your Eyes by Christophe Beck. It's the ultimate Buffy and Angel love theme first played in the background in Buffy's Season 2 Ender where she has to kill the love of her life to save the world. Well, it's a lot cheesier when I put it that way but believe me, the show's much much better and after years of being cancelled, fans are still rallying for a reunion show, spin-off, cartoon etc. Even I can't still get over it.
This piece, unlike the others, just gets better and better whenever I play or hear it. Sometimes, when I study a piece, no matter now much I liked it in the beginning, once I practice it over and over again, eventually, I grow sick of it and lose interest. Close Your Eyes is definitely not in that category.
With forgotten themes and songs now slowly inkling their way back into my consciousness, the search for the next piece is on. Hopefully I can study as much as possible while I'm on "useless mode" here at home with a college degree but a non-existent career. Ha.
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