Added: 3 years ago
From: pianojohn113
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  • Excellent! I have a good ear so picked it up right away, very much appreciated! Your teaching method is great. Though i know chords, I play a lot by ear & just need the visual, so your method is great for me, thanks!

  • @seeeingitself Very glad it worked for you. :-)

  • My right ear was lonely.

  • Excellent

  • i love the way you teach this. Somehow i realize that not much people teach the way you teach.

  • @PinoyLabanFighter198 Very glad it worked for you!

  • You are awesome.

  • Thank you so much for this.

    For some reason the sound for this video is only coming in on the left headphone. The right headphone still works when I watch other videos. It is just this one that only streams audio through my left headphone or left earbud.

    Anyway, I appreciate you! Keep up the excellent work!

  • @wraith092 Yes, sorry about the audio, it was recorded in mono way back a few years ago. That wasn't an issue when You Tube was also in mono, but when they went stereo, it affected the audio on all of these older videos.

  • @pianojohn113 you are awesome man!!! and coming from mean that means a lot i normally view videos with the intention of making fun of them

  • @TheChamberofFarts lol, thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it.  :-)

  • @oliver654

    He arpeggiates the "F" chord in the right hand with the notes facf, and adds a G note before switching The F chord to an acfa arpeggio, and then adds a G note right before he switches chords to the Gmn7

    The F is played with an A octave in the left the whole time

  • Pianojohn113 is the man!

  • @truMTV

    Just move the right hand into the next octave or change the chord where it isn't inverted by playing the Gmin7 with your pinky on the F and so on with the next chord. Just listen to the track and figure it out. The notes that form the chords are all the same so just change your fingering to match what you prefer.

  • Hey man I would like to say that you do a great work. Beside being a ecxelent player and teacher, the audio and image are good. Awesome videos. Congratulations

  • @dudumali Thanks, I appreciate it. Glad you enjoy the vids.

  • I just posted a cover of this thanks to you PJ! search jett prescott and let me know what you think ^_^

  • What about those higher octave parts for the 4th verse?

  • thanks nice, you no harmony

  • thanks so much. Is there any chance that you could post the sheets like you do for some of your other song? I find it a lot easier to follow along if I can use the sheets as well. Thanks again; I've re-discovered my love for piano because of you!

  • @ktsmith5 Another YouTube user creates and posts the sheets for me, so I'm not sure if or when the other songs will be done. Glad you like the vids, thanks!

  • this is great. can you do "Got it Made" by Crosby Stills and Nash?

  • wonderful! I am trying to learn these songs to play as an Elton John Tribute performer. I got " Your Song" down perfectly from your tutorial. Now I want to learn "Rocket Man" next. 1 at a time from your fantastic tutorials. Thank you for all of time you spend teaching!

  • @radioustad Very glad to help you out.. enjoy!

  • Nice job man..enjoy your tutorials.

  • @AMawdesley Thanks, glad you like them. 

  • wtf i cant see shit!!

  • whenever i wanna learn a new song i browse around from video to video, but when i see that you have the tutorial for the song i wanna learn, it makes my day. Thanks alot

  • Awesome vid! Defo one of the best tutors on You Tube! Could you possibly do a tutorial on that Elton classic "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" please =D

  • I love you man! Your videos are a huge help!

  • we love u

  • hey, thanks again for teaching me another song =) i was wondering if you could make a tutorial for crocodile rock by elton john

  • @MUFFINSNOTMUPPINS Should have that one up here eventually, yes.

  • thank you john for like the 6th time lol it took me literally 20 minutes to learn since your such a good teacher

  • @LeGreatReySteven 20 minutes, nice! Good job!

  • hey man good job on the videos there helping me alot. im just wondering if you would ever consider doing some stevie wonder..i would really love to learn the song 'isnt she lovely'

  • @classicalrockfan99  Good song, Stevie had a bunch or nice piano tunes. I"'l keep it in mind, thanks.

  • You are the best piano teacher on all of youtube or anywhere else thanks a million man, your'e the best

  • Elton ?? Is that you ??

  • hey man, love your tutorials you have a gift in teaching the material

    Thank you, and merry Christmas

  • Fantastic tutorials, but please get a better mic. And output it through both speakers

  • i think its gonna be a long long time... till i learn this song

  • dude no audio

  • Thanks very much!

  • i like how you make tutorials that are like beginners tutorials, but the songs are complex (like Piano Man for instance). keep up the tutorials!

  • Thanks a ton, you're the best piano tutor on YouTube I've seen so far. :D

  • Thank you very much! I'm very appreciative of the efforts of all the musicians on youtube! You and all the rest are great!

  • could you explain me " sorry seems to be the hardest word ? please

    i love what you're doing and help me very much to play the piano

    thank you

  • @oursonariege Got it on the list.

  • theres no sound........

  • @jamesfelix303 try un-muting your computer.

  • Seriously...you the man!! Love this and Your Song...gonna be moving to Yellow Brick Road next...and I don't even play piano. You make it so simple and clear...thank you, thank you, thank you!!

  • Learning this song got me 3 girl's phone numbers.

    No joke.

    I will learn as many of these as possible.

  • HONKYCAT, PLEASE!!! :)

  • hey man, i was wondering whether you could help me, because i'm getting rather confused! When you're playing the chords, is that you just playing them as "broken" chords back & forth? When you're playing the "fills" , is that you improvising the fills or what is actually played by the artist? I've only being playing for a few months, and haven't any experience of pop music as of yet (just classical)...

  • @tomboiskater Usually I improvise the fills, although they're so prominent on EJ songs that I often imitate the ones he plays. So it's a little of both, actually. Most of the time I break up the chords randomly, or I'll use 4ths or 5ths.

  • @pianojohn113 You're right, it's not so easy to explain music using words... I'll try to clear this passage:

    1st measure:

    || F/A & 2 & | F/C & 4 & ||

    bass: (Bb-B) (D-E)

    (the bass notes positioning is clearly audible on the original track)

    2nd measure:

    || F & 2 & | F & Eb/F & ||

    I hope it is clear now... I "rectified" your performance not because it sounds bad for me, but just because I think this is Elton's original sound and you made an interpretation!

  • @moiraghino I'll try your version later this week when I'm back at the piano. There are probably dozens of different ways to play it, so I would imagine it's just fine to do it that way too. I like to experiment with different sounds, so it's great that you have another interpretation of it.

  • Hey man! I think there's an error on the bass line (in the video at 0.56): the piano fill before the chorus goes like (chords change at 1st and 3rd) F/A (double chromatic bass Bb-B on the last two 32nds goin' to C in the next measure) F/C (the same D-E, not Eb ---> F) F and ends on a F11 (or Eb/F) on the last 16th of the 3rd, with a bass line of four 16ths on the 4th: F Eb D C ---> Bb (next chord)... Try it, sounds good? Let me know!

  • @moiraghino Well it's hard to follow exactly what you're saying there, but you could be right. I'd say that if it sounds better to you to play it like that, then absolutely do it.

  • Thank you very much for this video. I'm self-taught I'm really surprised at how quick I picked this song up. Your video made it very easy to learn.

  • can anyone please explain the transition at 3:17, what does he exactly do?

  • @olivier654 It's just playing random notes of the F chord with an A in the bass.

  • Wow Elton John must be clever to have come up with this!

  • @pianojohn113 how in butlars do i do that?

  • super!

  • your audio's broken buddy

  • i love your tutorials, john. i have been learning a bunch of your stuff lately. i wanted to learn "sorry seems to be the hardest word" but you didnt have it. any chance of puting up a tutorial of that? i really appreciate you making these tutoials. keep it up!

  • John, you have the best piano tutorials on YouTube, by far. I am a huge Beatles fan and I love all the obscure, semi-unknown Beatles tunes you do. I was wondering, do you create all of your arrangements by ear? Also, I would love to learn Elton John's "This Song Has No Title", annoutstanding piano piece. Thank you!

  • @MoonRacerO9 Thanks for the comment! The arrangements are mine, yes, although I try to stay as close to the original as I can. I don't change the chords, just add some voicings and fills here and there. I'll add the Elton song to the list, good suggestion. Wish I had time to cover them all! :-)

  • hey great job! your a fantasIC TEACHER. IM an ex guitar player do to a wrist ingery.. sold 1 of my 8 guitars to by a piano. I ahve almos copied your version in three days. Keep more comming please. starved for music here,, and thanks for posting hope you have alot more. if your a piano fan you may get a kick out of this. my name is Billy Powell..please send me any more lessons thanks again,,

  • thank you, John for all the break-downs. What would normally take me a week to learn a song through sheet music, now takes me a few hours. "your song" and "rocket man" are the newest members of my song arsenal. thanks again, John. God Bless. Keep posting.

    -Eddie

  • i feel soo dumb, do yuh mindd breakinqq it down or do yu kno sum1 dhat has already donee so?

  • @iiLyUnasBomberas I'm not sure if there's another video that breaks it down more. You can try some of the sheet music versions, though.

  • hi...first: good job man;)

    really like your style.

    But could you perform "I guess that's why they call it the blues"...

    would be very nice;-)

    I know that there are a lot of performances on you tube...

    But I do know too, that yours would be the best approach to the original...

    Greetings from Germany;-)

  • 2 DAYS ago i saw Elton John on his Prague's concert 10th july 2010!

    It was so BRILLIANT!! SPEECHLESS! ILL UPLOAD SOME VIDS GUYS..I cried 2 times,it was so excited!!!!

  • 2 DAYS ago i saw Elton John on his Prague's concert 10th july 2010!

    It was so BRILLIANT!! SPEECHLESS! ILL UPLOAD SOME VIDS GUYS..I cried 2 times,it was so excited!!!!

  • Haha!! Guess what?? I'm seeing Elton John in concert next month and I'm very excited!

  • @Charsh14 Good luck one more week to go =) hf at the concert!

  • You're kill my ear. Record in stereo next time, it's 2010.

  • @Curoch It wasn't 2010 when I recorded this video. Try listening in mono.

    A simple brain operation, whereby the auditory nerves are rerouted through the medulla oblongata and around the cerebral cortex, will allow you to hear everything in mono without having to go through the bother of changing your computer speakers.

  • Piano John.. You are seriously the man! I cant tell you how much these videos help, not only me but everyone else who watches them. I cannot read music very well and have relied on playing by ear ever since I stopped taking lessons years ago. I havent found many tutorials that play songs accurately. Your are always spot on. I'm sure Im talking for everyone when I say THANK You, thank you, thank you very much for taking the time to make these videos!

  • @bryguy07 Very glad to do it for you, bryguy07. Thanks for watching!

  • YAY! Glad I found this series of videos! I prefer this type of "get down to it" lessons rather than 10 minutes of yapping and 2 minutes of instruction. I'm salivating at the long list of Elton songs. Can't wait to start stirring the keys up a bit. Keep on!

  • @figleaf101 I'm glad you found the lessons.. enjoy playing Elton John!

  • Thank you so much! That's exactly the way I always wanted pianolessons to be. And it seems that you're playing (or making tutorials for) exactly the kind of songs that I like and always wanted to play better. Not just the "simple" chords but the right voicings and ideas for fills... Great job, dude!

  • @treasureolli Glad you liked it! :-)

  • Thanks a lot dude!!

  • @theleftymonster You are very welcome.

  • Dude you're great !!!!!!!!!

  • @Calatafimi Thanks! :-)

  • Excellent tutorials love them.... Big ask but any chance of a root beer rag tutorial?

  • @michaellouishopkins Thanks! Probably can't do a Root Beer Rag tutorial, just because of all the notes involved. Great song, though.

  • you have single-handedly given me a life skill with all these songs and brilliant tutorials. you deserve your amazing popularity and more pianojohn, you're certainly a gift to the internet and budding piano players!

  • @jimaverik I appreciate that, jimaverik, thanks for the comment. Have fun with the songs!

  • 5 stars ay time 2and a half for the song the other 2half for such an easy tutorial an extra 5 just for being that awesome :D.

  • Thanks!

  • Just want to say thanks for taking the time to teach us cool songs Thank YOU!!!

  • Glad you liked it, ountain1, thanks!

  • cant see shit!!!!!!!

  • he did, albeit metaphrorically, one would hope

    he's become a hermit now, like Yoda.

  • Hey do you have sheets for this or no? Just curious I wish I didn't have to run back and forth from my room to the piano.

  • I don't have the sheets, but there are some decent ones available online.. You might also check the Elton John Keyboard Book, which as I recall has a pretty good transcription of this song.

  • iv had a keybord for like 3 years and iv only really sat down propley how do u feel that u taught me my first ever song

  • That's great, good to know you were able to learn it from the video! Congrats!

  • again this is top drawer stuff . . .

    Any chance of How to Save a life? By The Fray

    I'm not that keen on it myself but i've been asked to accompany some 8 year olds in school and i'm in a mild panic.......... ;o)

  • lol, well I've heard that song many times but was never enamoured with it enough to want to play it! Hmmm.. maybe there's sheet music on it somewhere? :-)

  • @pianojohn113 - you're right, it's quite awful

    can't read sheet music ha! i'll call in sick ;o)

  • @pianojohn113 - what about Alone Again by Gilbert O' Sullivan - go on - i'll pay you  ;o) - actually now i think of it - he has a house about 50 miles from here - maybe i should doorstep him.... ha ha

  • Now THAT song could work! Actually, didn't he "visit a nearby tower" and throw himself off?? :-)

  • I love how you start out by saying "It starts off like this..." and then just go on and play the whole song. Understandable, since the whole thing flows so well.

  • Yeah, I've found that sometimes I can't find a good place to stop so I just keep playing.. :-)

  • pianojohn you rock dude! .^)

  • Thanks!

  • Thank you very much pianojohn! I've found it quite a difficult song to play even with the chords because of the rhythms, but having watched your video over and over I'm starting to get the hang of it. It's been really helpful. Thanks again from a Roacket Man Fan. Also your Piano Man video is great too - I've improved my version of that song too!!! Thank you!

  • Thanks, phoebe10, I'm glad you liked it, and that it was helpful to you!  Enjoy.

  • Hey John, your videos are great I've learned 6 songs this month thanks to them, just learned rocket man. I know you get alot of requests but i was wondering if you knew any phil collins, preferably "against all odds" or "you'll be in my heart". Also I was wondering if you knew the song "after the rain" by Blue Rodeo, but it's a really good piano song as well.

  • Hello, im from peru, you are great, you are the best teacher to me, i love your work and i think we need more people like you in the world.... i was wondering if you could do alone again naturally by gilbert o'sullivan is a great song... sorry for my english and congratulations John... thak you thank you thank you so much

  • Glad you liked it, lunahienarock.. I've got your request on the list. Greetings to you in Peru!

  • great job john i was wondering if you could do Sorry seems to be the hardest Word thats such a great song

  • That one may be up here at some point.. great song, you're right.

  • accurate, easy to understand, and fast-paced. Thanks for putting the names of the notes there too-I got my keyboard just a few weeks ago and its a lot easier to catch on with the names above the keys.

  • Happy to do it for you.. glad it was helpful!

  • These videos are really helpful. Really enjoy getting a peek at Elton's chord inversions, alternate bass notes and fills. I'd love to see the intro to Levon broken down like this. Thanks for your efforts.

  • Glad you like them, thanks.. You're right about Elton's chord sequences.. he uses those inversions very effectively, and by changing just the bass note he creates a whole new sound. Very groundbreaking.

  • The sound isnt working

  • It's on the other audio channel.. sorry about that.. just bring up the left channel and it should be there.

  • Dude, you're so good, I think you write your own music. You probably already do. You could be famous man! You're amazing!!!

  • Thanks very much! Glad you liked it. :-)

  • This is perfect! And you make it so easy to understand. I've only been playing piano for six months or so and I picked this up in about an hour. I wish there was a way for me to repay you for all your videos that have helped me.

  • No need to repay, just be sure to enjoy making music! Glad it was helpful to you. :-)

  • and im gonna be highhhh-ighhh-ighhhh

    nice work.

  • Thanks! Tough part to sing there..

  • would you do sad songs say so much by elton john please i whach your video for hand placing and other thing gooodbye yellow brick road you really helped me thanks

  • That song should be posted eventually.. glad the others worked for you!

  • Thanks for all the tutorials, I think I speak for everyone when I say you are the best!

  • Thanks, I appreciate it! Glad they're helpful.

  • i love all your videos

    great teacher

  • Thanks, Alex!

  • Been watching your tutorials John and your chord progression are exact and right... Keep it up man and more power.

  • Thanks, butchsoy, I appreciate it!

  • Thanks John! I have been at the piano for three years now. Everytime I start to loose interest I watch and try to learn your Elton videos and they really inspire me.

    Thank you!

  • Thanks, scottegm1, glad they're helpful to you!

  • This is great PianoJohn, For those of us who have trouble with reading music this the perfect solution. Do you ever plan on doing a tutorial of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"

  • I think it's on the list, but I'll check. if not, I'll add it for you.

  • that's awesome i can play it to but i cant read music  that's what makes it so hard for me = ( so your video helps me figure out where i went wrong LOL thank u

  • Glad it was helpful!

  • I was wondering if you can do some music by Toto please do some tutorials...

    Thanks.

  • Yeah!!! Africa would be AWESOME!!!!!

  • If you could post the chord structures in the info area, that would be really helpful on all of your tutorials. Thanks for putting the time into all of this!

  • John every time i see you do these tutorials, they help me out every time. I really appreciate it. I just finished up this tutorial and I am now working on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". It's a difficult song for me but i'm still doing my best at it. You play piano very well. Once again, love your tutorials! Keep making more!

  • Hey thanks, I'm glad they're helpful to you! Let me know if you have any problems or questions on any of them.

  • John, it's a pleasure watching you teaching this song at such ease - this surely is one of your favorites, isn't it?

  • Hey, thanks! Yes it has been one of my favorites for years.. the chord structure on this song flows really nicely.. very typical of Elton's work at that time. An awesome composition.

  • Middle C is to the right, so the octive is perfect.

  • I always thought that middle C was the third C up from the start of the Bass Clef just before the Treble Clef comes in for the other notes.

    I'm just voicing an opinion

  • excellent vid!!

  • You are playing the right hand an octave higher than it should be played.

    You should be playing a Gm7/F and the right hand should be an octave down from what you are doing.

    Try it. It will now sound like the record.

  • You seem to know a lot - you should do a tutorial.

  • Not trying to be a smart ass.

    Just a little friendly advice.

    I would be happy to send you a video if you like.

    Best Regards,

    N

  • I think he does it to make it fit in the camera.

  • r u stupid then it's too low and it sounds muddy hes playing in the right octave

  • im learning thanks!!!

  • U r amazing lol

  • Great tutorial I love your teaching style!

  • Thank you for the TUTORIALS

  • This is great work. All of your posts are amazing. Thanks for sharing.

  • could you make some more elton tutorials..a wanna learn more :-)

  • I'll have more on the next set.

  • that sounds great!!

  • u just earned a subscriber

  • Thanks!

  • wow this is great! I can't wait to entertain the family with this.

  • AWESOME. whenever i want to learn a song and i'm too lazy to try and find sheet music, the first perosn i think of is pianojohn.

  • AWESOME john i recently arrivived from elton john´s concert "rocketman tour" thanks for the song and fabulous tutorial

  • I love ur Tutorial.. Just that! ... Why don't you show us how to play the second verse where Elton Sings: And all the science '' KLANG! '' I don't Understand '' KLANG! '' ... ?? :D Im only asking for that Part!!! Please respond to my comment mate!

  • can you post a lesson on how to play Honky Cat.

    It seems like a really fun song to play and I haven't seen it yet on youtube.

  • I have completed the song. But, I do not know what to play at the end of the second verse. Where is goes...A rock-et....man, a rock-et man...? Then the chorus is played.

    Thanks

  • The chords there are exactly the same as the first verse, "on such a timeless flight.."

    From memory, I think it's Eb, Bb/D, Cm, Cm/Bb, F/A, F7, Fsus4 to Bb.  Without the video or keyboard in front of me that might be off a bit, but I think it's corr