@@notsure1135 Somehow I find playing while the news is on is very relaxing. I'm not sure why - but good to see you mentioning movies, and that someone else does this. Not sure why I do it!
I’ve always been a huge fan of John Lennon’s minimalist piano style. He was the rhythm guitarist of the Beatles after all, so it was natural for him to gravitate later to piano on his solo recordings.
This raises the question of what makes a good piano player? For me, Í would rather have the songwriting chops of Lennon, than be a highly skilled player in the technical sense. We´re talking about instruments which are tools of self-expression. Seeing these Lennon songs played was more of an eye-opener than expected.
Thanks for such an insightful comment. Yes, I would take the songwriting ability any day! He had the smarts to call in musicians who could bring the tunes to life where needed including piano parts. :)
Thank you so much for this and the Mccartney one. As a Beatles loving Bass player, wanting to start piano, this is a godsend. My ears have always had a scetoma with this, , letting my eyes do some of the hearing has helped so much. Likewise, perfect explanations.
This proves that John was underrated as a musician. Paul may have been the most talented overall, but even he admits he couldn't play the rolling finger style guitar that John uses on Julia and Dear Prudence. Wish he had done more of that.
Yes, certainly when it came to his keyboard playing anyway. He had very keen musical instincts. He played hammond organ, harpsichord, electric piano and piano on so many Beatles tracks.
Excellent analysis! This video together with the Paul McCartney video is true masterclass on their styles. It would be awesome if you could do an analysis of Nicky Hopkins piano but that would probably take a much longer video to do him justice.
Wow you made this video exactly like what works for TH-cam videos and I salute you for it ! But i wish for a slower, how-to video showing these songs. You are an amazing teacher !!! Thank you !
I’m a guitarist but had access to a piano at home in the 60s aged 6 to around 9. I didn’t start guitar until aged 16. I’ve always loved dabbling on keyboard and piano…..being a Beatles maniac, these videos are great.
Thanks for sharing that. I had a similar set up and I used to love going from one to the other. When writing, where one would fail the other would give you ideas. 😊
What do we know about HOW Lennon got this good at piano? Did he ever take lessons? I was always impressed with the half step changes in Sexy Sadie - easy to play on guitar (where I’m guessing he wrote it), but to then play it on piano! John must not have been as lazy as we’ve heard! Great video, thanks!
Now THAT is a really great question, fredh1701. When I was younger BeatIe fan, I often wondered how Paul had EVER found the time during the frantically busy years from 1962 to 1966 to learn to play the piano so well - it was much later that I found he'd begun learning while still living at home and when his guitar fell apart in Hamburg he just swapped onto piano for a while. SO clearly he kept his chops up after l selling that trumpet and becoming a guitarist. In John's case, he too came from a home with music in it, his Mum teaching him his first few chords on a four-string banjo - which influenced his guitar playing quite a bit when he finally got his hands on one. But I've never seen evidence of the Lennon or Aunt Mimi's home having a piano - or the young Lennon showing much interest in learning how to play it. However the Beatles WERE big fans of early Little Richard and later Brian Wilson's studio work which increasingly relied more in keys than guitar. What IS clear is that Yoko played and almost certainly influenced John's writing from about late 1969 onwards. Yet the fly in the ointment is that John could certainly play a bit well before that - with not only Obla Di from 1968 showing some skills but also his organ work on songs from Pepper. And of course there's that onstage footage of him thrashing an early electric piano at Shea Stadium while Paul sings I'm Down back in 1965. Maybe he just learnt bit by bit from a combination of Paul and George Martin. He would have brought his strong well-co-ordinated fingers and a highly musical ear.
So the story goes John walks in to the studio and yells at Paul "You'll never be as high as I am right now!", sits at the piano and plays the intro to Obladee. Paul pissed at this nevertheless agrees it's a good intro and decides to use it.
Very good master you are teaching very very well this kind of playing was my biggest concern because i see that many musicians have their focus on the pop genre so i recommend you to keep posting more videos like this because i will be open to learn more rhythms like these many many thanks and GodBless you and your family forever
Thank you I’m really enjoying your videos. Would love to see a tutorial on the full song of Oh My Love, Free as a Bird and Real Love. You seem to get the accuracy spot on unlike so many other channels on TH-cam.
Thank you so much for your support and kind words. That’s a great idea for a video. I would probably do Free As A Bird and the other two from John’s demo together as a trio and Real Love on its own. Stay tuned and I’ll see what I can do. :)
Lovely stuff! Mr Lennon definitely played down his piano playing because wow I'm so impressed. He certainly wasn't as technically gifted as Paul at piano but John certainly played with a lot of soul and great rythym. Thanks for the video!
It’s very helpful to understand how the Beatles used the piano. It’s quite basic compared to their guitar work but still a very recognisable part of their sound.
@@martinfinnmusic True - I would say it really broadened their music palette when they came off the road and their music took away from being essentially dance pop 'n' rock to more balladic and introspective.
Really good. Love the idea of the split-chord method, and so glad you covered Oh My Love (Melodic Style). I’ve been trying to work this out for a good while. Thanks for explaining it so clearly. Interesting what you say about Lennon’s piano playing. I personally thought, as I’m sure lots of others did too, that McCartney was more the pianist than Lennon. Not so, as you point out. Both were clearly creative and unique musicians with their own individual styles, always breaking boundaries and moving forwards. Just noticed you’ve done a tutorial on Lennon and McCartney songs. Will look at this next.
Thank you for the detailed comment. It's great to get your thoughts on the video. People really seem to like that the styles are named. I think it helps them to learn the material. I am making the video here that I wish I had when I was starting out and hungry for good information. Delighted you like Oh My Love. It is a sublime song. Yes, Lennon was far better than I imagined. I learned a lot from making this. Let me know what you make of the Paul video too and good luck!!
@@martinfinnmusic Great work here. making these songs so much more accessible for those who love songs but don't have a strong piano background - like me! Apart from the song expansions suggested, could I suggest that since you have such a good idea for seeing the relative simplicity on what is going on in these rhythm piano backings, perhaps you could find some songs by other artists that use the same or similar techniques. Now you've got us all, maybe take us on a bigger journey.
Am a music theory major and so had already thought like this for 3/4, but seeing your fingering on Lady Madonna made it so much easier than whatever the hell I was trying before and even though it's clear to me I appreciate how clear your working through things are - already subbed and on your John Lennon video and not as familiar with his keyboard work
Thanks for sharing your story. It’s so funny because so often I thought I knew a song and then I see someone else play it the correct way and I know that my old way is trash and I have moved up a level. Everyday’s a school day!
Yes, you're right. Technically speaking he was doing something brand new by making all the notes in C major into major chords rather than the usual major, minor, minor, major, major, minor diminished. Thanks
Thanks Martin, once again that was fascinating and very well played. I love the Beatles, I'm a guitarist but love playing the piano too so this is like gold for me! After your video on Paul's styles I improved massively so I can't wait to try these! With appreciation and kind regards, Rik.
Hey Rik! That’s great. I’m so happy that these videos are helping. When I was starting out all I had was the city library and other musicians to consult and I never got the answers. I had to find out the hard way. I make these videos thinking of that younger me and what I would like to teach him. If you have any questions, just ask and best of luck!!
Great work, just like your McCartney video. You mentioned Nicky Hopkins in this video, is it possible to do a video on his piano playing as well, apert from the fantastic playing on Jealous Guy, it’s his piano playing that makes the song Oh Yoko (that was recorded in C just sped up to Db) and maybe his other contributions: The Stones, The Who, The Jeff Beck Group etc Anyway BIG thank you
Martin, I have just come across your channel on TH-cam. As an Irish-born keyboard player, living in Canada, I am a huge fan of the piano styles you analyze. I am curious as to your own background. Any bio available?
Hi Eamonn, thank you for the support and interest. I really should put up some kind of bio! In a nutshell I took piano lessons from age 7 but always studied pop on the side, playing chords from books, started playing in bands as a teen, had a dream to have an original band, band fizzled out, played in wedding band for 20+ years, got more into teaching, discovered TikTok during pandemic, moved to TH-cam end of last year, still loving it!!
Hi Martin Iv only been playing the piano for a little while , I have to tell myself to go to bed , looking at the clock saying 3 am , but now I've found you looks like I'll be up all night 😅 with you teaching me , Thank you Martin youve made an old man so happy,
What a lovely message. Thank you for that. I hope you got some sleep in the end. I was awake for some of the night because I ate a hot cross bun too late! 😂
Excellent video. Just wanted to say Hey Bulldog is the only song John does in that rock style, so I don't know if that counts as one of his styles. Also, he doesn't make all of those arrangements on Oh My Love. John was very basic as a pianist, the arrangements were made by Nicky Hopkins.
Thank you for that. You could be right about Hey Bulldog. I’ll have to take a deeper look. Re Oh My Love, I think John was more than capable of producing the basic piano as shown here. The added piano of course was all Nicky Hopkins.
Thank you very much. Would you believe I was only thinking about doing Billy Joel today in this format. Yes, it would be a lot more involved but great fun. Can’t wait and thanks for your support. :)
@@martinfinnmusic I think you've confused him with Ringo with that comment! Wasn't Ringo on record as saying he could only play in C? I have to listen with a tuner in hand but I'm gonna guess that G and R noodling around Octopus's Garden in the Get Back movie may have had the embryonic tune in C major and either George or possibly Paul suggesting putting it up to E to get Ringo's voice to sit more strongly on it. It's a fairly ordinary song banged out in C on the piano but it is certainly true that George's bright sparkly lead guitar work and the backing vocals make it a fairly strong arrangement. Is it also Paul and George singing those backgrounds? I can't recall if John played on that one.
I am wanting to learn the piano to play Beatle songs. What number of keys should I opt for as a beginner? Do I need a full set of 88 keys or can I go for less?
Hi there, 5 octaves will do you if you are just starting out. You can always use the transpose key to get higher or lower notes. People get hung up on getting the perfect piano/course/teacher etc but the reality is if you are practicing, learning all the time and enjoying it then you are making progress and you will find the right next step when the time is right!
it would be helpful if you played on a midi piano and included the notes you hit above. im confused for the last one, are you saying he does melody and chords on the rights and the left does bass and how does the bass tie it together? also you forgot the timestamp for the third one
Yes, a midi backup would be good for sure but I kind of like the old school look myself. Re the melodic style I just mean that the melody note is on top let’s say with the pinky or 4th finger. This leaves 4 or sometimes three fingers to form the harmony by playing a full or partial chord. Re the timestamp I think I fixed it - let me know!
Phil Spector did play piano on “Love” but not on “Oh My Love”. That was Nicky Hopkins and he played electric piano over John Lennon’s piano track. There is a making of video online that you can see.
You are right, I double checked! What misled me is that on the Gimme some truth documentary, you can actually see Phil Spector playing piano alongside John on "Oh my love"@@martinfinnmusic
Hi there, it’s a combination of everything. Learning to listen well. Trial and error. Song books with chords. The right sheet music. Tips from teachers. Fellow musicians correcting me. Watching TH-cam videos. Years and years of practice, experience and persistence!!
You are right there. She was instrumental in the making of Because as well as Imagine and so many artistic concepts - to say nothing of being his muse for everything since they met.
Hmm, interesting, though I note a couple of errors... Most importantly the 'ghostly D' in Imagine is so ghostly because it isn't there - the phantom note is actually just a harmonic overtone of a G that's played above C in the left hand (G being the 5th of C, and D being the 5th of G) so all that about Cadd9 is quite incorrect I'm afraid. I would also note some small intricacies in multiple parts that you've omitted, such as the brief G6 chord in Walrus and the 'blues' slide into G at the end of Imagine's chorus - close attention to the isolated tracks of these recordings will show greater complexity than you may be aware of.
Thank you sincerely for your input. I genuinely appreciate this counter analysis and my only goal is to learn the truth about these recordings. Re the ghostly D - really? If that's a harmonic it's the strongest one I've ever heard. I'll need to do a deep dive into this particular phenomenon so I'll reserve judgement for the moment. I've been wrong about these kinds of things before! If you're right it would make a for very interesting video. Re The Walrus, I wasn't going for total accuracy here. It was more to show the split chord pattern in action.
@@martinfinnmusic I'm with you, Martin so I'd say your hat is safe from human consumption. I heard the D note immediately when I heard the song and have always played it. There are some pretty good print versions of this - I have the one that I think is written in two bass clefs for the intro -and it's notated in there. IF it's a ghost harmonic, it's surely the most brilliant recording accident OR intentional ghost note writing in pop history - especially given where this song sits in the most appreciated pop songs of the post-war era.
Thanks for that. The best of luck with it. I’m dying over that spelling mistake by the way. I think it must be karma for always being that stickler over the years! 😂
I am using a Yamaha Arius YDP-141 but the sound you are hearing is a synth fed through GarageBand. A Grand Rhapsody piano from Waves. Adele used it on Hello. It cost under €100. 😊
I am using a Yamaha Arius YDP-141 but the sound you are hearing is a synth fed through GarageBand. A Grand Rhapsody piano from Waves. Adele used it on Hello. It cost under €100. 😊
Lennon was seen playing keys on stage as early as '63. He was a musician through and through. It's not that hard to imagine him figuring this out on his own. Just for example he played keys on Obla Di and Hey Bulldog. Both great piano parts. Just my opinion but I'm also kind of tired of all the inferences that whatever made any of the other Beatles great had to have come from Macca's influence. Not even close. Give it up please.
I doubt that, since their styles are very different. It sounds like they taught themselves through trial and error. Paul would've started off imitating the 50s rock style from records and then develop techniques that were useful for his own songwriting. Paul likes to play octaves in his left hand and chords in his right in order to anchor his melodies. John would've started at songwriting and developed what worked best for him, hence the split chord style, since John likes more complex chord progressions to underlay his simpler melodies.
I always wonder why John playing more piano after The Beatles breakup. And i think the case was same as other beatle, they was insecure and felt strange playing without other Beatle.
@@martinfinnmusic I think it may have had quite a bit to do with Yoko -as well as the natural desire toe create a new sound for the 1970s and post-Beatles. Plus let's not forget Paul had had some some great songs in that later 60s period using piano as their basis - and let's include Maybe I'm Amazed in that list - and John was certainly competitive. At this point he had to be to some extent, he would not have wished to suffer for being compared to Paul and he was very serious about using his music to help make his points - both political and avant garde, and personal.
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as a guitarist who usually plays keys only when the necessity arises for recording, these videos are v enlightening !! (I should practice more 😅)
I know what you mean. Now you have no excuse! :)
Get a Yamaha or a second hand Roland electric piano.
Good for days off, put a tablet on the sheet holder and watch movies whilst you jam out.
@@notsure1135 Somehow I find playing while the news is on is very relaxing. I'm not sure why - but good to see you mentioning movies, and that someone else does this. Not sure why I do it!
I’ve always been a huge fan of John Lennon’s minimalist piano style. He was the rhythm guitarist of the Beatles after all, so it was natural for him to gravitate later to piano on his solo recordings.
Yes, indeed. A natural progression. The piano was a vital part of their later sound. So glad he and Paul went there.
I mean, he would pull out a solo every now and then too. They were always simple but really tasty. Like on Yer Blues or The End.
John was such an underrated pianist. Sometimes even as a guitarist. He was one of a kind in my book. I love him. Now and forever. 🥰🥰🥰
He's a great artist but he's not a pianist at all.
Yes, certainly he was very unique. A great songwriter and performer and all of this with a bite to him too!
This raises the question of what makes a good piano player? For me, Í would rather have the songwriting chops of Lennon, than be a highly skilled player in the technical sense. We´re talking about instruments which are tools of self-expression. Seeing these Lennon songs played was more of an eye-opener than expected.
Thanks for such an insightful comment. Yes, I would take the songwriting ability any day! He had the smarts to call in musicians who could bring the tunes to life where needed including piano parts. :)
Well yeah. That’s why the successful songwriter makes the big bucks while the piano player makes scale pay
I agree he shairs himself in his music , I think so , The same as an artest and thair paints , sorry for going on a bit .
Wow, never realised how much he played piano, let alone how good he was! Great vid mate!
Thank you 🙏. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I was surprised too about how much he had done!!
Yes, that IS an amazing rock piano opening riff!.....just always took it (and everything else!) for granted!
Haha! I know. It’s only when you sit down and play these things that you really go - wow!
John, the man.
the myth.. the legend!
Excellent! Would love to see a video like this but for Brian Wilson.
Great suggestion! I'll put him in the list. :)
Thank you so much for this and the Mccartney one. As a Beatles loving Bass player, wanting to start piano, this is a godsend. My ears have always had a scetoma with this, , letting my eyes do some of the hearing has helped so much. Likewise, perfect explanations.
Thank you. You’re a visual learner and you are my perfect audience! So am I to the max. :)
This proves that John was underrated as a musician. Paul may have been the most talented overall, but even he admits he couldn't play the rolling finger style guitar that John uses on Julia and Dear Prudence. Wish he had done more of that.
Yes, certainly when it came to his keyboard playing anyway. He had very keen musical instincts. He played hammond organ, harpsichord, electric piano and piano on so many Beatles tracks.
Excellent analysis! This video together with the Paul McCartney video is true masterclass on their styles. It would be awesome if you could do an analysis of Nicky Hopkins piano but that would probably take a much longer video to do him justice.
Thank you very much. Exactly what I am going for. A Nicky Hopkins video would be class! Stay tuned.
Sir, your playing is absolutely perfect, it makes an instant impact on the video. Good job explaining the piano styles. 5 star video.
Thank you for that. I really try to get it absolutely correct. I would expect the same!
Wow you made this video exactly like what works for TH-cam videos and I salute you for it ! But i wish for a slower, how-to video showing these songs. You are an amazing teacher !!! Thank you !
Thank you. Yes, I will be getting around to more in-depth videos on these songs.
Brother your playing is so beautiful, more videos like this please!
Thank you very much for that! I’ll keep it up. :)
I’m a guitarist but had access to a piano at home in the 60s aged 6 to around 9. I didn’t start guitar until aged 16. I’ve always loved dabbling on keyboard and piano…..being a Beatles maniac, these videos are great.
Thanks for sharing that. I had a similar set up and I used to love going from one to the other. When writing, where one would fail the other would give you ideas. 😊
What do we know about HOW Lennon got this good at piano? Did he ever take lessons? I was always impressed with the half step changes in Sexy Sadie - easy to play on guitar (where I’m guessing he wrote it), but to then play it on piano! John must not have been as lazy as we’ve heard!
Great video, thanks!
I really think it was just constant noodling, intense interest in songwriting and just being surrounded by total geniuses!
Now THAT is a really great question, fredh1701. When I was younger BeatIe fan, I often wondered how Paul had EVER found the time during the frantically busy years from 1962 to 1966 to learn to play the piano so well - it was much later that I found he'd begun learning while still living at home and when his guitar fell apart in Hamburg he just swapped onto piano for a while. SO clearly he kept his chops up after l selling that trumpet and becoming a guitarist. In John's case, he too came from a home with music in it, his Mum teaching him his first few chords on a four-string banjo - which influenced his guitar playing quite a bit when he finally got his hands on one. But I've never seen evidence of the Lennon or Aunt Mimi's home having a piano - or the young Lennon showing much interest in learning how to play it. However the Beatles WERE big fans of early Little Richard and later Brian Wilson's studio work which increasingly relied more in keys than guitar. What IS clear is that Yoko played and almost certainly influenced John's writing from about late 1969 onwards.
Yet the fly in the ointment is that John could certainly play a bit well before that - with not only Obla Di from 1968 showing some skills but also his organ work on songs from Pepper. And of course there's that onstage footage of him thrashing an early electric piano at Shea Stadium while Paul sings I'm Down back in 1965. Maybe he just learnt bit by bit from a combination of Paul and George Martin. He would have brought his strong well-co-ordinated fingers and a highly musical ear.
Sensational!! Great work once again! I forgot how beautiful Oh My Love was. Never knew Nicky was handling that top part. Learned something new!
Thanks so much! Yes, it is stunning I think and Nicky's part is such a great addition. Thank you for the support. :)
Another masterclass. This is musical lightning ..or at the very least, enlightening.
Thank you very much! No point in it all just hanging round my brain. 😄
Fun and great lesson, because you went through the material in a clever exciting way 👍
Thank you! That’s the aim. :)
So the story goes John walks in to the studio and yells at Paul "You'll never be as high as I am right now!", sits at the piano and plays the intro to Obladee. Paul pissed at this nevertheless agrees it's a good intro and decides to use it.
Really? Sounds plausible! 😂
@@martinfinnmusic It's from Geoff Emerick book. He quit half way thru the White album bc it was so toxic.
Thanks for this video
Thank you for saying so.
I love your videos!!! greetings from Argentina🤘
Hey, thanks. Argentina rocks! I’m sending some Irish luck your way. :) 🍀
@@martinfinnmusic Loved your 4 styles of John Lennon.
Very good master you are teaching very very well this kind of playing was my biggest concern because i see that many musicians have their focus on the pop genre so i recommend you to keep posting more videos like this because i will be open to learn more rhythms like these many many thanks and GodBless you and your family forever
Thank you very much for your lovely comment. I will indeed keep up making these videos. I am delighted that are learning something from them. 🙏🙏
Thanks!
Very generous of you. Thanks again!!
Thank you I’m really enjoying your videos. Would love to see a tutorial on the full song of Oh My Love, Free as a Bird and Real Love. You seem to get the accuracy spot on unlike so many other channels on TH-cam.
Thank you so much for your support and kind words. That’s a great idea for a video. I would probably do Free As A Bird and the other two from John’s demo together as a trio and Real Love on its own. Stay tuned and I’ll see what I can do. :)
@@martinfinnmusicso looking forward to these 👏👏👏
I play Martha... Your Mother Should Know....Let it Be....Hello, Goodby.....and, yes! You are spot on about his varied styles!
Great ones to do. Yes, he’s a chameleon of music.
the piano part of Remember is also very good
I must take a listen. Thanks
I literally searched for a video just like this a month ago
Thank you
No way! I’m delighted that you got something from it. I would have loved this about 10 years ago!
Lovely stuff! Mr Lennon definitely played down his piano playing because wow I'm so impressed.
He certainly wasn't as technically gifted as Paul at piano but John certainly played with a lot of soul and great rythym.
Thanks for the video!
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, he’s definitely better than I thought. All in a day’s work for Mr. Lennon!
Well said, john.gray94. Lennon took the same gifts he'd already honed on rhythm guitar and developed them to a useful point on the piano as well.
Fantastic demonstration, thank you.😊
Thank you for that! Keep watching for more. :)
It’s very helpful to understand how the Beatles used the piano. It’s quite basic compared to their guitar work but still a very recognisable part of their sound.
Thank you. You’re right in that the piano was more of a second instrument but still a huge part of their sound as you say.
@@martinfinnmusic True - I would say it really broadened their music palette when they came off the road and their music took away from being essentially dance pop 'n' rock to more balladic and introspective.
great content mannnn, just what i needed, please post more! thanksssss
My pleasure! I’m glad you liked it. Stay tuned. :)
Cool! Now do a video about Elton John's piano styles.
Yes! Of course. He’s the man. It would be quite involved I think as there are a lot of styles there. Stay tuned. :)
great video!
Glad you enjoyed it. Appreciated the comment. :)
Thank you for this. I really enjoyed it.
Thank you so much!!
Really good. Love the idea of the split-chord method, and so glad you covered Oh My Love (Melodic Style). I’ve been trying to work this out for a good while. Thanks for explaining it so clearly.
Interesting what you say about Lennon’s piano playing. I personally thought, as I’m sure lots of others did too, that McCartney was more the pianist than Lennon. Not so, as you point out. Both were clearly creative and unique musicians with their own individual styles, always breaking boundaries and moving forwards.
Just noticed you’ve done a tutorial on Lennon and McCartney songs. Will look at this next.
Thank you for the detailed comment. It's great to get your thoughts on the video. People really seem to like that the styles are named. I think it helps them to learn the material. I am making the video here that I wish I had when I was starting out and hungry for good information. Delighted you like Oh My Love. It is a sublime song.
Yes, Lennon was far better than I imagined. I learned a lot from making this. Let me know what you make of the Paul video too and good luck!!
@@martinfinnmusic Great work here. making these songs so much more accessible for those who love songs but don't have a strong piano background - like me! Apart from the song expansions suggested, could I suggest that since you have such a good idea for seeing the relative simplicity on what is going on in these rhythm piano backings, perhaps you could find some songs by other artists that use the same or similar techniques. Now you've got us all, maybe take us on a bigger journey.
he was a miracle & we miss him so much
You bet. He really was.
on so many levels ...born 1960 and still play his songs on guitar
Am a music theory major and so had already thought like this for 3/4, but seeing your fingering on Lady Madonna made it so much easier than whatever the hell I was trying before and even though it's clear to me I appreciate how clear your working through things are - already subbed and on your John Lennon video and not as familiar with his keyboard work
Thanks for sharing your story. It’s so funny because so often I thought I knew a song and then I see someone else play it the correct way and I know that my old way is trash and I have moved up a level. Everyday’s a school day!
Love your styles videos - so easy to follow and concise.
Thank you very much. That's what I'm going for so that's great. :)
That Walrus piano riff has to be one of the most original riffs ever devised. Never heard anything like it from that period of time or before
Yes, you're right. Technically speaking he was doing something brand new by making all the notes in C major into major chords rather than the usual major, minor, minor, major, major, minor diminished. Thanks
Thanks Martin, once again that was fascinating and very well played. I love the Beatles, I'm a guitarist but love playing the piano too so this is like gold for me! After your video on Paul's styles I improved massively so I can't wait to try these!
With appreciation and kind regards, Rik.
Hey Rik! That’s great. I’m so happy that these videos are helping. When I was starting out all I had was the city library and other musicians to consult and I never got the answers. I had to find out the hard way. I make these videos thinking of that younger me and what I would like to teach him. If you have any questions, just ask and best of luck!!
@@martinfinnmusic Totally in the spirit of the Beatles themselves and embracing a very open-hearted democratic way of approaching pno tching
Great video, Martin. If you have time, you should definitely make some of these into tutorials. Oh My Love sounds exquisitely beautiful.
Good idea. Yes, I plan to. Oh My Love is so beautiful I agree. A real pleasure to play.
you should do the piano styles of thom yorke another guitarist with a very guitarist piano style. same with Bruce!
Yes, you’re right. I’ll get around to them eventually. :)
Thanks
Thank you! Much appreciated. :)
Very informative and helpful to a basically one handed piano player !
Ps. Always spell check your videos 😁
fascinating insights thank you
Thank you very much. :)
Excellent and informative! Well done!
Great video - well explained :)
Glad you liked it! Thank you.
These videos are great and really helpful, thank you
Thank you for that. I’m glad you find them useful!
Great work, just like your McCartney video. You mentioned Nicky Hopkins in this video, is it possible to do a video on his piano playing as well, apert from the fantastic playing on Jealous Guy, it’s his piano playing that makes the song Oh Yoko (that was recorded in C just sped up to Db) and maybe his other contributions: The Stones, The Who, The Jeff Beck Group etc
Anyway BIG thank you
Thank you so much. Very kind of you. Nicky Hopkins was so amazing. Such a natural. I would love to make a video on his style. Stay tuned for this. :)
Yes please can you do a tutorial on Nicky Hopkins grace notes and other runs riffs
Do Brian Wilson piano style please
Great idea. I've never seen one. On the list..
4. Feels very like Axl Rose. Nice vid!
It does, actually! Thanks
excelent video!..congratulations!
Thank you so much!
Great,this is a very good explanation
Thank you very much.
Lovely. Nicely done. Love that you hit the 9? On the end of the F turnaround on imagine. No one does that
Thank you very much! Yes, the first time I realised there was a 9 in there I couldn’t leave it out. :)
I always assumed that Paul played piano on Hey Bulldog and Obla Di.Thanks for the education 😎
No problem! It was surprise to me too!
I think it’s Nicky Hopkins on Oh my Love
John actually plays the part I demonstrated and Nicky Hopkins plays a higher overlaid piano. There is a video showing this.
Yes
Hee hee
Do this for Ray Mazarek
I may just!
MM yes! -- that would be a worthy tribute.
Good stuff!🏆
Thank you for that!!
Martin, I have just come across your channel on TH-cam. As an Irish-born keyboard player, living in Canada, I am a huge fan of the piano styles you analyze. I am curious as to your own background. Any bio available?
Hi Eamonn, thank you for the support and interest. I really should put up some kind of bio! In a nutshell I took piano lessons from age 7 but always studied pop on the side, playing chords from books, started playing in bands as a teen, had a dream to have an original band, band fizzled out, played in wedding band for 20+ years, got more into teaching, discovered TikTok during pandemic, moved to TH-cam end of last year, still loving it!!
Yeah it’s all about John Lennon, of course!
Naturally!
Oh okay!@@martinfinnmusic
Cool video!
Thank you very much. :)
Excelente
Thank you!!
Great
Thanks for that!
great vid!
Thank you!
Hi Martin Iv only been playing the piano for a little while , I have to tell myself to go to bed , looking at the clock saying 3 am , but now I've found you looks like I'll be up all night 😅 with you teaching me , Thank you Martin youve made an old man so happy,
What a lovely message. Thank you for that. I hope you got some sleep in the end. I was awake for some of the night because I ate a hot cross bun too late! 😂
Excellent video. Just wanted to say Hey Bulldog is the only song John does in that rock style, so I don't know if that counts as one of his styles. Also, he doesn't make all of those arrangements on Oh My Love. John was very basic as a pianist, the arrangements were made by Nicky Hopkins.
Thank you for that. You could be right about Hey Bulldog. I’ll have to take a deeper look. Re Oh My Love, I think John was more than capable of producing the basic piano as shown here. The added piano of course was all Nicky Hopkins.
Great video. Might want to spellcheck no.3 though 😊
Eek! I know. Thanks. 😊
Amazing video ❤
Could you do Elton John or Billy Joel too ? Maybe their style is too complicated and diversified, i don’t know. Love your content !
Thank you very much. Would you believe I was only thinking about doing Billy Joel today in this format. Yes, it would be a lot more involved but great fun. Can’t wait and thanks for your support. :)
Imagine the music which Mark Chapman has robbed from the world. Impossible isn't it. What a cvnt.
I know. It’s truly one of the great tragedies of music.
The imagine was two piano parts put together i think? Anyway great video really useful as a songwriter
Really? If you know of any evidence for this I would love to know. Thinking of making a video on just this mystery.
Спасибо, Мартин, за вашу прекрасную работу, все доходчиво объяснено и показано, вы, судя по голосу и человек хороший. Ещё раз спасибо
Thank you for that. This is my aim. As for being a good person - I definitely try to be!!
Next is 4 styles of George Harrison‘s piano playing
I would love to but unfortunately he barely has one style from what I can make out. Maybe you know more?
@@martinfinnmusic I think you've confused him with Ringo with that comment! Wasn't Ringo on record as saying he could only play in C? I have to listen with a tuner in hand but I'm gonna guess that G and R noodling around Octopus's Garden in the Get Back movie may have had the embryonic tune in C major and either George or possibly Paul suggesting putting it up to E to get Ringo's voice to sit more strongly on it. It's a fairly ordinary song banged out in C on the piano but it is certainly true that George's bright sparkly lead guitar work and the backing vocals make it a fairly strong arrangement. Is it also Paul and George singing those backgrounds? I can't recall if John played on that one.
I am wanting to learn the piano to play Beatle songs. What number of keys should I opt for as a beginner? Do I need a full set of 88 keys or can I go for less?
Hi there, 5 octaves will do you if you are just starting out. You can always use the transpose key to get higher or lower notes. People get hung up on getting the perfect piano/course/teacher etc but the reality is if you are practicing, learning all the time and enjoying it then you are making progress and you will find the right next step when the time is right!
it would be helpful if you played on a midi piano and included the notes you hit above. im confused for the last one, are you saying he does melody and chords on the rights and the left does bass and how does the bass tie it together? also you forgot the timestamp for the third one
is the bass just doing 1 and 5?
Yes, a midi backup would be good for sure but I kind of like the old school look myself. Re the melodic style I just mean that the melody note is on top let’s say with the pinky or 4th finger. This leaves 4 or sometimes three fingers to form the harmony by playing a full or partial chord. Re the timestamp I think I fixed it - let me know!
Stragiht Rock style sounds very erm exotic 😂
I know! I’m really feeling that one believe me. I’m usually the guy pointing these things out!!
Do billy preston PLEASE!!
Haha! I know. He’s on the list.
John doesn't play the piano on "Jealous Guy", nor on "Oh My Love"
That’s correct for Jealous Guy but on Oh My Love JL does play the part I demonstrated and NH plays the higher additional parts.
It's Phil Spector on the second piano on "Oh my love", not Nicky Hopkins, otherwise very interesting video!
Phil Spector did play piano on “Love” but not on “Oh My Love”. That was Nicky Hopkins and he played electric piano over John Lennon’s piano track. There is a making of video online that you can see.
You are right, I double checked! What misled me is that on the Gimme some truth documentary, you can actually see Phil Spector playing piano alongside John on "Oh my love"@@martinfinnmusic
Can you make a lesson on Real Love?
Great video
Yes, it’s on the queue. Thank you!
How do you learn these songs, just by ear? Or sheet music? Chord diagrams? What?
Hi there, it’s a combination of everything. Learning to listen well. Trial and error. Song books with chords. The right sheet music. Tips from teachers. Fellow musicians correcting me. Watching TH-cam videos. Years and years of practice, experience and persistence!!
@@martinfinnmusic Thanks for reply, Martin. I'm struggling to learn to play without sheet music. And I was never a wizard sight-reader.
Massssssssssssssssssssss
Is that good or bad?!
Great video. Piano noob here
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it!
Maith an fear. ❤
Na h’abair é 😊
think john learn's many thinks from yoko ,she has a klassik Piano training in her childhood .
You are right there. She was instrumental in the making of Because as well as Imagine and so many artistic concepts - to say nothing of being his muse for everything since they met.
The rock shuffle reminds me of God Only Knows.
That’s right. Exact same rhythm. :)
Hmm, interesting, though I note a couple of errors...
Most importantly the 'ghostly D' in Imagine is so ghostly because it isn't there - the phantom note is actually just a harmonic overtone of a G that's played above C in the left hand (G being the 5th of C, and D being the 5th of G) so all that about Cadd9 is quite incorrect I'm afraid.
I would also note some small intricacies in multiple parts that you've omitted, such as the brief G6 chord in Walrus and the 'blues' slide into G at the end of Imagine's chorus - close attention to the isolated tracks of these recordings will show greater complexity than you may be aware of.
Thank you sincerely for your input. I genuinely appreciate this counter analysis and my only goal is to learn the truth about these recordings.
Re the ghostly D - really? If that's a harmonic it's the strongest one I've ever heard. I'll need to do a deep dive into this particular phenomenon so I'll reserve judgement for the moment. I've been wrong about these kinds of things before! If you're right it would make a for very interesting video.
Re The Walrus, I wasn't going for total accuracy here. It was more to show the split chord pattern in action.
I just had a really good listen there and if that D is a harmonic, I'll eat my hat!
@@martinfinnmusic I'm with you, Martin so I'd say your hat is safe from human consumption. I heard the D note immediately when I heard the song and have always played it. There are some pretty good print versions of this - I have the one that I think is written in two bass clefs for the intro -and it's notated in there. IF it's a ghost harmonic, it's surely the most brilliant recording accident OR intentional ghost note writing in pop history - especially given where this song sits in the most appreciated pop songs of the post-war era.
What a fantastic video have a wonderful day also what is your favorite year from the 2010s ❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Thanks! You too! I would have to say 2013 because I got a nice van.
Thanks for that. The best of luck with it. I’m dying over that spelling mistake by the way. I think it must be karma for always being that stickler over the years! 😂
Great vid. Which piano are you using.
I am using a Yamaha Arius YDP-141 but the sound you are hearing is a synth fed through GarageBand. A Grand Rhapsody piano from Waves. Adele used it on Hello. It cost under €100. 😊
@@martinfinnmusicawesome. Thank you so much
What kind of piano are you playing?
I am using a Yamaha Arius YDP-141 but the sound you are hearing is a synth fed through GarageBand. A Grand Rhapsody piano from Waves. Adele used it on Hello. It cost under €100. 😊
Watching the wheels?
I think it would be awesome if you could show how to really play the songs from start to finish. I think your tip jar would fill up fast if you did.
Thanks for your support. That would be awesome alright. So many people are asking for the full tutorials if these. I must get cracking!
Oh btw, it says “Stragiht” at nr.3
I know. It’s killing me!!!
I understand that Mccartney was always able to play keys, but Lennon kind of crept up on the inside. Did Macca teach him?
I know. I’m sure they influenced each other in all kinds of ways. They were stuck together for endless hours in the studio.
Lennon was seen playing keys on stage as early as '63. He was a musician through and through. It's not that hard to imagine him figuring this out on his own. Just for example he played keys on Obla Di and Hey Bulldog. Both great piano parts. Just my opinion but I'm also kind of tired of all the inferences that whatever made any of the other Beatles great had to have come from Macca's influence. Not even close. Give it up please.
I doubt that, since their styles are very different. It sounds like they taught themselves through trial and error. Paul would've started off imitating the 50s rock style from records and then develop techniques that were useful for his own songwriting. Paul likes to play octaves in his left hand and chords in his right in order to anchor his melodies. John would've started at songwriting and developed what worked best for him, hence the split chord style, since John likes more complex chord progressions to underlay his simpler melodies.
'Stragiht'
I know. It's killing!
@@martinfinnmusic Ha! Sorry! 😄 Great vid
Good video and well narrated. All the same, you need to proof your videos before you post them. 'Stragiht[sic] Rock Style'?
Thank you very much. Yeah, it's killing me, that typo! I have been more diligent since. :)
I always wonder why John playing more piano after The Beatles breakup. And i think the case was same as other beatle, they was insecure and felt strange playing without other Beatle.
Could be or maybe he just went in that direction to create new sounds. Hard to know.
@@martinfinnmusic I think it may have had quite a bit to do with Yoko -as well as the natural desire toe create a new sound for the 1970s and post-Beatles. Plus let's not forget Paul had had some some great songs in that later 60s period using piano as their basis - and let's include Maybe I'm Amazed in that list - and John was certainly competitive.
At this point he had to be to some extent, he would not have wished to suffer for being compared to Paul and he was very serious about using his music to help make his points - both political and avant garde, and personal.
Great video! You nailed this breakdown once again. A small error was done in the video at 3:00, where you miss typed straight as “stragiht”.
Thank you! You drew my attention to that mistake and it’s killing me!! 😅😂
I hate making mistakes in the video as well, especially if you have deleted the file of your computer already. @@martinfinnmusic