Added: 4 years ago
From: pianojohn113
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  • philadelphia freedom!please

  • can you please do Philadelphia Freedom?

  • Will u please do a tutorial for I'm looking through you

    It is my favorite Beatles song!

    Your videos r the best!!!!

  • @Pudgejello Got it on the list! :-)

  • can we see you....? like your face? sometime maybe...?

  • @WalrusMuffins10797 Hmm.. interesting idea for the new year! :-)

  • @WalrusMuffins10797 I have been wondering this for like 3 years now! I've always been curious...haha

  • thanx alot john your lessons are beneficial in so many ways that i dont think yourealize how many people youve really helped. love the simplicity, the notes given , the actual chord names when you know them, even the camera angle. just superb. i dont know what your up to these days but i sure would like to learn "Levon" if you would post it. thanx again and keep up the great contribution your makin to the world of musicians...

  • @oneman1970 I appreciate the kind words, oneman, thanks. Very glad you like the videos. I've still got "Levon" on the list, assuming that Elton's publishers won't come after me again for posting a tutorial on one of his songs.

  • @pianojohn113 whats up with EJ;s publishers?...these chords are available in any elton songbook n if your not makin any money off of his songs whats their gripe ? i enjoy your workk because i can see the different inversions you use...i know some of eltons material from the books but its seeing your voicings that stretch my skills...dont misinterprate my tone cuz im not upset with your comment i jus dont want ANYONE to stop your work. its just that damn beneficial 4 all of us that u continue!

  • @oneman1970 Yep - many other music publishers are doing the same thing, unfortunately. It's a kind of sweeping corporate mentality that's permeating both the online music industry and the amateur (non-paying) side here on You Tube.

  • I'm learning piano, and this really means a lot to me. Thank you. If you could see me, I'm sitting on my bed with my crappy electric piano, still trying to figure out the intro! People like you are the reason why people like me, who can't afford lessons, have a chance to actually learn something meaningful.

  • @MrSwordofa1000truths  That's wonderful, so glad these videos are helpful to you. I appreciate the comment, and I hope you enjoy learning this one!

  • @MrSwordofa1000truths True, and not just for those who can't afford lessons. Even if you could afford them, you could not look at your instructor's fingers for hours on end, noting every detail, rewinding when necessary -- all you would get is your half-hour for the week and that's it. Not only that, most piano lessons use traditional teaching methods, which de-emphasize the use and learning of chords, and are really designed to do one thing -- train you to be a professional classical pianist.

  • Can you do a tutorial for I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues?

  • Thank you very much. A REALLY well put together video. I've just bought a piano after not playing for many years and have just learnt "Your Song" in an evening thanks to you. I'm looking forward to learning more from you. All the best.

  • Thanx a lot John, ive just put it all together, im actually starting to sound like an half decent piano player now. Thanx for your time and effort.

  • have i turned deaf? :/

  • Wonderful video..I learned a easy version of song...I really want play the real version it will take a lot pratice..which is good lol

  • dude i wanna meat you! ive been using your videos for a while now and love them. im only 18 but i hope some day i will be like you! thanks for the videos man

  • @travishirey Happy to do them for you, travishirey, enjoy!

  • great tutorial! Now that I've learned the chords well enough I just need to work on the fills. could someone please clear up the part just after "where we both could live" where you suspend the chord? It didn"t have labels to help explain what you were doing. Other than that, great tutorial!

  • @mattnanokid You would just play the individual notes of the chord itself on that part. I think it's a sus4 chord there, but I'll have to check it!

  • Just learning this song myself. I'm going back and forth between the studio version and your video. And it's helping. I like the fact that your video eliminates the usual (melody in the right hand) approach that all commercial sheet music presents.

    It sounds like each chord is struck in the right hand before breaking up the notes.

  • @GenerationSS2000 Glad you liked it, thanks. You're right, you play the chord first, and then break it up into individual notes.  It's a technique that's used on guitar a lot, and Elton adapted it very nicely for piano.

  • great tutorial! thanks so much !!!

  • thanks again!! =D

  • Thank you so much for the tutorial but I have a quick question. I can play all of the chords with ease and the song sounds nice but I'm not sure how to do all of the little improvisations that you do with each chord while you play them. I know it doesn't just happen but what would you recommend to help with that because that makes the song sound much more professional. Thanks again and keep making great videos!

  • @mrojas955 The fills are hard to describe in writing, but essentially you just fill the gaps with the chords played as individual notes. If you look at what EJ is playing, sometimes you can see a pattern to the fills. But breaking up the chords into individual notes is a good way to start, at least.

  • @mrojas955

    Not to overthrow what John said, but to give my answer to your question. I often get asked that question too. You said "I know it doesn't just happen" but actually it does. If you're learning this from his great vid here, that means you are memorizing it so you're already a step above sheet readers. As you strengthen your playing of the song you'll amaze yourself and start doing all that improv. I find at times my fingers follow my humming automatically. It really is just practice.

  • your tutorials make me feel good

  • took me about a half an hour to learn this...i love this song thanks so much pianojohn

  • @RyanK1020 Glad it helped you, congrats on learning it!

  • Hi John,

    Mike sent me to you and wow! you're wonderful! Your tutorial for this tune is very to the point and expedient. I'm still putting all the chords together but I will complete this very soon. Thank you so much for blessing us with your knowledge. I absolutely love this song. Mike says you're his mentor and now I see why. I am grateful.

    Have a wonderful day.

    Gfine

  • @gfine2000 Very glad you found my videos. I hope they're helpful to you!

  • if my boyfriend learns this song i will so be his wife... both of our favorite song, and thanks just so much! :)

  • @weegeeluv3r Cool, let me know if you get married! :-)

  • I wonder how many people are learning this to impress a girl.

    John you are getting a lot of people laid, keep up the good work!

  • @bainesiscool I am ;P

    

  • Thanks so much i love your tutorials :D x

  • hi john, just want to say i think it's great how you spend so much of your time teaching people you've never met how to play so many great songs. i'm sure thousands are watching and learning that haven't commented, but i'm positive all of us admire and respect you for taking us under wing. regards, ralph ps: please don't stop!!!!!!!!!

  • used to play piano and completly lost it all.

    Got a new girlfriend and im gonna learn this song....

    dont care how long it takes..bring it..

  • LOL YESS.. I just finished learning 'piano man' by you and I decided to do 'your song' and I was like "that looks like pianojohn's hands and style" and what do you know, Its you again :P :D

  • Thanks John. Just got back into playing piano after a few months and this is the first song I've learnt. Can't do all the twiddley bits yet but I can sing along quite happily out of tune :D. Looking forward to learning plenty more from you, thanks again.

  • @DaveLowe28 That's fantastic, Dave, congrats on learning it. Glad to know the video helped you, and welcome back to the piano!

  • learned 4 songs from your tutorials

    thank you

  • learned 4 songs from your tutorial

    thank you

  • thanks john i love it

  • have u done a tutorial for walkin in memphis by marc cohn?

  • Hello John. great work. I like very much your tutorial. I have a problem reading the notes. Im used to read the tunes with "DO RE MI FA SOL LA SI" and "#" and "b" for the black keys. may you or someone else help me to translate them into my "language" :)

    thanks in advance.

  • @summercles

    I can help: LA SI DO RE MI FA SOL A B C D E F G

    for b and # there's no change :)

    I Love your tutorials John. It is much much easier than just chord on a white sheet :)

  • @Sighteyes many thanks...very grateful :)

  • are you elton john

  • @HORHAYANATOR123 elton is british

  • @HORHAYANATOR123 Elton JOHN, pianoJOHN113, it fits... Are you Elton John?

  • are you elton john

  • Would you make a tutorial for this song but in the australian version.

  • this is awesome! u r great!

  • this tutorial was great. i learned the song in a couple days, and im not really a piano player. also, i learned desperado from you. thanks for all your help, pianojohn113

  • @XemX23 in which class are you ?

  • Holy shit John...you have some god damn patience with all the responses you have to/or 'have not to' reply to. All I can say is great work on all your posts.

  • @adampower1973 Thanks, I appreciate it. I try to respond to folks when I can, although with 150 videos to keep track of now, it's gotten a little more difficult. :-)

  • Did you use a book to learn this - and if you did could you tell me what one?

  • @pjeans92 I did not use a book, but I believe it's available in most of the Elton John songbooks.

  • @XemX23 Glad you liked it. Which tutorial are you referring to?

  • Well, you are pretty damn cool ^^. Thank-you!

  • This makes it so much easier for me to learn!! thank you for posting this!

  • Pianojohn can you please tell me what you do with the pedal? you never tel us in the video.

  • @Inventor672 I usually hold the pedal down through the chord, then quickly release and reapply for the next chord.. Mostly standard pedal technique, which can take a little practice if you're not used to using it.

  • Hey Man! Thanks you a lot !! from Buenos Aires -Argentina- Excellent Job!!

    Congratulations and many thanks!!

  • He John, Did you know... I'm from amsterdam and practising your tutorial's ;) Great job, I just finisched Your song. Of all the tutorial makers you'r the one with more complex song's, 4 notes at the time plitting cord's etc. I can keep up with that! Keep up the good work! (my englisch isn't that good, also practising on that LOL. Greating from Holland..

  • best series of tutorials.

  • i already play this......bad quality but its good, just gd, i think ur a grade 2 haha but its ok,and u even made a mistake but anyway its good so ye

  • I have a question though piano john I understand everything but what fill do you play on "its a little bit funny"? Cause I here you playing some type of fill. Anyways great song I hope my GF likes me playing this

  • @Inventor672 Right after the lyric "It's a little bit funny," on the AbMaj7 chord, the three notes in RH the fill are G, then F, then Eb. Is that the one you're asking about?

  • I have a question though piano john I understand everything but what fill do you play on "its a little bit funny"? Cause I here you playing some type of fill

  • this is unclear. is hard to make out which ones your finger is on. im a beginner so im finding it tough.

  • @CLZJamie This might be a bit too high on the difficulty scale for a beginner, but you can figure out which notes are being played by looking at the chord. Many times I'm just breaking up the chord into individual notes.

  • @pianojohn113 ohh ok. i know its a little hard but if i keep practising it over and over i'll eventuall get it. would you be able to do something to show me which fingers go where, like a picture or something. it would be much appreciated. thanks

  • @CLZJamie I don't know if I can do that for each chord, but if you tell me which chords you're having trouble with, I'll be glad to help you that way.

  • Can you hit us with a few Billy Joel tutorials. Preferably "My Life" "Just the way you are" and or "Allentown"

  • Is it just me, or the audio is messed up?... Theres no sound at all =S.

  • @UsernameNotFkinTaken Adjust your main volume control so that the "balance" tab is right in the middle. That should get you the sound.

  • ur hair

  • Once again...many thanks. my wife even came into the piano room and complimented me. (this is no easy feat).

  • @kellerbees03 lol, that's great, good to know she liked it too! :-)

  • Thanx so much for putting this on.I've been looking to try and play this for a while. It is an EXCELLENT video. Thanks again

  • @pianojohn113 Where did you get the sheet from? I have that song aswell on sheet but its not the same :S Very confused, mine doesnt sound good at all. If youd like you can PM it to me maybe (if its digital), if its a link that is? Would be awesome.

  • @StettaN1337 I didn't use a sheet for this song, but I believe it's in a book called The Elton John Keyboard Book. I can't remember what the cover looked like, but it's published by Hal Leonard. Try that and see if it works for you. That's one of the books with the more accurate transcriptions.

  • is there an easy way like beginners version of this song ?:$

  • Yeah man, tnx!

  • Hey I love your videos; you're a great teacher, especially great for people who cannot read music but understand music theory. It's really helped me. Anyway I was wondering if you could teach us "She's a Rainbow" by the Rolling Stones and also "Honky Cat"?

  • THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I can play this surprisingly easy but beautiful song! But my audience doesn't know that! To them, I'm a 13 year old playing what they would think as a hard song! ^.^ Thank you for teaching so many people and sharing your talent! :)

  • Hi, love this tutorial, almost finished the song, any chance of a tutorial for the Billy Joel song She's always a woman to me?

  • very nice tutorial i like it a lot, one the best tutorials I've evver seen

  • You have a tutorial for "live, like horses"?, i wan't it :D

    I repeat...you're a wonderful master, ;D

  • nice job, it sounds good if you add a few little fills, learned it pretty quick, thanks

  • I echo what eleutherarch says...I play by ear and have always played this song much more simply and in C. It only took me 5 or 10 minutes to learn to play it exactly as you teach it here. I can't wait to impress my kids at the next singalong - THANKS!

  • This was a very well made tutorial. I'm used to replicating things by ear (can't sight read) but I've always found Elton John songs to be tricky. This really helped me get to grips with the basic chord sequences and now I can play it through - it's a great feeling. I'm well on the way to learning "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" now too. Just wanted to take the time to thank you for the work you put in - I appreciate it.

  • thanks for this it really helps

  • okay i get the chords. how do i break it up like you/elton do? it doesnt sound the same unless you break up the octaves and chords. it'd be great if you made a video going into detail with that.

  • @Wooflays Breaking up the chords is just a matter of using the pedal while playing the individual notes in the chord, often times in a random order and alternating left and right hands. I may make a video that goes into detail on how to do that, since it's used so often in Elton John songs.

  • @pianojohn113 oh that makes sense. A video on it would be appreciated by me and most likely others. I'm guessing each chord is broken up either 2 or 4 times? Well thanks for the help, I never have had piano lessons and your's really help alot.

  • @pianojohn113 I had the same problem, and would love to see a video on how to play out the chords. Thank you so much for everything!

  • keep coming back to these

    nothing as good anywhere else.

    quite an achievement.......

    thanks again

  • you sound like ed helms

  • lol good one

  • Nice arrangement and pleasant chords. This nice tutorial should benefit from moving the camera so your head won't hide the keyboard

  • Thank you very much! I have the potential, but i do not understand sheet music at all... I think just watching someone play helped a lot.

    I'm only 13, and I've almost learned the whole song in about an hour!

  • 2:55 "this chord it's a little bit funny"

  • VERY GOOD tutorial. Ideal proportions of the music and the comment. Quite difficult song (for me) seems quite simple.

    Being 44 year old guy, two months ago I started to play piano. Your lessons are very helpful. Thnx for them all.

  • fantastic tutorial mate, i am trying to teach myself the keys and cant be bothered to learn to read music, your video helps me no end to understand where to put my fingers (so to speak), great song, excellent tutorial - thank you so much from a sleepy seaside town in devon!

  • This was great. I've been taking piano for about 5 years now, but my teacher never lets me learn really cool stuff like this. Heard about it from a friend, and wrote it out and have already played through it a few times. Thanks, and keep up the good work!

  • wonderful song... wonderful tutorial

    I really appreciate what you've done here. cheers man

  • Thanks, emoffatt, I appreciate the comment.

  • thanks for taking the time and effort to help out the less-talented :)

  • Are those all major chords in the beginning? Thanks!

  • Yes, the intro is all major chords, with a 9th thrown in here and there.

  • ive never ever played the piano before and learned it easy , memorized it all with no problem in 3 days. My first song.I cant thank you enough John, your awesome !!!!

  • That's great, nice job on learning the song so quickly! I'm glad the video was helpful. :-)

  • Hey what happen with the sound? it is just me or the sound is off?

  • The sound is on, it's just on a single channel.. this was done on an older mono recorder, which created problems when YouTube went stereo. If you have stereo speakers, listen in the other audio channel and you'll hear the sound.

  • @pianojohn113 Oh! Now I can hear. When I heard last time, only worked the right speaker ... so I heard nothing.... Nice vid.. Thanks

  • Cool, glad it's working now.

  • im the same as MKdafne....great tutorial so thanks. dont want u to taki\e this the wrong way but its a bit diffiuclt to follow the rythem you instruct.

    it seems to change from when u teach it to when u play the song... if that makes sense......

  • Yeah, it's sometimes harder to slow it down and teach the rhythm at the same time. If I'm playing at normal speed it's mostly just automatic.

  • Hey John, great tutorial. Really help a lot. I'm having a bit of trouble getting the rhythm down for the song after the into. I see how you break up the left can, but how do you break down the right hand?

  • Yeah, I know what you mean about the RH rhythm, mkdafne.. It's a little staggered in some places. I do quite a bit of ad-libbing on it. Try breaking the chords up into individual notes and distribute them evenly along the beat of each measure. It will be uncomfortable at first, and won't sound quite right because the lyrics don't fall on the beats.. but if you keep it up you'll get it. I hope that makes sense and didn't confuse you even more!

  • anyone else getting sick of never being able to see piano john's face?? lol i wonder if he looks as good as he plays...

  • lol, well, I'll try to correct that in future videos! :-)

  • Hello Pianojohn,

    in my opinion you are one of the very few positive characters here on youtube. I really enjoy your lessons. Thank you very very much!

    Best greetings from good ole germany

    Jan

  • Thank you, Jan, I appreciate the comment. Greetings to you in good ole Germany! :-)

  • You are a very good person, not to mention talented and generous.

    Thanks.

  • Glad to do it for you, ib422000. Enjoy! :-)

  • hey john. let me just say this is a great freaking song. before i even begin trying to learn this, is it hard to play? cuz im still not that good at piano but i really want to learn this

  • I think if you are fairly good with chord changes and the fills aren't a problem, then it wouldn't be too hard to play. If you can play the intro, you should be able to handle the rest of the song.

  • damn thanks a lot for all your videos its so much better than paying some stranger to teach you songs you dont want to learn.

  • Glad to do it for you.

  • Very cool!

  • Thanks!

  • Honestly, this is a great thing you're doing. Takes a lot of patience to break down a song into its parts. Cool beans...

  • Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! Enjoy.

  • exelente thankyou, gracias, good pianoplayer friend

  • Thanks very much!

  • I owe you John. I actually managed to steal someones heart by playing this. and now im not alone anymore. you are the best teacher i know about, by far. keep on teaching, you really help alot of people and we appreciate it :)

  • Hey, that's really cool! That's the best way to use a song, for sure.. you deserve the credit for learning and playing it. Good job, and thanks for the comment! :-)

  • Again - another brilliant tutorial. You have demystified and made playing the songs so accessible. I wish I had you as a teacher years ago. Thank you from an Australian student.

  • You're very welcome, jetsetters, and thanks for the kind words!

  • I will say it's very kind of you to make these helpful tutorials. They are easy and I like that you write the chords over the keys whole the time, it facilitates. Thank you!

    /A pianist from Sweden

  • Happy to do it for you. Greetings to you in Sweden!

  • Great!

  • Thanks!

  • grandeeee

  • this si so easy to learn from , thanks very much again

  • Glad you liked it, Tomahawk1505!

  • how comes a cant hear sound

  • I just wanna say thanks. Your a great teacher. I'm better at guitar then piano but your videos are helping ALOT.

  • That's great, I'm glad they're helpful! Thanks for the comment.

  • what key are you playing this in?

  • Original key.. Eb

    John, correct me if i'm wrong

  • well when i play this i play it in Ab and it sounds to me more true to the original song.

  • This song is in Eb, Sakyamuni77 is correct.

  • how about some sound out of the right side???

  • lol I was worried my speaker was busted or something!

  • You make it look so easy but I'm playing the chords and it just doesn't sound as smooth

  • john, can you please do a tutorial for the song daniel i would really like that and this tutorial has helped a lot thanks,

    Jordan cavinee

  • Thanks John! I've been having real trouble getting my head round this song but your easy learning method helped a bunch and I can now play it fluently :)

  • That's great! I'm glad the video worked for you. Good job on learning it so quickly.

  • I'm currently trying to learn everything by Michael Buble but no one has as clear and effecrtive methods as you. Its such a beautiful song, if you some spare time to upload a tutorial of how to play it i'd be most grateful

  • i second that. i really want to learn that song too.

  • pianojohn113 you are absolutely amazing, i gotta say. im always looking on youtube to pick some new piano songs to learn, and out of all the videos people teach yours are the best. I've learned Hey Jude, Imagine, and Your Song. I tried learning Piano Man, a little to complicating for me. But really, great work, and Thank you

  • Thanks, lapeyton5, I appreciate the kind words. I'm glad the videos have been helpful to you.. keep up the good work on the piano!

  • i got a Q is playing piano a talent??

    all my life i wish to play piano and i cant i love piano it moves my heart and its full of emotion

    i wish that i can learn piano to relese whats in inside me espeacially to my fiancee

    but it always confuse me it really hard T-T

    tnx anyway and keep it up

  • It's a talent, but it doesn't have to be innate.. You can develop your own skills with patience and persistence. Many people play now who never thought they could play anything. Give it a try, you might surprise yourself!

  • Thanks for doing this tutorial - it's very clear and easy to follow. I'm working my way through, writing down the notes you play and going through them. Thanks to you I can play the intro and verse pretty well, time to start the chorus I think!

  • That's great, good job! If you have any questions or problems with it, let me know. :-)

  • Thanks for your great tutorial. This is my mom's favorite song and now I can play it for her :-)

  • Happy to do it for you! Hope your mom enjoy it. :-)