It is always nice to be able to play or listen to a song that you already know or is popular. I believe a lot of people get satisfaction from being able to sing along to a song or at least play the melody in their head. I know I do! I like to find new music, but there is just something very comforting about going back to the 2010s pop playlist. I think the same goes for actually playing music, at least for me. It seems like it is much easier to learn and like a piece if I know it.
The tricky thing about pop piano music is that the difficulty and style can have quite a range to it. Some songs are written in key signatures with no accidentals which can be easier to play. However, some are written in very complex keys and can be very difficult to play. Although, this is to be expected because of how many different pop songs there are out there and how almost no two are alike (with several exceptions of course).
Pop music is perhaps the easiest genre of music for me to learn on the piano. The music itself isn’t always easy to play (as I mentioned above), but being able to know by heart how the piece should sound before playing it allows me to automatically have a head start. Pop music is also really fun to play once I get a piece down and it is always nice to be able to play a recognizable song when someone asks me to play for them.
Lately I have been working on a few songs from Taylor Swift’s new album, Folklore. I don’t think this is technically a “pop” genre, however they are popular songs so I will count them as such. Overall, when listening to the album, it seems as though all the songs have a similar sound to them. However, when I look at the music I can see just how different each piece is in all aspects (key signature, dynamic markings, ect.). After playing through a few pieces on the piano, when I listen to the album now, it seems like each song is dramatically different.
Pop definitely has the widest range of pieces for the piano in my opinion. It is interesting to really listen to original pieces that I have played the instrumental version of and hear tiny rhythms and notes that actually pull the piece together that I never would have realized had I not played it myself. Do you have any favorite songs to play on an instrument or any songs you like the instrumental version better than the original?
Personally, 2000’s music has a very nostalgic vibe to it though, and although its nowadays over-covered with guitar/bass and other electro drums, the sync is still done with piano /keyboard based models which makes the pop still sound good. I think that the “usher dj got us fallin in love”‘s cover sounds better than the original though. I am going to guess that the next one might be about Remix/EDM Piano? Looking forward for the next blogpost!
I am a big fan of Taylor Swift, especially with her newer albums and I agree that many of the songs have a similar style to them. It is interesting to hear the perspective of someone who has played them in that they are similar but also unique. And once again I find myself thinking about songs I have heard others skate to. I always enjoyed trying to identify the instrumental version of a song as someone skates to it, but I think one of my favorites is Counting Stars as an instrumental piece. It almost feels like a different song in comparison to the original version.
I totally understand what you mean when you say you feel like you have a headstart when you know what the song sounds like before you start learning it. I was the same way when I played saxophone in concert band. It was also just 100% more fun to play a song I could sing along to in my head as I played. I can’t think of any songs where I like the intrumental better than the original. But one of my favorite songs to hear played on piano or to try to play myself on the piano is Yiruma’s River Flows in You. I know its a pretty basic song, but it always sounds so beautiful to me! I’ve attempted to play ukulele as well and I love playing Blackbird by the Beatles and Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis. I love the happy sound ukulele adds to any song. Such a great post, I look forward to reading next week’s!