Elmo Peeler Note-for-Note Piano Transcriptions |
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Greetings!
Today is the first day of December and time again for my monthly newsletter, to keep you informed of recent transcriptions and other news of the last month - Happy Holidays!
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Bruce Hornsby & Bonnie Raitt
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Rarely have I offered three transcriptions in one month with such superior piano artistry as this month.
Brand-new this month is a note-for-note transcription of Billy Preston's electric piano part in The Beatles' "Get Back" - the entire recording, not just his legendary solo.
My own favorite this month is Bruce Hornsby's extraordinary piano track on one of the most heart-wrenching unrequited-love songs ever, Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me".
Also new is a transcription of Bill Payne's terrific piano part in Bob Seger's "Shame on the Moon" (some may remember it as "Blame it on Midnight").
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Plus, there's a new exercise that should help take your chops up another level - a study in harmonized arpeggios.
BTW, to make sure that my email doesn't end up in your Spam folder, please add me to your Contact list and/or mark my email as "Not Spam".
Note that every Title Heading is clickable.
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ALL of the Sheet Music listed on my website has been personally transcribed by me, and guaranteed to be note-for-note perfect.
Whether you:
- have a cover band and want to get your keyboard parts exactly correct,
- are a professional who wants to study the styles of rock's greatest keyboard players, or
- are a hobbyist that wants to learn how to play pop/rock and great piano music,
...these note-for-note transcriptions will prove extremely helpful.
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The Beatles - "Get Back" - Billy Preston
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In 1991 Bonnie Raitt released "I Can't Make You Love Me", the biggest hit of her career. Contributing to the song's success were its lyrics and her heart-felt vocal, but also a major factor was the outstanding piano part by Bruce Hornsby.
If you haven't heard it, click here and be prepared to be deeply moved by its emotional intensity.
Hornsby was born in 1954 in Williamsburg, Virginia, son of Robert Stanley Hornsby, an attorney, real-estate developer and former musician, and his wife, Lois Saunier, a piano player. He graduated from James Blair High School in Williamsburg in 1973, where he played on the basketball team and was chosen by his senior class as most likely to succeed.
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Bruce Hornsby & Bonnie Raitt
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In the spring of 1974, Hornsby's older brother Bobby formed the band "Bobby Hi-Test and the Octane Kids" to play fraternity parties, featuring Bruce on Fender Rhodes and vocals. The band performed covers of the Allman Brothers Band, The Band, and predominantly Grateful Dead songs.
He studied music at the University of Richmond for a year, Berklee College of Music for two semesters, and the University of Miami, from which he graduated in 1977. Following his graduation from the University of Miami, Hornsby returned to his hometown of Williamsburg, and played in local clubs and hotel bars.
In 1980, he moved to Los Angeles, spending three years writing for 20th Century Fox, and working as a session musician before moving back to his native Hampton Roads. During this time Hornsby joined the band Ambrosia for their last album. After Ambrosia disbanded, he performed as a member of Sheena Easton's touring band.
In 1984, Hornsby formed Bruce Hornsby and the Range, who were signed to RCA Records in 1985. "The Way It Is", his biggest hit, reached #1 on Billboard in 1986, and the following year he won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
In 1988, Hornsby first appeared on stage with the Grateful Dead, and was frequently a guest before becoming a regular fixture in the touring lineup a few years later. From 1988 until Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, Hornsby played more than 100 shows with the Grateful Dead.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hornsby worked extensively as a producer and sideman. In 1989, he co-wrote and played piano on Don Henley's hit "The End of the Innocence". In 1991, he played piano on Bonnie Raitt's hit "I Can't Make You Love Me". He also appeared on albums by Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Crosby Stills and Nash, and Stevie Nicks.
And last, but not least, Hornsby owns three 9' Model D Steinway Grands. :)
My new Bonnie Raitt transcription:
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Billy Preston & The Beatles - "Get Back" |
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Born in 1946 in Houston, Texas, Billy Preston moved to Los Angeles as a child with his mother, a stage actress - for whom twenty years later he would write "You Are So Beautiful".
Although he'd never had a music lesson, by age ten Billy was playing organ onstage, backing gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland and Andrae Crouch.
At 11 Preston appeared on an episode of Nat King Cole's TV show singing the Fats Domino hit "Blueberry Hill" with Cole.
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He also appeared in St. Louis Blues, a 1958 movie about W. C. Handy starring Nat 'King' Cole, Eartha Kitt and Cab Calloway; Preston played Handy at a younger age.
In 1962, Preston joined Little Richard's band as an organist, and it was while performing in Hamburg that he met the Beatles. In 1963, he played the organ on Sam Cooke's album and released his own debut album, , for Cooke's SAR label. In 1965, he released the album (which includes "Slippin' and Slidin'") and performed on the rock and roll show In 1967, he joined Ray Charles' band.
Following this exposure, several musicians began asking Preston to contribute to their sessions, including the Beatles, seven years after meeting him while playing with Little Richard.
He played on several of their songs, including "Get Back", "Don't Let Me Down", "Something", "Let It Be" (the organ part), and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)".
During the "Get Back" sessions Lennon suggested that Preston join the Beatles, even using the term "Fifth Beatle", but the idea was dismissed by the others. Billy Preston was the only artist to receive joint credit on a Beatles single. Preston also accompanied the band on electric piano for its rooftop concert, the group's final public appearance.
My Beatles transcriptions:
Here are my other Billy Preston transcriptions:
Plus, here are my Billy Preston-related exercises:
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Bob Seger was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Charlotte and Stewart Seger.
Seger's father, a medical technician for the Ford Motor Company, played several instruments and Seger was exposed to music from an early age.
Regarding his early musical inspirations, Seger has stated, "Little Richard – he was the first one that really got to me. Little Richard and, of course, Elvis Presley." "Come Go with Me" by The Del-Vikings, a hit in 1957, was the first record he bought.
Since then he has released 18 studio albums.
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His tenth studio album, Stranger in Town, released in 1978, contained "Old Time Rock and Roll", which was recorded in Muscle Shoals, with Randy McCormick on piano.
His eleventh studio album, Against the Wind, released in 1980, contained "Against the Wind", with Paul Harris on piano.
His twelfth studio album, The Distance, released in 1982, contained "Roll Me Away", with Roy Bittan on piano, and "Shame on the Moon", with Bill Payne (of Little Feat) playing an outstanding piano track.
Seger performed his very last concert on November 1, 2019 in Philadelphia, PA, capping a 56-year concert career.
My Bob Seger transcriptions and arrangements:
My other Bill Payne transcriptions:
My other Roy Bittan transcriptions:
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I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, a wonderful Kwanzaa, and a bountiful Boxing Day. Whatever special day you celebrate, I hope it's a joyful one.
My Christmas transcriptions include:
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Bruce Hornsby - pianist on Bonnie Raitt's
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This month I'm pleased to offer three new transcriptions, each with a truly outstanding piano part.
My own favorite is Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" - a recording of extraordinary emotional intensity, beautifully played by Bruce Hornsby at his best.
The recording, which is Bonnie Raitt's biggest hit of her entire career, doesn't contain a guitar. It consists of drums, bass, and three keyboards: acoustic piano, electric piano, and B-3 organ.
Both pianos were played by Bruce Hornsby and the organ by Benmont Tench. I transcribed both pianos note-for-note from the long (5:33) album version and then merged them together into one arrangement.
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And the most legendary rock band in history is of course The Beatles. And one of their most famous hits is "Get Back", with its distinctive electric piano part - and solo - by Billy Preston, whom John Lennon called The Fifth Beatle. Preston was a true genius of the keyboard; this is one of his best and most famous tracks.
Plus, Bob Seger used some of the very best session players on his hits, including Bill Payne, ace session player and leader of his own band, Little Feat. If you don't remember "Shame on the Moon", click on the link below to hear it. You'll almost certainly remember it, and its classic piano part that Payne played. Like Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me", this is also a long song - almost five minutes. And I was able to transcribe every note in the fade-out, all the way to the very end.
So this month there are three outstanding recordings. Each is an outstanding track, and each has its own remarkable solo.
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Take Your Arpeggios to a New Level
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To play the piano well, whether classical, rock or jazz, a pianist must be able to play runs with ease.
Practicing scales is great for runs where all the notes are adjacent, right next to each other.
But in the real world many runs are constructed using non-adjacent keys.
Mastering arpeggios can be a big help in improving a pianist's technique, but many keyboardists don't practice scales enough, much less arpeggios.
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My new exercise this month takes arpeggios up a notch. It not only addresses all three inversions of a triad, but it also 'harmonizes' the notes. That is, the hands are not playing arpeggios that are an octave apart. They are played in harmony.
For instance, if the left hand starts on the tonic - a C in the key of C - the right hand starts the arpeggio a 5th higher - a G in the key of C. So the hands are both playing an arpeggio, but one hand is playing a higher harmony.This is a little more difficult than playing an octave apart, but the benefit to one's 'chops' is greater.
This is not the easiest exercise but it will strengthen your hands and help you to master runs that are more challenging than scales, while improving your Left/Right coordination at the same time.
This exercise is available as both a sheet-music PDF and as a MIDI file.
BTW, if you need other good, effective technical exercises, please check out the other 93 exercises available.) |
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(to listen to it, click here) |
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The Hangout Place for Gospel Classics
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You don't have to be from the Deep South to love Gospel piano, nor do you need to belong to any particular religion. All you have to have is a love for wonderful old-time, swinging, uplifting piano-playing.
Leon Russell, Billy Preston, Richard Tee and Ray Charles, some of the greatest keyboard players ever, loved the style and infused their own performances with Gospel licks and rhythms.
Inspired by the wonderful playing of the portly Associate Pastor/Musical Director of my childhood's Baptist Church deep in the piney woods of Mississippi, in recent years I've transcribed and/or arranged a few Gospel classics.
This little corner of my newsletter is where I'll keep you informed of my latest efforts to share that old-time Gospel sound.
Here are my Gospel transcriptions and/or arrangements, plus some exercises:
Full-blown Gospel:
Heavily Gospel Influenced:
Moderately Gospel Influenced:
Gospel-related Exercises:
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Helpful for Those that Don't Read Sheet Music Well
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Most of my transcriptions have heretofore been available only as sheet music in PDF's. That is gradually changing - some are now also available as MIDI files, which can be especially helpful for those who would prefer to listen to them than to read the sheet-music notation.
This section of my newsletter is where I'll keep you informed of which transcriptions and exercises are available as MIDI files.
BTW, if you'd like my sheet music in a MIDI file, just let me know which one(s).
Here are the currently available MIDI files of my transcriptions, arrangements, and exercises:
MIDI Files of Rock & Pop Transcriptions:
MIDI Files of Exercises:
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If you're using a vintage synthesizer, please check out our synth patches here.
These are the most highly-organized and best-sounding synth patches available anywhere, guaranteed. Get the most out of your vintage hardware with these large patch libraries:
Ensoniq
Kawai
Korg
Roland
Yamaha
Even if you don't use the actual hardware synthesizers, there are software emulations that will allow you to play these patches on your computer, as VSTI's in your sequencer. These include:
Korg Legacy Digital Edition (for M1 & T1 synths)
Native Instruments FM8 (for DX7 synths)
Aurora FM (for DX7 & TX81Z synths)
SQ8L (for ESQ-1 synths)
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I've had the good fortune to have taught some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, and if you're serious about learning, I'll be happy to help you, too.
By means of Skype lessons (or in-person if you're in L.A.), I can coach you and help you to improve your technique, your rhythm, your ability to improvise, your knowledge of music theory, your sight-reading, and to develop relative pitch.
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- The Beach Boys
- Rod Stewart - All 'Unplugged' Concerts
- Ricky Nelson - Stone Canyon Band
And I've also won classical piano competitions performing Beethoven, Rubinstein and Saint-Saens' Piano Concerti. See me playing here. "Josie's Boogie" is quite the virtuoso dramatic minor-key showpiece; check out the ascending double-octave run at the ending... :)
Thanks to the internet, I can help you play piano better - rock or classical, by ear or by note.
Or if you live near the Hollywood Hills, I'll teach you in my home or yours.
1) Your musical background
2) Where you are currently, musically-speaking
3) Your musical goals
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My students include members of:
- Weezer (Rivers & Brian)
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Vampire Weekend (Ezra & newest addition, Greta)
- Incubus (Mike)
- The Strokes (Nick)
- Rooney (Robert)
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Jason Schwartzman (Mozart in the Jungle)
- Courteney Cox
- Pablo Dylan
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Franz Liszt - improvising on
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"Very nicely done, Elmo, thank you. Didn't realize Bruce was so accomplished. Googled him. So many genres with the likes of Jack DeJohnette, Wayne Shorter, Charlie Haden, Pat Methany, and Branford Marsalis among others. I loved the harmonies on the recording (Bonnie Raitt - "I Can't Make You Love Me") but didn't get the intricacies until I saw your transcription."
- Ed B.
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Los Angeles, CA
323-650-6602
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