"Funeral For A Friend" Elton John, piano solo by Neal Kern

[fattwam]

Self taught ?

Your amazing, i which i could bribe my fingers into playing like that.

[ErrinTM623]

Absolutely amasing!



[dogdeck]

gabe or mark cuban , im not sure.

[Hanis321]

Ooohh my god! This is so much better than any version on the Internet Ive seen! Great job! You catch the emotion of that song realy perfectly!

[rocknrollron1]

Great job!

[rdeal49]

phantom of the JOHNRA

[Azthron]

I saw you 3 years ago and lost sight of you, but i found you again :D

Awesome work man!!!

[landyguy1]

Dude you make this sound so much better then elton john himself

[mydaytoremember]

This song has been on my all time favorite list for 30 years. Neal, you've raised it to number one and beyond. Amazing rendition. Amazing.

[GraemeGirl]

Saw you perform this live for the first time fifteen years ago and it's still my fave!!! I agree about the hair, the shirt, and the lighting though! Lol! You need a production assistant and maybe a stylist!!! Hehe! Ask your wife to help you next time! xoxo

[golsteynSANDR]

:o

[Flatfoot2282]

Dammmmm dude... fantastic!! Much enjoyed!

[SaddleCat1]

I can even hear the synth organ...

[tuneski100]

I like the agressive playing.

[jackleetie]

nice shirt,

[buffscotty73]

You have a gift from God! Wow..amazing Piano playing. Keep up the great work!

[colbybelk]

Love it and I covet your piano, too.

[Julia9514]

Love it! amazing :D

[stumiller]

I've subscribed to everything you play. I'm blown away!! Your Billy Joel pieces, the Baba O'Reilly number and this are just fantastic.

[tubase12]

Wonderful !!!!!!!!!!

[mikiou26]

I love it

[SakuraKittyNyan]

would you mind giving me the sheetmusic for this~???

[jb0177]

Very fine job, Sir.

Gave me goosebumps!

[starg8t1]

OMG! ....... SPEECHLESS! ...Jaw on the floor! I am absolutely speechless!

THANK YOU for sharing your talent, Neal Kern! !! Bravo !! WOW!

............ I'm just speechless.

[mkfly1]

I agree, well played Neal! I never got why EJ married this song with Love Lies Bleeding - for me they are such different tings, these two songs. I so love hearing this by itself.

[Rumplestilskin43]

You (and that piano) sound awesome!

[teddynall]

Okay, you cheated! Where was the sheet music? LOL.  Great job, man

[Freddyy28292]

I love the last 30 seconds!! *______*

[RRSchwab]

fantastic !! You're a lucky man. Enjoy your talent. I wish I had it.

[Bedgomar]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!

[provyprov]

fucking perfect.

[oooakevooolution]

I SOOOOOOOO LLLLLLLOOOOOOVVVVVVVEEEEEEDDDD­D THIS!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

[mhvr85]

MASTER!!! BRAVO!!!

[champalou]

greeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaatttt­tttttttttttt!!!! I really enjoyed!! 

[MrSevecook]

good work there Neil..

[SmellyBrown]

great job Bruce Campbell

[Sperious]

OMG you play this with such an amazing accuracy and power that I find my self sitting here just gasping. When did you start playing the piano?

[coony92130]

best interpretation.

[HunterRylkaTv]

Thanks to you I can now play this song with your twist, i knew the sheet music version but i copyed yours and it sounds better! I played yours for my piano recitle.

[kurniawan4000]

You are amazing !!! I'm in the middle of making a sheet music for this piece and listening to your rendition gave me fresh inspiration. Awesome!!!!

[calzak6]

Incredible. What a great gift and hands you have sir.....bobo

[Rumplestilskin43]

Your piano sounds awesome. Love your rendition.

[skrumpyjack]

Superb. I would say better than the origional. A more powerful clarity. Like to see it with a dimmed light. Well done!!

[madhadder2000]

BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!

[ksig13457]

You are amazing. Loved it!

[coachsteve]

When you post yourself performing your talent, you open yourself up to all kinds of subjective criticism- some good some bad. That said, here's my take. You are extremely talented and obviously love your craft. That's obvious. Your improvisation is polished and complementary to the piece. Your interpretation and delivery would be memorizing and hands down the best on YT if you worked on your timing and put a bit more feeling into it and don't play faster just because it gets louder. Good Job!

[necronominate]

great playing!

[RefUser]

dream theater made a cover for that song once...

[monkusbee]

wow! incredible!!!

[mrJonnyBruno]

5 stars )

[JenniJaco]

Nice interpretation..I enjoyed it.

[musiconair]

Where's the emotion? he's obviously got talent, no question about that but his interpratation is akin to somebody rushing around a supermarket with a trolley in record time ! as far as technique goes, everybody has their own, EJ himself once said that he has a unusual technique due to the size of his hands !

[wetjew]

hahaha brilliantly said :D

[DoobieDude56]

@musiconair

hey, i found a pretty good cover of this. he makes a a few mistakes but the emotion in his playing is the best i've seen for this song. and his ending is totally original. the name of the vid is "kurt playing an elton classic, funeral for a friend"

i am just telling you this because you seem to prioritize emotion as i do. cheers.

[lindbergh]

Oh! I love it !

[thevidguy11]

Holy crap

[fotolegende]

Wow !! I would like to heard you live, wonderfull !!

[Skyscraperman2000]

i saw elton john live with this song!

[mikiou26]

you are a piano god.

[BJ22PIANO]

You are really really good.

[DRYFLY0]

Fantastic!

[3tool]

just amazing! But you finished playing just before my favorite part of this song!

[BaronessZ30]

I admire you. Your playing is wonderful! I couldn't help listening to it again and again! I have got a lot to learn!!! Thanks!

[eendje1991]

3:25 omg xD

[KingGsterUK]

*gasp*

[Matteino85]

better than elton ;)

[007darren]

just brilliant : )

[GKFC]

Pretty good.

Mind your timing (especially on the first section), and keep those hand arches up.

[gpoleweski]

Mind your ego.

[GKFC]

Because I critique this performance I've got an ego?

Please...

[FarmerSev]

Well Neal's profile does say he has a Masters in Piano Performance...

Your profile shows a bunch of people telling you to STFU. I would take their advice over yours any day. Cheers!

[GKFC]

Awesome. I'll add that to my profile then, because it's such a hard thing to do.

It would be naive of you to judge my musical ability based on my comments in other videos.

I've been playing the piano for over 25 years now, and I play this piece so I know what I'm talking about.

Technically this guy needs to work on a few things. Which is all I've been saying.

You don't agree? Fine. But please don't imply I'm ignorant as a result.

[FarmerSev]

"Keep those hand arches up" ??!?

A little demeaning and condescending to someone who is on this tier of talent.

No performance is perfect, to that I'll agree. I'd like to see how you would perform this piece, since you do know what you're talking about. Maybe I could give you some pointers?

[GKFC]

Well what you call "demeaning and condescending" I call "constructive criticism."

It's you that is adding (incorrect) emotions to my words.

Are you a pianist at all? Instead of picking me apart, what did you think of the performance then?

I really have nothing to prove to you on the piano though.

[FarmerSev]

I play the piano everyday. And, like Neal, make my own arrangements of great songs like this and others. He's actually helped me with certain chord progressions on songs that I was having trouble with arranging. (like holiday and apologize).

I thought the performance was great. Although I don't believe it was perfect, I do believe that he deserves many praises.

I also don't enjoy playing with high arches. Posture and hands are a statement of a players style, not ability.

[GKFC]

So we both think he's good but not perfect?

Cool, not sure why you'd even bother arguing then.

[Cattwo12]

Neal man that is a totally awesome rendition.

Of FFAF. Your Skills as a pianist are fantastic.

[flya750]

How can you remember all that???

[digel79]

your music performance is incredible... please give us more... but your hairdresser... i hope i never meet him ;)

how rhein!!!!!

[kicius12345]

LOL that's incredible. At time your left hand is just a blur!

[sportbigred]

Love the performance with the little extra piano fills! Very exciting rendition! Cool shirt too!

[ncubillos]

There is no rate for you: 15/10

[advine84]

Love the video AND the shirt! :-)

[Gerfar77]

AWESOME!

[amador1983]

Love the song, hate the shirt.

[ven000m]

agree ;)

[wetjew]

amazing! And you almost look like Lurch in the adams family too! coool ;D

[mikemcf31]

Neal.... that was amazing. You have so much talent... I hope you play often for your friends and family as you have a real gift. Can you learn Jungleland by Bruce Springsteen? all the best....

[metskid22]

one of the most amusing and entertaining videos i have ever seen on youtube. Thank you for the well spend 4 minutes of my life!! You left me in awe and shock!

[zerperinn]

The ending was awsome i give 10/10

[pianodannmarr]

Wow!!! That was amazing! After seeing this, I'm not worthy to even touch my keyboards. :)

[zerperinn]

Haha i bet we all feel like we arent worthy now after seeing this.

[suonoilpiano74]

great!

[cshargeit]

love the bass notes

[coony92130]

close your eyes and you can thinq it's elton john who play.

SORRY i'm french and i speak just a little bit english

[edbrill]

Elton could not do it better himself! Awesome stuff, man.

[PlainasJay]

I could so see dracula playing this piece, or at least the first bit.  Elton John's a genius on the piano, and this is a great cover!

[petecatz]

Thank you for the joy of this great music.....oh and Elton too! LOL! 5 star playing!

[sagenites2003]

I dont think you looked at your left hand the last 30 seconds of the song - no wonder you're so good - you must have a third eye on the left side of your head - great job!

[aleramp88]

Neal, marry me. :)

[BlueFlamingo75]

If we have to listen just one music in the world, it must be yours. AMAZING

[IloveAlexisBledel689]

I love this song! and great playing, man!

BTW I want this piano :(

[aleramp88]

me too. :)

[jungleboity]

O.... M.... G!!! : )~ It's Liberace meets Elton!!! haha. Kiddo, thats some extraordinary chops there.. you dun good on your Hannon ;-) One lil piece of advice when playing a classic rock idiom like some raw Elton: lose the exact precision (but use that where you should in other genres.. definately!! cause you got it!), but here, get a lil good ol plain ol rock and roll, blues influenced, raw soul in your gut (KEEPING IN MIND TO LOSE THE HANNON!), and just slam it out! ...(cont)

[jungleboity]

(cont) ...I guess its a fine line, or just instinct maybe, to know what I mean... but regardless, you're great man! i KNOW you get asked to entertain CONstantly ;-) I play keys/piano for a "pop genre" nationally known star, classically trained as well, so I guess I have a LITTLE clout in what I say... but I'm just another guy, tryin to learn his axe more and more! Keep it up, Neal! I'm an instant fan! ;-)

[KaatGoegebuer]

worst shirts, fantastic piano play!

[U2fan24]

If that doesn't make you self destruct nothing will!

[klemenix]

you*re amazing!

[dravalanche1]

Hello Neal, It is astonishing the way you play. Is there any way I can get the sheet music for your fabulous version. Thank you for a great performance.

[Wizard421]

Do u see him reading any sheet music, all by memory man, thats impressive.

[Mike060504]

Neal, I have to save I love this video. You are so good it is unbelievable. I think this is the 20th time I watched it.

[magoomboo]

in-fu ck-in-credible!!!!!

[stumiller]

Absolutely great!!! Thanks so much.

[aseret33]

You are amazing! I love the song and you play it so wonderfully. WOW

[shcorporation]

Ok, I saw the first twenty seconds of this and one word was running through my head...virtuoso. This is incredible! I'm checking out your other videos straight away! Please, anyone who likes this, I have also posted a piano cover of this song, so please check it out!

[hockeyguy17m]

It is a shame you do not have more views. You deserve to have more people see this. Great job! By the way, I like this camera angle more than your "Baba O'Riley" masterpiece.

[Sinjar666]

you really got talent..

keep it up and keep posting more stuff..

[ChrisMarie93]

:O WOAH!!! nice!

[Matteino85]

very good

[hockeyfour4]

I'd comment..............

but I'm too blown away to come up with anything even remotely close to the compliment you deserve. So I'll go with..........

uh..........

wow.

Thank you.

[grosscowhead]

Yeah, me too. My fantaxy, since I have been about 13, and that has been more than 25 years... is to see that in concert. Now I have. Bless you, guy, bless you.

[mortenkul]

I think the first part was a bit 2 fast! Mmm...Kay! But you rock anyway!! 5 / 5 :D

[Kristianpont]

Interesting and powerful interpretation. I like it very much.

[SaltyTank07]

this wouldnt be half as good without that bitchen shirt.

[NickScala]

LMAO!!! that really made my day... good one...

yea very good playing on neal's part

[sterlinged]

Absolutely wonderful! One of my favorite Elton John songs, and you played it beautifully.... Thanks for posting this... You are very talented!

[jonesman32]

u should try "the funeral" by Band of Horses

[PiNoyAthLeticGirL]

i like ur playing but not the song...=[

[racinchase]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE post the whole song. Thanks for all the endless years of practice to post a song like this. It was as good or better then Elton. please post all of it. THanks so much!

[typecaste]

wow that is amazing. you are so good! i love that song. definitely my favorite Elton John song of all-time

[ant4trfc]

fantastic!

[chnningham41]

fantastic. probably one of the best pianists on youtube. no joke.

[freddie971]

Absolutely amazing, beautiful... really.

[smavinger]

No none else could keep this timing and not hit a wrong note. That was incredible! You should have 10 stars.

[oldhorror]

Fantastic brother

[sunmaidliz]

that's a horrible shirt!!!

[mortenkul]

OMFG u destroy the tempo(timing) ! awesome PLAYED anyway, 4/5

[pink109]

I loveee this song!

Your absolutely incredible!

[Props2u]

Youve mastered that instrument for sure. I dont think 10 fingers can do much more than that lol. Amazing playing!

[BrianGriffin88]

check out some performance of liszt's totentanz..

[jbsnow1]

Neal you have got it! Bravo!

[Anarinya]

Incredible version !

[maitredelacours]

Congratulation, your version is better than Elton Himself

[Kingofmean]

looks like Quentin Tarantino can tear it up!

[abx35]

very nice man!

have the piano scores?

[NealPiano]

Sorry, I made this version up, and don't have the music, thanks for watching..

Neal