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Sheet Music - for Piano Solo
What you'll find on this page is piano sheet music
by Elmo Peeler, in downloadable PDF format. The
categories offered are:
Note-for-Note
Piano Transcriptions of the Keyboard Track in Pop
Songs
Allman Brothers Band - Jessica
Band - The Weight
Band - Caledonia Mission
Beach Boys - California Girls
Beach Boys - God Only Knows
Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
Beach Boys - Sail On, Sailor
Beatles - Lovely Rita
Booker T. & The M.G.'s - Green Onions
Eagles - Desperado
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Know a Little
Ray Charles - What'd I Say
The descriptions include a Difficulty Rating: Easy, Moderate,
or Challenging.
All the piano sheet music on this page has been created by me, Elmo Peeler, a conservatory-trained professional rock/pop pianist/arranger/conductor. My passion in life has been the piano - playing it and composing for it. Over the years I've toured the world, playing and arranging for three Hall-of-Fame rock artists: The Beach Boys, Ricky Nelson, and Rod Stewart. I've also taught some talented students: Michael Einziger of "Incubus", members of "Weezer", "Rooney", "Coconut Records", and others.
Even though I was working for celebrities, my friends and fellow musicians knew that my talents went beyond "making the stars sound good" and that I had a lot of extraordinary piano pieces of my own that the public had never heard. Often other keyboard players have asked for a recording or the piano sheet music for a particular piece, but I had not written most of them down - until 2009, when I began making them available.
Purchase any of this piano sheet music by clicking on the ADD TO CART button just beneath each piece's description. After your payment has been securely processed, you can download the PDF file, which can be printed out.
The price of each one is
$4.95, with an Unconditional Money-back Guarantee. Every purchase is
secure and risk-free.
Boogie-Woogie Sheet Music (Piano Solos):
These are original outstanding boogie-woogies that reflect the influence of the Gods of Boogie-Woogie from its heyday in the 1930's and '40's - Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, and Meade "Lux" Lewis (their awesome left-hand parts and tinkly high-register "diamonds in the tiara") - while adding some of the most fun modern-day rock piano techniques: Jerry Lee Lewis and Leon Russell-influenced octaves in the higher registers, Dr. John and New Orleans-style "flips", and Billy Preston's B-3 "crushed-tone" tricks - plus many other pianistic goodies. This is truly one of the best collections of original boogie-woogie sheet music available anywhere.
Elmo Peeler - Josie's Boogie.pdf
This dramatic minor-key virtuoso boogie began as an exercise to strengthen the left-hand, sort of like a boogie version of Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude" - not the same left-hand part note-wise (this is more like a minor-key "Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy" left hand), but similarly challenging, endurance-wise. The right-hand part is fairly challenging on its own, with some flashy "Winter Wind" chromatic runs and stabbing chords (a la Tower of Power horns), ending with a blazing double-octave flourish. When played well, this piece is guaranteed to blow your audience away. Most pianists will find this to be my most technically-challenging boogie - and lots of fun to play! And it will surely strengthen your left hand in the process.
Difficulty: Challenging
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Josie's Boogie
Elmo Peeler - The Jefferson Street Boogie.pdf
Jefferson Street - the street I grew up on, only a few hundred feet from my high school, also on Jefferson. In the key of C-sharp, this is more of a black-key boogie than any of the others in this boogie-woogie sheet music collection - it uses very few white notes (only E-sharp and B-sharp). It starts out with a slow, solemn chordal reference to my high school's theme song, then breaks into a full-on, up-tempo black-key boogie, based on a C#, d#-minor, F#, G# progression. If Chopin's "Black Key" Etude isn't your style (or you've grown bored with it), but your fingers want to dance on the black keys, you'll have fun with this boogie.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Jefferson Street Boogie
Elmo Peeler - The Melton Meltdown Boogie.pdf
This boogie, inspired by the antics of the looney, slightly-crazed mayor of Jackson, MS, Frank Melton, was composed during the 32 hours that he was thrown into the local jail. It seemed like he was having a meltdown, captured in the right hand with a little rock-and-roll dissonance (an A and a B-flat played simultaneously, then the A lifted, leaving the B-flat to ring). In the key of G, the piece begins with a New Orleans-style 'flip', then goes into the A section, its left hand a broken-octave walking bass throughout. Lots of fun to play, and only moderately difficult - it sounds harder than it is, although there are a few technically challenging places in the B and C sections (its structure is A-A-B-A-C-A-OUT) - wonderful boogie woogie sheet music.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - The Melton Meltdown Boogie
Elmo Peeler - The Boo-Train Boogie.pdf
This piece was inspired by a dream about a train, and begins with the steam engine starting from a standstill and picking up speed slowly, then breaking into the main theme. There are references in it to the Doppler effect, diesel horns (tuned to a minor 6th chord), rail-crossing sounds, and locomotive steam whistles. This boogiewoogie is absolutely a blast to play - especially if you like trains - and ends with some nice harmonically-rich virtuoso flourishes.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Boo-Train Boogie
Elmo Peeler - The Tremolo Boogie.pdf
This boogie-woogie piano piece was originally created as an exercise to improve my ability to play right-hand tremolos in thirds (with 2-4 fingering), and it worked well. In addition to plenty of tremolos, there are also lots of fun Leon Russell-style octaves in the B section. This boogiewoogie sheet music ends with a brief, showy, Liszt-like flourish.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Tremolo Boogie
Coming Soon:
Elmo Peeler - The Four-on-the-Floor Boogie.pdf
Elmo Peeler - The Science Fair Boogie.pdf
Piano Arrangements of Pop Songs:
Some people want to be able to play the classic hits of our time but are unable to find suitable piano arrangements of them. Piano sheet music often loses the original feel of the hit song, because some incorrect chords are used, or the bass line has been changed, or the piano part itself is different from the recorded piano part. When I arrange a recording for solo piano, first every note and rhythm on the original recording is analyzed, with special attention to the keyboard, bass and vocal parts. Then a piano solo arrangement is carefully constructed, with the end result closely reflecting the feel of the original recording.
Besides being fun, satisfying and impressive to play, these piano arrangements are also instructive, teaching how to re-voice a melody so that it stands out better and reflects the emotions in the original. They also show what the left hand can do to provide suitable accompaniment, something that many pianists have a tough time figuring out.
By the way, the difference between piano transcriptions and piano arrangements is that a transcription is note-for-note notation of the piano, organ or synth part on the original hit recording and often does not contain the melody itself, By contrast, an arrangement does indeed include the melody, along with other elements from the original hit recording, such as bass line, rhythm parts, etc. Piano arrangements allow one to perform the entire song (vocals, etc.) as a solo piano piece.
Ricky Nelson - Tracy's Song (Arranged for Piano Solo by Elmo Peeler).pdf
On my tours as pianist for Ricky Nelson's Stone Canyon Band, sometimes offstage in relaxed situations with friends Ricky would play an instrumental guitar solo that he had written, titled after his daughter. Although Ricky never recorded it, five years after his death his twin sons' band, The Nelsons, included a version of it on their first album "After the Rain". This is my own arrangement of it for piano solo, an attempt to capture the feel and spirit of those informal performances of it by Ricky Nelson himself.
Though not written to be a technical exercise, this arrangement is nevertheless an excellent study in right-hand single-note articulation.
Difficulty: Challenging
Kermit the Frog - Rainbow Connection (Arranged for Piano Solo
by Elmo Peeler).pdf
One of my students, Brian Bell of "Weezer", asked me to arrange for piano solo this old classic, recorded in 1979 by Kermit the Frog in "The Muppet Movie". Back in the 1970's I was Musical Director (pianist/arranger/conductor) for Paul Williams, who composed it, so I am very familiar with his style. This arrangement for piano solo stays very close to Kermit's recording, and will also work as an accompaniment for a vocalist. The technical challenge here is to make it very legato, very connected, very smooth.
Difficulty: Moderate
Coming Soon:
Floyd Cramer - Last Date.pdf
Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender.pdf
Elvis Presley - (I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You.pdf
The Browns - The Three Bells.pdf
Ken Burns' 'Civil War' - Ashoken Farewell.pdf
Ben E. King - Stand By Me.pdf
If you'd like me to create a piano solo arrangement of a
particular song,
send me a request
for a piano arrangement.
Note-for-Note Transcriptions
(keyboard part only):
Most piano sheet music of hit recordings is very inaccurate, often including incorrect chords and almost never giving the exact keyboard part. For example, have you ever tried to find the sheet music for the piano part in The Beatles' classic, "Lady Madonna"? There's lots available, but none is correct; most piano transcriptions are not even close. Over the years I've picked out precisely the keyboard parts for many classic recordings: for my own high-school cover band as a teenager, to the keyboard tracks in the hits by The Beach Boys, Ricky Nelson, and Rod Stewart, to perform onstage with them around the world. Also, The Beach Boys themselves taught me exactly the keyboard voicings that they used on their hit records, some quite ingenious.
As a response to colleagues and students who have asked me to teach them those keyboard parts, I've created piano sheet music (or organ sheet music for "Green Onions") that is note-for-note accurate - perfect piano transcriptions. 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 some wonderful keyboard players, or are a hobbyist that wants to learn how to play pop/rock and great piano music, these note-for-note transcriptions should prove very helpful.
If you need a note-for-note accurate piano transcription of a particular song - or just the keyboard solo, custom transcriptions, i.e., transcriptions-by-request, are available. Contact me for pricing.
Booker T. & The M.G.'s - Green Onions - Intro
& 1st Verse
(Organ part, transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
"Green Onions" has been a
favorite of mine since the age of 14, when my high school rock-and-roll band
played it at every gig. Though elegantly simple, it can be difficult to
pick out.
"Green Onions" was originally recorded in Memphis in 1962 by the Stax Records
"house band", Booker T. & the M.G.'s. The line-up was Booker T. Jones, keyboards
(Hammond M3 organ), Steve Cropper on guitar, Lewie Steinberg on bass ("Duck"
Dunn joined the band three years later), and Al Jackson, Jr. (now deceased) on
drums.
That rhythm section is the same group you hear on most Otis Redding records
(including "Dock of the Bay") and some Wilson Pickett records ("In the Midnight
Hour" was co-written by Steve Cropper) - basically most of the records by
various artists at Stax in Memphis, Tennessee.
This is the Hammond organ part for the Intro and the First Verse, note-for-note. Although this does not include the organ solo, which doesn't begin until the Second Verse, these beginning sections define the entire song and are essential to performing it correctly. You'll love playing this great old classic and having it sound just like the record.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Booker T. & The MG's - Green Onions (Intro & Verse 1)
The Allman Brothers - Jessica - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
This is a transcription of the classic piano solo as played by Chuck Leavell, note-for-note.
"Jessica", one of the Allman Brothers'
classics, has been a favorite since the 1970's, when my rock-and-roll band
played it at almost every gig. "Jessica" is on the 1973 album "Brothers and
Sisters," by The Allman Brothers Band, Capricorn Records CP 0111. Produced by
Johnny Sandlin & The Allman Brothers Band, the album is "dedicated to a brother
- Berry Oakley," their original bass player who died in a motorcycle accident
near the location of Duane Allman's fatal motorcycle accident.
For the piano, the Allman Brothers brought in Georgian Chuck Leavell, who since
then has played with The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton ("UnPlugged").
This note-perfect piano transcription shows Leavell's solo in "Jessica" to be beautifully structured, containing a great
section of over-the-bar-line type of phrasing, which leads into ascending and
descending octave phrases, then into a section of "hammer-on" fourths, ending
with an ascending broken-octave passage in unison with the rest of the band.
There's lots of fun stuff in this piano solo to learn, and to learn from.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: The Allman Brothers Band - Jessica - Piano Solo
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
One of the great piano solos in rock music is Billy Powell's solo in the Out Section of "Sweet Home Alabama", a wonderful study in sixths, including 'yodeling sixths' (in the key of C, a 'yodeling sixth' would be, from lowest note to highest: D-sharp, E, and C). And although the solo feels wonderful, Powell sometimes plays a bit loose with the timing, not always being metronomically precise, thus making it challenging to exactly notate all the rhythmic subtleties.
This solo is rhythmically challenging as well as finger-wise, but it's great fun to play Billy Powell's exact notes.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama - Piano Solo
Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Know a Little - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
Billy Powell's piano solo in "I Know a Little" is a terrific study in fast single-note lines. The song flies along at 200 BPM (Beats Per Minute); and although the piano solo is only about 15 seconds long, Powell manages to squeeze in 139 Right Hand notes, without any chords and not counting the glissando! Although it sounds impossible, that is about 9 notes per second in just his Right Hand!
This solo can be a challenge to get up to speed, but like "Sweet Home Alabama" it's great fun to play Billy Powell's exact notes.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Know a Little - Piano Solo
Ray Charles - What'd I Say - Electric Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
In 1959 Ray Charles recorded one of the classic keyboard parts - the Wurlitzer electric piano part on his "What'd I Say". He had improvised it - a 12-bar blues progression - on-the-spot in December 1958 to fill time at the end of a concert, and the crowd went wild. He started performing it at subsequent concerts, always with overwhelming audience responses. By February Tom Dowd had engineered it on Atlantic Records' new 8-track recorder, and the rest is R&B and rock-and-roll history.
Ray Charles' Wurlitzer electric piano starts the song, playing all 12-bars of the intro with just a very catchy, rhythmic single line (although played with two hands). Then at the beginning of Verse 1 the rhythm section comes in and he changes the piano part to a rhythmic pattern of thirds and single notes, while his left hand is helping to accent the "2&" push - the pattern that continues throughout the song.
The second Verse starts with a piano solo 4-bar breakdown, then the piano resumes the same pattern established in Verse 1. Ray begins singing in Verse 3.
Since the first two Verses are instrumental and define exactly what the piano will continue to play throughout the rest of the song, there is no need to transcribe more. This note-for-note transcription ends when the vocal comes in at the beginning of Verse 3.
Although performed by many bands over the years, the piano part is almost never played correctly. The 12-bar intro is relatively easy to pick out, but after that no one ever gets the Wurlitzer electric piano part exactly right. Here it is, note-for-note.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Ray Charles - What'd I Say (Intro, Verses 1&2)
The Band - The Weight - Piano Fills (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
"The Weight" is one of The Band's greatest recordings, released in 1968 on their "Music from Big Pink" album. Garth Hudson plays piano on this track, and provides the octave fills during the choruses that are the signature licks in this classic recording. This note-for-note transcription lets you see exactly those octave fills that Hudson is playing, so that you can nail them perfectly.
Even though the song is in 4/4, there are several bars throughout the song that are in 3/4, making the structure of the song a little difficult to correctly memorize unless one understands where those 3/4 bars are. The entire song - 82 measures - is mapped out in a beautifully laid-out chord chart showing those bars as well as all of the important piano licks.
Not only is "The Weight" great fun to play, but practicing Garth Hudson's octave fills will also improve your octave technique.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: The Band - The Weight (Chorus 1) (This is just the 1st Chorus. The transcription is the entire song.)
The Band - Caledonia Mission - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
Like "The Weight", "Caledonia Mission" was included on the very first album by The Band, the 1968 classic "Music from Big Pink". Unlike most of their other recordings, Garth Hudson did not play piano on "Caledonia Mission" - this wonderful piano track was played by John Simon, sometimes referred to as the "sixth member" of The Band for producing and playing on "Music from Big Pink", co-producing and playing on "The Band", and playing on other songs up through The Band's 1993 reunion album "Jericho".
Not only is "Caledonia Mission" a lot of fun to play, but it's a wonderful study in "white funk" that incorporates:
Right Hand fills using the Major pentatonic blues scale, not the Minor pentatonic scale we all know and love
Left Hand voicings that are not just octaves, but also sixths, plus a specific 3-note "funk" chord
a funky rhythm pattern divided between the two hands: a quick left hand chord then a right hand chord, followed by a quick right hand chord then a left hand chord - a Left-Right then Right-Left rhythm pattern used in the Choruses
This is an exact, note-for-note transcription of every note played in the entire 44-measure, 3-minute song, complete with the chords included above the staff.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: The Band - Caledonia Mission (This is the isolated piano track of just the 3rd Chorus)
The Beach Boys - Sail On, Sailor - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
This Beach Boys classic from their "Holland" album was the most fun piano part of all of their songs to play on-stage with them. The repetitive triplets in the right hand drive the song and sometimes change chords in anticipation of the beat, such as in the two Bridges, requiring a little more coordination and sense of rhythm than may be apparent at first hearing.
Another element that makes it such fun to play is the lush chord progression behind the lyrical hook, "Sail on, sail on, sailor" - extremely fat, lush chords, made so in part by the ingenious voicings that Brian Wilson used. You'll have every note spelled out for you, just like the Beach Boys themselves used. They taught it to me.
When I toured with The Beach Boys, on "Sail On, Sailor" I played their 9-foot Baldwin concert grand piano (yes, they carried it from concert to concert), starting the song off with the piano triplets. This is the original Beach Boys' piano part (played on the record by Daryl Dragon, better known as the Captain in the pop duo Captain and Tennille) - all 52 measures, note-for-note, beautifully laid out with chords above the staff and even tempo BPM. If you've been wanting to play "Sail On, Sailor" exactly as it was recorded, here it is.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Beach Boys - Sail On Sailor (Track Only - Intro & Verse 1)
The Beach Boys - California Girls - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
The classic Beach Boys summer anthem, "California Girls" displays Brian Wilson's songwriting genius perfectly. Using a traditional two and a half minute pop song structure, Wilson creatively chose chords that are rarely picked out correctly - especially those in the Choruses and the Out section. It is a wonderful example of 'deceptively simple', i.e., something that appears simple at first hearing, but much more complex when examined closer. These are not only Brian Wilson's original chords but also the correct chord voicings.
It's easy enough for pop/rock beginners to learn the most basic Left Hand/Right Hand coordination, and yet great fun for more experienced players - the celeste-like keyboard 'lick' during the break just before the Out section begins is worth learning the entire song for!
When I played keyboards for The Beach Boys, they themselves showed me the correct keyboard parts that they wanted performed. This is the original Beach Boys' piano part - the only completely accurate transcription available - all 71 measures of the song. The Left Hand usually is playing the bass line, so this chart includes much of the exact bass guitar part also. And you may well learn a new chord progression or two from it - it, like many of Brian WIlson's compositions, contains some really creative chord progressions. If you've been wanting to play "California Girls" exactly as it was performed by The Beach Boys, here is your chance.
Difficulty: Easy
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
Paul McCartney has said that "God Only Knows" is the best song ever written. Amazingly, it came to Brian intact, as a complete song, in about 30 minutes. A harmonically complex song, with a lot of chords and inversions, this piano arrangement has been transcribed note-for-note directly from the original Beach Boys' recording.
It's not very difficult to play, although the four-bar Instrumental Break can be challenging to learn. The Left Hand vs Right Hand coordination can be learned pretty quickly by most keyboardists.
When I toured with The Beach Boys, I played synthesizers on "God Only Knows", including beginning the song with the French Horn part. This arrangement of the original Beach Boys' piano part (played on the record by Don Randi) is the only completely accurate transcription available - all 74 measures of the song - and includes the exact bass guitar part in the Left Hand (played on the record by Carole Kaye). And you may well learn a new chord or two from it - it contains some really inspired chord progressions. If you've been wanting to play "God Only Knows" exactly as it was recorded, here it is.
Difficulty: Moderate
The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
In 1976 Brian Wilson performed "Good Vibrations" on Saturday Night Live as a piano/vocal solo. There was no band or back-up singers accompanying Brian - just him singing and playing a grand piano. This is a precise, note-for-note transcription of Brian's piano part from beginning to end.
If you've ever wanted to play this great classic, the most complex of all the Beach Boys hits, but just didn't know where to begin, this is your solution. Here are Brian's own chord voicings and rhythms - play them exactly as the composer himself does.
Here is Brian's 1976 Saturday Night Live performance on YouTube.
Difficulty: Easy
The Beatles - Lovely Rita - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
"Lovely Rita", the Beatles' classic 1967 recording from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", contains a wonderful piano solo, performed by their classically-trained producer George Martin. Although a fairly brief piano transcription, only nine measures, it contains a number of fun elements: honky-tonk sixths and tremolos in both sixths and thirds, and a couple of classical runs, one a fast descending 7-note scale in tenths, and the other an even faster ascending 12-note diatonic scale that ends the solo. It's fun to learn and play George Martin's exact notes on this Beatles classic.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: The Beatles - Lovely Rita - Piano Solo
The Eagles - Desperado - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
One of The Eagles' most famous songs, "Desperado" was released in 1973 on their album of the same name. The piano plays the very first notes heard - a solo piano Intro that has itself become a classic, immediately identifying the song to most listeners. And the piano remains the most important rhythm section instrument in the entire song; indeed, the other rhythm section instruments (bass, guitars & drums) don't even come in until the song is over half-way over. After the Intro, the piano continues its solo accompaniment of the voice throughout several sections. After almost a minute the string section enters and joins the solo piano, but long before the other rhythm instruments finally come in, two minutes into the three-and-a-half minute song.
So the piano carries most of the song. And although it sounds fairly simple at first listen, the piano chords - and voicings - are a little more complex than one might think. To do this classic song justice, one should perform the piano part just like The Eagles recorded it. This note-for-note transcription of the piano part for the entire 51-measure song will show you how to play the exact same piano notes that Glenn Frey played on the record.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click:
The Eagles - Desperado -
Piano Intro
Coming Soon:
The Crusaders - Put It Where You Want It (Electric Piano Part).pdf
Booker T. & The MG's - Green Onions (Organ Solo).pdf
The Beatles - Lady Madonna (Piano Part).pdf
The Beatles - Rocky Raccoon (Honky-tonk Piano Part).pdf
The Animals - Bring It on Home to Me (Piano Part).pdf
George Winston - Before Barbed Wire.pdf
Elton John - Tiny Dancer (Intro).pdf
John Lennon - Imagine (Piano Part).pdf
Groundhog Day - Rock-maninoff (Piano Solo).pdf
Eagles - Peaceful Easy Feeling (Gtr Solo).pdf
B.B. King - Blue Shadows (Piano Part).pdf
Ricky Nelson - Travelin' Man (Piano Part).pdf
Ricky Nelson - Hello Mary Lou (Piano Part).pdf
The Doors - People Are Strange.pdf
If you'd like me to create a note-for-note transcription of a
particular song,
send me a request
for a piano transcription.
Elmo Peeler - The Notre Dame Shop (from 'Eliza's Horoscope').pdf
If anyone ever asks you who composed the music for Tommy Lee Jones' very first movie, "Eliza's Horoscope", the answer would be yours truly. The movie's eccentric producer asked me to compose many different cues for it, specifically emulating a wide variety of styles, including Bach, George Crumb, Eric Satie, and others. This is the piano sheet music for the cue written in the style of Eric Satie. Its main theme is two measures long: a bar with a time signature of 9/8 followed by a bar of 7/16 - a gentle but haunting little 2-minute piece.
Difficulty: Moderate
Technical Exercises for Improving Keyboard
Technique:
For a pianist, technique is the physical
ability to convey one's musical ideas. It's not good enough to be able to hear
in one's head Art Tatum or Jimmy Smith type of runs and phrases if one's fingers
can not execute them on the keyboard. That's where finger exercises come in - to
gain strength and independence in all ten fingers (Richard Tee talked about the
importance of this in his tutorial video, "Contemporary Piano").
Some pianists spend many hours practicing books full of technical exercises, such as those by Czerny and Hanon. The good news is that it's not necessary. Being able to play scales and arpeggios fluently is indeed essential to good keyboard technique, but only a few supplemental piano technique exercises are usually necessary. And other piano exercises can help one to understand and to "feel" rhythms commonly found in rock, pop, and blues.
The piano exercises included here are very effective at improving not only finger technique but also Left Hand vs Right Hand coordination.
Elmo Peeler - Heartbeat Exercise.pdf
Pop/rock music is based on the rhythm of the human heartbeat. One of the most fundamental coordination skills that a pop/rock pianist must develop is the ability to play 'straight fours', i.e., quarter-note chords, in the Right Hand, while playing a heartbeat rhythm in the Left Hand. This exercise introduces the beginning pop/rock pianist to a very simple, basic, and essential skill.
The Heartbeat Exercise is a five-measure exercise meant to be repeated over and over, until it becomes second nature. It should first be memorized, then practiced repetitively. Many will master it - 'internalize it' - within five or ten minutes. Some will require a day or two. And a very few rhythmically-challenged individuals might need two or three weeks.
Also included in this PDF is a slight variation on the Heartbeat Exercise that will reinforce and further develop these essential coordination skills.
If you can already play pop/rock piano, you probably already have these coordination skills and don't need this exercise. However, if you're a beginner and would like to start at the very beginning, the Heartbeat Exercise will prove very useful and even enlightening.
Difficulty: Easy
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Heartbeat Exercise
Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No.3 (Grace Notes & The 'Push').pdf
A 12-bar blues pattern in the key of C, this exercise teaches several things: what each hand can play to make an effective blues phrase, an introduction to the two types of grace notes, and an introduction to the "push", i.e., when the right hand chord slightly anticipates the left hand (a very common and important rock/blues technique). It's a basic coordination exercise, and an introduction to grace notes.
Difficulty: Easy
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No.3
Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No.5 (Double-Flip).pdf
A 12-bar blues pattern in the key of C, the purpose
of this exercise is to perfect the 'flip' - a pianistic technique commonly found
in blues and R&B, particularly New Orleans-influenced R&B - in the context of a
triplet-based, rolling background (the left hand). Pianists from Dr. John to
Otis Spann use 'flips' as an essential element of their style. One of the very
first rock-and-roll records, Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" (1954),
had a piano 'flip' as one of its most important elements - to be precise, it had
two flips every measure throughout the entire song.
A flip is a briskly executed up-then-down arpeggio (broken chord). This exercise
is called the 'double-flip' because it has two flips in each phrase.
The flips in this exercise are polyrhythmic, i.e., the left hand is in 3
(triplets), while the flip is in 4 (sixteenth-notes).
Flips are usually polyrhythmic, although not always 4 against 3.
The notes of the flip must be performed perfectly evenly and cleanly, very
articulately, like a perfect little string of pearls. Although it's a little
trickier at first than it sounds, once mastered the 'flip' is a wonderful
addition to a pianist's bag of tricks - really essential for playing blues and
boogie.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No.5 (Double-Flip)
Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No.6 (9th Chord Boogie).pdf
A 12-bar blues pattern in the key of C, the purpose of this exercise is to introduce the 9th chord to the beginning student of boogie-woogie, and how it can be used and transposed throughout the I, IV and V chords. The 9th-chord "sound" was extensively used by the founders of boogie-woogie piano-playing, Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, and Meade "Lux" Lewis. Without using 9th chord-based Right-Hand riffs and licks, a pianist cannot truly capture the full, rich sound of boogie-woogie.
This "9th Chord Boogie" can also be used as a very basic exercise in coordination and improving one's sense of rhythm if one practices foot-patting while playing this exercise. First, foot-pat on beats 1,2,3 & 4. Then, after becoming comfortable with that, foot-pat on beats 1 & 3. After becoming comfortable with that, foot-pat only on beats 2 &4, which is the goal.
Difficulty: Easy
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No.6 (9th Chord Boogie)
Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No.7 (Thirds in Triplets).pdf
Also based on a 12-bar blues pattern in the key of C, this is a fairly easy, but important, lesson in basic 12-bar Blues coordination. The goal is to be able to play it smoothly with a relaxed, laid-back feel, while effortlessly patting your foot (or feet) on the 2nd and 4th beats and truly feeling that two and four back-beat throughout your body.
It also shows that in blues, full three-note chords are often not preferable to the simpler sound of thirds.
Difficulty: Easy
Rudolph Ganz - Exercise No.1 (Double-notes: Diminished 7ths).pdf
A wonderful double-note exercise, based on the diminished 7th chord. Excellent for finger independence, strength and endurance. A perfect warm-up exercise when your hands need to be limbered up and there is very little time to do it, such as right before a performance, backstage or in the studio. Also good for warming up at the beginning of a practice session. Passed down from early-20th-century concert pianist Rudolph Ganz to his student, Sarah Love Regan, who was my teacher.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Ganz - Exercise No.1
Rudolph Ganz - Exercise No.2 (Double-notes: Dominant 7ths).pdf
A wonderful double-note exercise, based on the dominant 7th chord. Excellent for finger independence, strength and endurance. A perfect warm-up exercise when your hands need to be limbered up and there is very little time to do it, such as right before a performance, backstage or in the studio. Also good for warming up at the beginning of a practice session. Passed down from early-20th-century concert pianist Rudolph Ganz to his student, Sarah Love Regan, who was my teacher.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Ganz - Exercise No.2
Rudolph Ganz - Exercise No.3 (Double-notes: Diminished & Dominant 7ths).pdf
A wonderful double-note exercise, based on both diminished 7th and dominant 7th chords. Excellent for finger independence, strength and endurance. Good for warming up at the beginning of a practice session. Passed down from early-20th-century concert pianist Rudolph Ganz to his student, Sarah Love Regan, who was my teacher. It is less ideal than either Ganz Exercise No. 1 or 2 as a quick warm-up exercise only because it takes twice as long to play. This is definitely the most difficult of the "Ganz" exercises, requiring much more stamina and endurance, but will certainly pay off in strong hands and independent fingers.
Difficulty: Challenging
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Ganz - Exercise No.3
Rudolph Ganz - Exercise No.4 (Single-notes).pdf
A wonderful single-note exercise, based on both diminished 7th and dominant 7th chords. To be practiced with highly-raised fingers, this technical exercise is excellent for finger independence, strength, and crystal-clear articulation. It is a perfect compliment for the three Ganz double-note exercises, and should be practiced immediately following them to loosen up the fingers after the double-note exercise(s). Passed down from early-20th-century concert pianist Rudolph Ganz to his student, Sarah Love Regan, who was my teacher.
Difficulty: Moderate
To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Ganz - Exercise No.4
Coming Soon:
Elmo Peeler - The Leon Russell Exercise
Coldplay - Clocks - Main Piano Riff (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf
This is the main 4-bar piano riff that starts the song. Some pianists aren't clear as to what the left hand is supposed to do during this riff, so it is notated precisely in this accurate piano transcription. In addition to the original left hand part, an alternate left hand part is provided that has a better, fuller sound than the original part.
Difficulty: Easy
To get this free sheet music, just
send me a request.
Ricky Nelson's guitar
instrumental that he titled after his daughter,
"Tracy's Song", is available as a piano
arrangement by his pianist, Elmo Peeler. The precise piano parts for his
other songs are also available, including "Traveling Man", "Hello Mary Lou",
etc.
The Beach Boys taught me
the exact keyboard parts for their hit songs, including "Good Vibrations",
"God Only Knows", "California Girls", "Sail On Sailor", "In My Room", etc.
Note-for-note accurate piano
transcriptions are available.
I was
conductor/arranger/keyboardist for all of Rod Stewart's "Unplugged" concerts,
and have precisely accurate chord charts
for all of his recordings. Whether you'd like to see the exact string
arrangement for "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" or the exact piano part
for "Handbags and Glad Rags", or any other song, they're all available. If you
have a favorite that you'd like to see,
just drop me a
note.
For more information about Elmo Peeler, please see the Los Angeles Pianist & Arranger Page.
ManyMIDI Products
Beverly Hills, CA
323-650-6602
sheetmusic@manymidi.com