When I reflect on the collection of songs that I played and recorded for this series on Cole Porter, I certainly can appreciate Porter’s contribution to the American Popular Songbook with a different perspective. There’s something very valuable about getting acquainted with a composer’s musical language. By this I mean his or her manner of creating melodies and harmonic progressions as well as choosing certain chords and presenting these with certain overall and specific rhythmic patterns. In the case of Cole Porter, there is the additional element of his lyrics which definitely have an impact on his musical structure.

During the 16 years when I was actively composing concert music (classical music), I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge by getting to know the lives and works of many classical composers. My pattern was to select a specific composer because I had heard a piece that I really liked. I would buy the CD and purchase or borrow the musical score from the library. Usually, I would be curious about the creator of the particular piece that had caught my attention. This motivated me to find and read the biography which in turn introduced me to the even more of the composer’s compositions. Before I knew it, I was listening to many new (at least to me) pieces of music. This process combined in a way that energized and enriched my musical life.

Because this experience made such an impact on me, I find myself inspired to draw upon a wealth of knowledge which relates to specific pieces that my piano students are working on. This approach has been expanded because of my work with the Hudson Studio Faculty members.  Every week, I hold a conference call to discuss the lessons, progress and program of each Hudson Studio student with his or her piano instructor. In this process, I share an assortment of information and insights that apply directly to specific pieces so that their students are learning.

When we teach our intermediate students who want to play classical piano music as part of their lessons, we take this single composer approach as well. Teaching our piano students how to play the pieces from the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook as well as the Clementi Sonatinas provides a very effective way for them to develop their piano technique, music reading skills and a knowledge of music theory. This way, the process of developing piano proficiency becomes much more important than perfectionism and we take advantage using each composer’s musical language. Our students can then enjoy selecting and learning how to play their favorite classical piano pieces with a skill set and level of confidence that they wouldn’t have gained otherwise.

In the same way, my preparation, practice and playing of the Cole Porter collection for these recent blogs has taught me a great deal including today’s featured piece. Love for Sale required that I address the fact that converting the opening Eb7 chord into a ii V progression just wouldn’t work. I also had to find interesting ways to use the Handi variation, because the song has 8 places where it can be used. Then I had to decide whether to follow the directive indicated in the sheet music of Love for Sale which instructs performers to play this song “with swinging rhythm” or play it with a Latin rhythmic accompaniment as many musicians do.

Rhapsody Music offered some great examples of both swing and Latin rhythmic renditions of Love for Sale. Pianists Junior Mance, George Shearing and Art Tatum were among those who favored swing style. The customary Latin rhythmic treatment offered its own variety of alternate examples. In addition to versions by Ramsey Lewis, Tito Puente and Astrud Gilberto, Dr. John managed to put his personal stamp on this Cole Porter classic.

Another track that I found brought to mind the first time I heard Love for Sale. During the year when my brother Charlie and I began gigging together, we happened to hear a recording of Love for Sale by the Arthur Lyman Group. Played with a Latin style arrangement (it was actually a simulated Polynesian style which later became known as exotica), this particular record caught our attention for another reason. We had a classmate who had the same name as this performer. It felt like a paradox to us, because our friend certainly didn’t seem like a person who was a musical performer.

It’s funny, but songs often trigger interesting personal memories. Ask anyone you know to name a certain song that reminds them of an event or person in their life, and you’ll be amazed at how much comes to the surface. Likewise, I’ve noticed that so many adults who take piano lessons, as well as parents who want their children to learn to play, do this because of a deep personal connection with music.

Perhaps it’s time for you to connect with your own musical memories. Do you wish that you had practiced the piano when you took lessons as a child? Or did you learn to play the piano years ago and would now love to see your son or daughter benefit from the value that taking lessons can truly provide?

Whether you live near our centrally located Natick Piano Studio or close to our convenient Hudson Studio, we can give you what you need to connect your keyboard skills with your creativity. Contact us today to find out how.

Remember, our patient and encouraging piano instructors are always dedicated and delighted to help you Learn to Play the Music You Love.

Because these trips to the movies were infrequent during my childhood, they stood out in my mind. It’s interesting that two of the films that our family attended came to mind when I began preparing to write this post. One of them, which was and continues to be an important part of the American cultural experience, was The Wizard of Oz.  In fact, I recorded and wrote about Over the Rainbow in my blog post nearly one year ago. There I pointed out the fact that this song’s universal appeal is the reason that I often use it to demonstrate a variety of arranging styles to prospective piano students (adults and/or children with their parents) when I meet with them for their free initial interview/consultation.

The other less well-known movie that our family attended featured Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in the 1957 film version of Cole Porter’s show, Silk Stockings. I can still remember watching this couple dancing effortlessly and gracefully across the screen. Since my mother knew, liked and could play many of the standards from the American Popular Songbook, it doesn’t surprise me to think that she not only wanted to see the film herself, but also wanted to introduce me to this wonderful musical repertoire. Needless to say, I certainly had no idea at the time that I’d be playing, recording and writing about All of You, the song which emanated from this Cole Porter score so many years later.

Whether played in a relaxed medium tempo arrangement, as a lyrical ballad, as a tasteful Bossa nova or as a cooking up-tempo swing tune, All of You is a standard that always works beautifully. The fact that its two-part form contains both repetition and variation while still following the customary 32 measure length certainly contributes to its stylistic versatility. Although it’s written in the key of Eb, Porter masterfully avoids presenting the ii-V-I chord progression of the tonic tonality (key of the song as identified by the key signature of 3 flats) until the final measures of the song. This is yet another example of Cole Porter’s compositional mastery! 

Although All of You was not one of the Porter pieces that I learned early in my performing career, it seems to me that it came to my attention during my years of study at the New England Conservatory. This was around the same time that I encountered the song I Love You which I played and wrote about in last week’s blog post. In contrast to the available tracks that I found for the previous article, Rhapsody Music Service really came through this week with some terrific performances of All of You.

Perhaps my favorite recording from this play list is the solo piano version by John Hicks. Hicks passed away in 2006 at age 65 leaving a legacy of tremendous recordings. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, he certainly knew the value of getting musical instruction in that he studied at Berklee College of Music as well as at Juilliard. A much earlier but nonetheless significant recording is from the Miles Davis Quintet‘s LP ‘Round About Midnight. Red Garland was at the keyboard for  All of You and I couldn’t help but think of the impact of these artists on Wynton Marsalis and pianist Marcus Roberts.

One of my favorite albums by pianist Bill Evans is Conversations with Myself.  The reason for this is that all of the selections feature piano performances created by mixing three separate tracks on which Evans plays alone. I find that listening to the way this pianist handles the keyboard in this setting to be truly inspirational. Even though the pianist’s recording of All of You is a terrific trio version, his extended solo piano introduction is quintessential Evans. I loved it!

Next week’s post will complete the current Cole Porter blog post series. After that, I’ll share some selections from the songs composed by several other great composers of standards. Watch for clues in the February 2^nd post to see if you will be able to identify the next of my featured composers.

For now, remember that whether you want to learn to play All of You, another Cole Porter selection or something from one of your favorite Broadway shows, all of our piano instructors at the Ed Mascari Piano Studio are here to help you along your musical journey. If you live near our well-established Natick Studio location or close to our convenient centrally located Hudson Studio, you can learn to play the piano by taking lessons in a relaxed environment from teachers who are always patient and encouraging.

So take 20 seconds right now and contact us to find out more about piano lessons (and this also includes keyboard lessons too). We’ll show you how you or your son or daughter how you can get started. Remember, we’re here to help you Learn to Play the Music You Love!

Despite the fact that many people purchased and enjoyed my cassette album, I was somewhat disappointed by what I heard in my piano playing. After dealing with discouragement and disillusionment with the results of my efforts and investment of time, energy and money, I began to see the light. While listeners had enjoyed my solo piano music as an easy listening background tape for dinner, driving and /or relaxing, I knew that I needed more musical training to better express myself as a pianist.

Remembering the advice of my closest friend, jazz guitarist John Dougherty from several years earlier (I spoke about this in last week’s post), I knew exactly what to do.

Take piano lessons!

Within a short time after deciding to proceed to with the next step on my musical journey, I searched for, located and enrolled in private lessons with composer and jazz pianist William Thomas McKinley. At my first lesson with Tom, he not only introduced me to some new and better ways to understand and play chords, he also encouraged me to enroll in the Master of Music degree program at New England Conservatory. Before I knew it, I was a graduate student majoring in Jazz Studies.

During the fall of my second year at NEC, I was taking a course taught by Jazz Department Chairman Hankus Netsky. Though I have no other recollection of hearing Cole Porter’s I Love You before that time, this standard came to my attention while I was in that class. Since I was exploring the technique of reharmonization (replacing chords shown in the sheet music with more colorful sounds) in my private lessons with Mr. McKinley, I took the opportunity to combine this with my classroom learning experience.

Once I had replaced several of the standard chords for I Love You with some more unusual ones, started playing the song on my solo piano gig. In keeping with my normal custom, I decided to create a three song medley of Cole Porter tunes using the beguine bass rhythm for the accompaniment style. I played two thirds of this original medley for the recording for my recent blog post Let’s Beguine with a Cole Porter Medley, I Love Paris/I’ve Got You Under My Skin . Since  these two songs are more widely known than I Love You, I often have used them with many of my piano students to help them learn how to play pieces with the beguine bass accompaniment.

As a result, I decided to play today’s selection with a different rhythm than I have done in the past. Cole Porter, as I mentioned before, reintroduced himself to Broadway in 1929 after returning from Paris. I Love You is from the 1943 show Mexican Hayride. This places the song about halfway through the composer’s most productive 30 years. Despite this fact, I have noticed that most of the songs that get lots of performances tend to come from the years prior to this.

When I did my usual search on Rhapsody Music for recorded performances of I Love You, I was disappointed that there was such a limited selection. Fortunately, even though there were only three available jazz tracks, they were all swinging performances. In fact two of them featured the great bassist Ray Brown of whom I’ve spoken in my recent posts. In addition to his long association with Oscar Peterson, Brown’s later groups included pianists Monty Alexander and Gene Harris. Because both of these keyboard artists tended to play with a very bluesy style, the many recordings that during the bassists final years were upbeat and had a great sense of fun.

When my piano students want to learn how to add a walking bass to their arrangements of songs, I recommend that they listen to Ray Brown. When they model their left hand lines of this great bassist, their sense of swing develops and their piano playing comes to life. So when you listen to my recording of I Love You in the blog audio player on the right, you’ll hear me playing this standard very differently than I played it a decade ago.

But that’s part of the joy of music making!

One of the most enjoyable and exciting parts of playing the piano is that you can arrange songs in different ways. After more than three decades of teaching children and adults how to play the piano, I have become even more convinced that students want to express themselves at the keyboard. As one of the parents commented at last year’s recital, “these kids don’t just play the notes, they are making music!”

Because they know how valuable self-expression is, parents contact us all the time because they want their children to have the opportunity to learn to play the piano. We also hear from many adults who wish they had taken piano lessons when they were young. They want their lives to be richer by achieving their long-awaited goal of making music at the keyboard. You can too!

Take 10 seconds to fill out the contact form on the website, and we’ll help you find out if taking piano lessons is right for you. Beginners, young and old, are always welcomed. Whether you are close to our Natick Piano Studio or you live near our convenient Hudson Studio, all of our patient and encouraging piano instructors are always delighted to help you Learn to Play the Music You Love!

As a husband and step-father to three young boys, I was concerned about providing for my family. Nevertheless, it was clear to me that somehow I had to persevere in my career path as both a private piano teacher and a professional pianist. Since I had to make some major changes to manage this somewhat ambitious goal, I consulted my closest friend, jazz guitarist John Dougherty. Previously, John and I had spent a year working together in his quartet which traveled from gig to gig along the East Coast. Since he had always shared his musical knowledge, training and experience with me, I trusted his recommendation.

What did my friend think I should do? You guessed it……..Take piano lessons!

A big part of my philosophy about teaching piano came as a result of following this sound advice. Rather then send me to a concert pianist, John recommended a rather unusual teacher who provided me with a high level of diversified musical training that included classical piano technique and literature, piano pedagogy, church music, jazz composition, music theory, ear training and of course solo jazz piano playing. The great part of all this was that I was able to develop my skills and knowledge in these areas as a result of taking a private music lesson once a week. My piano instructor was a professor from New England Conservatory by the name of Joseph Gabriel Maneri. Despite the fact that he was a jazz saxophonist and a classical  composer, Joe had spent many years studying piano, music theory and composition in preparation for his own professional career.

Due to the fact that my wife Brenda was working full-time, I was able take advantage of Joe Maneri’s incredible training by practicing several hours per day. One very important part of my studies focused on learning to play solo piano versions of standards from the American Popular Songbook. Among the many pieces that I explored was Cole Porter’s I Get a Kick Out of You.

As we move forward in this new year I want to devote more of my blog posts to the music of this great American song writer. Recently I was listening to an audio program called Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham. The author caught my undivided attention when he cited Cole Porter as an excellent example of someone who had not only discovered his strengths, but as an individual who had used his strengths to overshadow his weaknesses.

According to Buckingham, Cole Porter’s characters and plots were weak. However, he used his strength as a song writer to not only eclipse his weaknesses, but also to make an outstanding contribution to the repertoire of American popular songs.

Wondering how much truth there was to the author’s viewpoint, I discussed this assessment with one of my Hudson piano students.

As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, I continue to learn a great deal from my students. Since this adult student is a vocalist, teacher and actress as well as an experienced director of musical theater productions, I was confident that she would be be able to tell me whether or not there was any truth to Marcus Buckingham’s hypothesis. Sure enough, she validated the author’s point of view for me.

Cole Porter composed I Get a Kick Out of You in 1934 for what has been identified as one of his best Broadway scores, Anything Goes. As I mentioned in my blog post that featured, Night and Day, Cole Porter was far from being an overnight success. How could he be? Unlike most of his fellow songwriters, he did not collaborate with a variety of lyricists. Instead, like Irving Berlin before him, Porter wrote both the music and words to his 800 songs.

On one hand, he was not required to compose his songs according to the standard formats used by his peers. But on the other, he did not have the advantage of working with a musical collaborator.

Despite that fact, in order to communicate his lyrics more expressively, Porter adds variations to the structure, melody, harmony and/or rhythm in many of his songs. I Get a Kick Out of You is no exception to this. The half-note triplets that are a major part of each of the three verses increase in number as the song progresses: verse 1 – 5 triplets; verse 2 – 6 triplets; verse 3 – 7 triplets. In addition to associating this great standard with my lessons with Joe Maneri, I also recall how Frank Sinatra‘s arrangers emphasized the word kick in their accompaniments of his swinging vocals. The bass drum kick recurs  several times during the recording because each verse ends with the phrase “I get a kick out of you”.  Do you think the composer planned that ahead of time?

Last fall, when I recorded I’ve Got You Under My Skin for my beguine blog post series, Sinatra’s definitive version of this other Cole Porter standard came to mind because of a similar connection between a word and the music. In fact, this seems to have been intentional on the composer’s part. Following the words, “But each time I do, just the thought of you makes me stop” there is an 8th rest.. How many songwriting teams could have so perfectly interwoven melody and lyric?

During the next few weeks, I’ll share more of my solo piano recordings of Cole Porter songs as this blog series continues. As with I Get a Kick Out of You, some of them will remind me of personal experiences that I’ve had along my musical journey. Perhaps you associate one of Cole Porter’s songs with something that happened in your own life? Please do share this with your fellow readers. Simply leave your reply in the comment box below this post.

With the first week of the New Year behind us, we’re beginning to move forward into 2010. If you’re getting anxious to achieve your long-awaited goal of learning to play the piano or if your son or daughter has been asking about taking piano lessons, now is the perfect time to act! Simply contact us today and we’ll help you figure out if taking piano lessons is right for you.

Nervous? Not to worry. Our piano instructors are patient and encouraging, our studio atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable. And more than anything else, when it comes to your piano lessons, we’re always delighted to help you Learn to Play the Music You Love!