John's collection
Musician
pianojohn113
Joined: 11 March 2007
Last Sign In: 1 week ago
Videos Watched: 1,269
Subscribers: 3,647
Channel Views: 119,943
UPDATE: 18 August, 2008: Still here, just too busy with work! Will be back in town in the next two days and will be able to respond to everyone's messages then. In the meantime, keep playin'!

Housekeeping note: If you've sent me a message recently, I will get back to you ASAP... I do answer all of the messages. Also, with the large volume of video comments I get each day, I can't necessarily respond to each one of those anymore.. but I do read them all, so thanks!!

John
A few of the common questions I get, in case you're at all interested:

Q: I noticed you're not using any sheet music on the videos. Do you just play by ear?
A: I play many songs by ear. I still like to refer to the sheet music chords whenever I can, but I ditch the sheets as soon as possible and memorize all of the songs I play, because I prefer to play what I hear. It's like painting by numbers vs. painting what you see.

Q: Do you have sheet music you can send me for your songs?
A: Generally not, at least nothing I can e-mail. I do have the chords to some of them, though, but you can also get some chords from the videos.

Q: How long have you been playing the piano?
A: I started when I was 3 years old, and I'm 44 now, so I've been at it a long time.

Q: What else do you play besides Billy Joel and the Beatles?
A: I play lots of ragtime, some Elton John, Irving Berlin standards, the Claude Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz piano, swing tunes, Tom Lehrer, the Eagles, and I also have a huge backlog of "dinner music" songs from my days as a background pianist.

Q: How many YouTube messages do you normally get each day?
A: About 500.

Q: Wow, really?
A: No, that would be ridiculous. Probably around a dozen or so on an average day. And yes, I do respond to all of them, although it may take me a few days if I'm traveling or busy at work.

Q: Hey, I requested a tutorial video a long time ago, but you haven't done it yet!
A: Please restate that in the form of a question.

Q: Ok, sorry. I requested a tutorial video a long time ago, but you haven't done it yet. What gives?
A: That's better. I keep a list of the tutorial requests and try to get to all of them, but some songs are just too complicated to get a tutorial done on them properly. I take great care to make the tutorials understandable to everyone, so chances are that if you requested one more than two months ago and you don't see it here, I probably decided that it wasn't going to work.

Q: When are you going to post your next set of videos?
A: I try to do about three or four per month, depending on my schedule, so look for some new ones in about four weeks or less. I have a real, non-music-related job, though, so that schedule will vary from month to month.

Q: Do you think anyone is still reading this FAQ at this point?
A: It's hard to say. My guess is, no.

Q: Do you play any other musical instruments?
A: I do play the flute, but haven't done much with it in the past 20 years. It's left over from my Jethro Tull / Ian Anderson days. I can also play the xylophone, marimba, and a few other similar instruments, but piano is of course my instrument of choice.

Q: How often do you practice the piano?
A: Well first off, I don't really like to call it "practice," since that sort of implies some kind of labor-intensive chore. But having said that, I play most every night when I'm home.

Q: Do you have any suggestions on how I can improve my piano playing skills, learning, and technique?
A: The best piece of advice I can probably give you is to RELAX while playing. Don't tense up and feel like you have to get it right each time. Remember, you are playing for yourself first, and nobody is going to come in and arrest you for hitting the wrong notes. If you are diligent and play the songs often enough, the notes will come. Be patient, listen to yourself make music, and enjoy your own musical gift.

Q: But why do I hear people performing songs perfectly, making it look so easy, when all I do is struggle and miss keys, hit wrong notes etc.?
A: Keep in mind that you're hearing their finished product, one they may have worked on for weeks, months, or even years. Almost everyone struggles with a new song. They just keep at it until they're satisfied with it.

Q: Do you know where I can find the best ring tones, webcam pictures, or hot sexy dates?
A: No. And if you put a spam message on my comments section I will remove it immediately with a blowtorch.

Q: Do you have any DVDs of your video lessons available for purchase?
A: No, I do everything for free right here. I really believe that music should be shared and learned by everyone who wants to play. If my videos add to your musical enjoyment or help you to become a better musician, then it's worth it for me.

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Channel Comments (406)
wop01 (7 hours ago)
LOL your FAQ is flipping hilarious, nice. With your background in ragtime you must know how to play Rocky Raccoon. You don't even have to post the notes, I've just never heard a great cover version of it on piano and would enjoy hearing you tear it up. The only 4 that exist on youtube are laughably bad. Thanks for all the vids, if you'd just make an instrumental CD of you playing the Beatles then I could finally replace the John Arpin ragtime CD I have.
mikeronson2 (21 hours ago)
Can you teach me how to play Light my fire by the Doors
tavs182 (1 day ago)
wow this is my favorite channel......keep on uploading more videos.
TYTRUTRU (1 day ago)
What about RIVER OF DREAMS!!
please!! this time a billy's song ha?
twofeetofsnow (2 days ago)
Dear John. So far i have learned about 6 of your songs and im dying for Rocky Racoon. Im living in college and theres a big piano i can play whenever.
jumanggy (2 days ago)
(Long-time subscriber, first-time commenter here) Thanks so much for your tutorials! My parents love the Beatles and Elton John, so I grew up listening to their music. But it's only now that I've begun to really take notice of their artistry, so I'm glad to see that I can (maybe) emulate them, thanks to you!

I saw Elton John play a mean version of "Crocodile Rock" on Oprah a million years ago. Did you catch it? I would love to see a tutorial for that! (Even though I may still not be able to play it ;)
10mbelinsky (3 days ago)
Hey Im just wondering, where did u find the sheet music for the version of Piano Man that You play?? I have the original but I love yours so much more.
Qamon23 (3 days ago)
u should do i tutorial on "Hello Goodbye"
littleitaly811 (4 days ago)
please do a tutorial of lucy in the sky with diamonds!!!!
musicmancanjam (4 days ago)
Hi i would very much like to request isnt she lovely, by stevie wonder. Thanks for everything!