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Sheet Music - for Piano Solo

(Piano Recordings by Elmo Peeler are now available here.)

What you'll find on this page is piano sheet music by Elmo Peeler, in downloadable PDF format. The categories offered are:

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", "Vampire Weekend", "Rooney", "Coconut Records", and some of the top stars and executives in the entertainment industry.

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. You do not need to have a PayPal account, only a debit or credit card (eChecks are also accepted). After your payment has been securely processed, you can download the PDF file, which can be printed out.

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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", "A Whiter Shade of Pale", and others) 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. See what our customers say about them.

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. See customer testimonials and 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

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To listen, just click: Booker T. & The MG's - Green Onions (Intro & Verse 1)

Alicia Keys - Wild Horses - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

On July 4, 2005, on MTV's "Unplugged" show, Alicia Keys performed one of the most beautiful performances of "Wild Horses" ever, in her duet with Adam Levine. Her piano begins the song, ends the song, and dominates everything in between - a haunting, achingly romantic, elegant reinterpretation of the Rolling Stones' classic.

This is a note-for-note transcription of every note that Alicia Keys plays - all 6:04 of the song!

Alicia Keys is a classically-trained pianist, with a refined touch and elegant style. If you've ever wanted to study Alicia Key's piano style, this transcription is perfect for you.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is Alicia Keys' "Wild Horses" on YouTube.

The Allman Brothers - Jessica - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

This is a transcription of the right hand part 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.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: The Allman Brothers Band - Jessica - Piano Solo

The Allman Brothers Band - Stormy Monday - Organ Solo - (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Stormy Monday", on the legendary 1971 album by The Allman Brothers Band, "At Fillmore East", is one of the classic recordings of this perennial 12-bar blues favorite, written in 1947 by T-Bone Walker. To add some contrast to the slow blues verses preceding it, Gregg Allman's B-3 organ solo is an up-tempo jazz waltz (179 Beats per Minute) that lasts for almost 50 seconds before the slow "Stormy Monday" blues resumes.

During these 50 seconds, Gregg Allman plays a jazzy, Jimmy Smith-influenced organ solo that takes good advantage of the Dorian mode, and throws in some fun B-3 techniques, such as holding one note while improvising around it (great way to build the tension), and repeated notes, augmented chords and seven-sharp-nine chords.

Underneath this wonderful organ solo, Berry Oakley plays some of the most creative walking-bass lines ever recorded in a 12-bar blues context. Instead of just outlining the chords, as many walking-bass lines do, Oakley uses lots of very clever and creative passing notes, sometimes in contrast to the chords played by the guitars.

This is a note-for-note transcription of the entire organ solo - all 48 measures. Plus, it also includes a transcription of the bass guitar line, so that the keyboardist can better understand what is going on underneath him/her in Berry Oakley's excellent part. This should also prove very helpful to bands that are working up this version of "Stormy Monday" and want it to sound exactly right.

This transcription is perfect for learning Allman's classic organ solo, and for studying his Hammond B-3 style.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen to the organ solo, just click: The Allman Brothers Band - "Stormy Monday" (organ solo)


Asleep at the Wheel - Boot Scootin' Boogie - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Asleep at the Wheel is an Austin, TX-based band that specializes in country/Western-swing, of which "Boot Scootin' Boogie" is a good example. Moving along at a brisk tempo (148 BPM), it uses a shuffle rhythm characteristic of the genre. This boogie-based piano solo is a good example of how to combine the Major and minor pentatonic scales, with an emphasis on the Major pentatonic scale. Beginning with an effective use of a descending run in sixths, it quickly begins throwing in 'flips' (five in all), a couple of 'crushed' tones, and at least one broken, or 'yodeling', sixth - lots of fun piano riffs in a relatively short time.

Later in the song the piano throws in another fun riff, which incorporates yet more 'flips', thirds, and a blurring of Major/minor tonality by the use of grace notes. That riff is also included in this note-for-note transcription.

Also included is the exact Bass Guitar line that underlies both the solo and the later riff. Although the pianist does not play it on the recording, it'll just add to the effectiveness of this solo if you choose to add it to your own performance of this fun, classic Western-swing boogie solo.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen to the solo, and to the riff, click here: Asleep at the Wheel - Boot Scootin' Boogie (solo & riff)

B.B. King - The Worst Thing in My Life - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Some of B.B. King's early works, from the 1950's and 1960's, had the best piano parts of any of his recordings. "The Worst Thing in My Life', from 1964, is one of those classics. Elegantly simple in conceptualization and beautifully executed, this piano part is a model of how old-style blues was played before becoming overly commercialized in recent decades - not too many notes, but every one perfectly placed.

The two contrasting sections compliment each other perfectly. In the A Section the rhythm pattern of the 4-note chords in the Right Hand is a textbook study in how to keep the forward momentum going without getting too busy, and uses classic blues voicings. The B Section never even uses chords, opting instead for tinkly thirds and using a higher register of the keyboard.

This is a perfect piece for anyone who wants to learn how to distill a blues piano part down to its essence, perfect for learning the original rhythms and voicings of that wonderful early blues style. It fits perfectly into the rhythm section, yet is also completely satisfying to play as a piano solo.

This is an exact note-for-note transcription of the piano part for the entire song - all 72 measures. Play along with B.B. King using the exact same notes that his own piano player is playing.

Difficulty: Easy

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Here is B.B. King's "The Worst Thing in My Life" on YouTube.

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:

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

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To listen, just click: The Band - Caledonia Mission (This is the isolated piano track of just the 3rd Chorus)

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.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: The Band - The Weight (Chorus 1) (This is just the 1st Chorus. The transcription is the entire song.)

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

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The Beach Boys - Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) (Brian's Instrumental Demo) - Piano (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Pet Sounds" is one of rock's truly classic albums, and includes some very advanced recordings by Brian Wilson at the peak of his genius. "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" is one of Brian's most beautiful compositions, and contains some complex chord progressions which can be quite difficult to figure out. In 1997 a 4-CD compilation, "The Pet Sounds Sessions", was released, containing Brian Wilson's original piano solo demo of this remarkable composition.

This is a note-for-note transcription of Brian Wilson's original piano demo - all 2:22 of it - fifty measures total. If you ever wanted to study Brian's chords, their voicings, and play this harmonically advanced song just as Brian originally conceived it, this is your opportunity.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: Beach Boys - Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) (Brian's Instrumental Demo - 1st Section Only)

The Beach Boys - Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) (Pet Sounds Version) - Piano (transcribed & arranged by Elmo Peeler).pdf

The "Pet Sounds" version is different from Brian's Piano Demo, in that it includes different chords and bass lines plus a completely new Instrumental Bridge,  which is where the lovely string quartet comes in. Brian's Piano Demo contains no Bridge at all, just Verses and Choruses.

The version of "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) that appears on "Pet Sounds" has no keyboard part. However, I've carefully transcribed every note of the "Pet Sounds" version - chords, chord voicings, bass line (played by Carol Kaye), string quartet parts, etc. - and condensed them into a piano solo version. The only part that it does not contain is the lead vocal melody, making this a perfect piano accompaniment for a lead vocalist, or for anyone who just wants to be able to play the "Don't Talk" track on solo piano.

Students of The Beach Boys' songs will want both versions, in order to first study Brian's Piano Demo, and then compare it to the more evolved, final version that appears on "Pet Sounds". "Don't Talk" is harmonically one of Brian Wilson's more advanced compositions, using some very sophisticated chord progressions found in no other pop/rock music. This solo piano arrangement is the full, complete "Pet Sounds" version, perfect for studying the compositional genius of Brian Wilson at his creative peak.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is the "Pet Sounds" versions of "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" on YouTube.

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

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To see a video of Rivers Cuomo (of "Weezer") playing and singing this transcription, click here. Rivers is one of my students. Get more info on how you, too, can study with me via Skype.

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

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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

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To listen, just click: Beach Boys - Sail On Sailor (Track Only - Intro & Verse 1)

The Beatles - Lady Madonna - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Paul McCartney said, "'Lady Madonna' was me sitting down at the piano trying to write a bluesy boogie-woogie thing ... It reminded me of Fats Domino for some reason, so I started singing a Fats Domino impression. It took my voice to a very odd place." And although it's not exactly in the Fats Domino style, it has indeed turned out to be one of the great piano parts in rock history.

Even though "Lady Madonna" is not boogie-woogie, the left hand is in broken octaves. And during the choruses the right hand has a nice line that moves in contrary motion to the left hand - a line that is overlooked by most pianists trying to learn the piece, as are grace notes liberally sprinkled throughout the verses, along with wonderfully effective rhythmic 'bumps'. And of course the song ends with a classic honky-tonk type of figure, the perfect coda to end an outstanding piano part.

This is a note-for-note transcription of every note in this rock/pop classic - all 61 measures. I've never seen an accurate transcription of this piece before, but here is your chance to play "Lady Madonna" exactly as Paul McCartney recorded it.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" on YouTube.
 

The Beatles - Let It Be - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

One of rock's greatest classics, "Let It Be" was written by Paul McCartney alone, with no help from John Lennon, and was inspired by a dream he had about his mother, who had died when he was fourteen. He said she was the inspiration for the "Mother Mary" lyric, and that "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'." He said that in the dream his mother had told him, "It will be all right, just let it be."

McCartney played the piano on the track, using a Bluthner grand. "Let It Be" is almost always on the various lists of the top 10 rock piano songs, for good reason. It is a simple, but very effective piano track. McCartney uses several pianistic devices very effectively in this track, including grace notes in the Left Hand, contributing to its churchy/gospel feel, and a classic "walk-down" at the end of every Verse. During the two instrumental Verses and subsequent Chorus after the Bridge, he expands the three-note triad voicings in the Right Hand into larger, higher four-note chords, and adds a few more interesting rhythm patterns, before returning to the simpler triad voicing for the last two Verses and Choruses.

This is a note-for-note transcription of the complete song - all 71 measures. If you'd like to play "Let It Be" just as Paul did at his Bluthner on January 31, 1969, here is your chance.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is The Beatles' "Let It Be" on YouTube.

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

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To listen, just click: The Beatles - Lovely Rita - Piano Solo

Billy Joel - Baby Grand - Piano Part - Intro & Out Section (transcribed & arranged by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Baby Grand", written by Billy Joel and released in 1987, was an ode to the piano, generally, and to his piano hero, Ray Charles, specifically. The recording, produced by the great Phil Ramone, features both men playing two pianos at the same time - with Ray Charles' piano coming out of the left stereo speaker, and Billy Joel's piano in the right stereo speaker.

Ray Charles suggested to Billy Joel that they record a song together, and this is the song that Joel wrote for the occasion. It was very intelligently recorded, with each pianist careful not to step on the other's phrases (until the Out Section). The Intro and the Out Section have no vocals, and really highlight this wonderful interplay between the two master pianists. Ray Charles starts it off with a couple of chords, then Billy Joel plays a phrase, which Ray answers, then Billy answers - and that interplay continues. Ray's amazing perfect-pitch ear allows him to emulate Billy's phrases and answer them perfectly with his own wonderful gospel/blues/jazz stylings.

This transcription only contains the Intro and the Out Section, for that is where the pianistic interplay is uninterrupted by any vocals, showing off each man's skills to best advantage. And this is arranged for solo piano, based note-for-note on the original two-piano duet. Sometimes, especially in the Out Section, both men  were playing some complex ad libs at the same time, impossible to reproduce with only two hands, so the most important - and fun to play - riffs were used in this arrangement. If you want to play the two most fun sections of "Baby Grand" as a piano solo, this is exactly what you need.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is the entire "Baby Grand" on YouTube.

Billy Joel & Ray Charles - Baby Grand - Duo Piano Parts - Intro & Out Section (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Baby Grand", the 1987 hit by Billy Joel and Ray Charles, as described above, was recorded with two pianos, one piano coming out of each stereo speaker: Ray's on the left side and Billy's on the right side. Most of the song focuses on the vocal duets, except for the Introduction and the Out Section. The wonderful Intro perfectly sets the mood of this love song for the piano, and the Out Section lets each man show off his own blues/jazz pianistic skills. During the Intro each pianist is careful not to step on each other's phrases. That's not the case in the Out Section - each man cranks up the intensity and lays down some wonderful phrases at the same time as the other one is showing off.

This transcription is a note-for-note two-piano score that reveals every note played in both the instrumental Intro and Out Sections. One grand staff for Ray Charles' piano part, and a second grand staff for Billy Joel's piano - not a note is left out. And there are some very interesting notes indeed, including an awesome black-key glissando by Ray Charles in the Out Section, preceding the very last phrase in the piece, where Ray plays a G-chord riff in counterpoint to Billy's F-blues scale riff - and these two piano masters make it all work perfectly.

If you want to study in note-for-note detail Billy Joel's and Ray Charles' wonderful duo-piano interplay, this two-piano score of the Introduction and Out Section is exactly what you need.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is the entire "Baby Grand" piano duet on YouTube.

Bob Seger - Roll Me Away - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Roll Me Away" was written and released by Bob Seger in 1982 on his 12th album, "The Distance". Used in three movies, Armageddon, Mask and Reckless, it is one of Seger's greatest rock classics, and one of his own favorites, used as the opening song on his Face the Promise tour in 2006-2007, his first tour in a decade. One of the reasons "Roll Me Away" sounds so good is the stellar choice of rhythm section musicians: Roy Bittan (of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band) on piano, Waddy Wachtel on guitar, and Russ Kunkel on drums.

The piano part is classic Roy Bittan. It begins with an 8-bar Intro with the piano being the lead instrument, using subdued triads in the lower mid-register of the keyboard (the highest note being an E above middle C, with most notes below middle C), with a minimalist Left Hand part. But as the song progresses and builds, Bittan begins using full 4-note chords - both solid and arpeggiated - supported by powerful octaves in the Left Hand's bass part. He throws in his characteristic octave fills, sometimes harmonizing them by adding a third below the top note of the octave. If Bittan is one of your favorite pianists and you enjoy his work with the E Street Band, you'll love his piano track on "Roll Me Away".

This is a note-for-note transcription of the piano part for the entire song - all 154 measures. If you'd like to play the exact notes that Roy Bittan plays and study his style, this is exactly what you're looking for.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is "Roll Me Away" on YouTube.

Bob Dylan - Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" was the first track on Bob Dylan's 7th studio album, "Blonde on Blonde", released in 1966. Although the lyrics suggest that the title should have been "Everybody Must Get Stoned", Dylan realized that it would never get radio airplay with that title, and thus named it "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35".

Dylan was already working with Al Kooper, and flew from New York to Nashville to record "Blonde on Blonde" with mostly Nashville session musicians. It is not clear who played the legendary piano part on "Rainy Day Women", but to my ear it sounds like Paul Griffin. Whoever played it laid down one of rock's most recognizable and classic piano parts - a cross between the Salvation Army and honky tonk. This amazing piano part is built around tremolos in the Verses, which sound like they are simple tremolos in 6th's, but they're not - they use an ingenious voicing that gives them more body than simple 6th's would, but less than a full three-note triad. The Choruses also use similarly clever voicings that avoid full triads. Also incorporated are octave fills and some cool grace notes.

This is a note-for-note transcription of the piano part for the entire song - all 4:36, which is 104 measures long. If you've ever been intrigued by Dylan's "Rainy Day Women", here is your chance to play it exactly as it was recorded.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is "Rainy Day Women" on YouTube.

Bruce Springsteen - Because the Night - "The Promise" Version - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith co-wrote the rock classic "Because the Night" in 1977. Springsteen was in the studio recording his "Darkness on the Edge of Town" album with producer Jimmy Iovine, and recorded a version of it. He wasn't happy with it, and Iovine, who was producing Smith's "Easter" album at the same time, gave a recording of it to Smith. She added some lyrics to it, and released it on "Easter", becoming the first single release from that album and rising to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Although Springsteen would perform the song live, and released it on his "Live 1975-85" album, his 1978 studio version was never released until "The Promise" box set in November 2010.

Classic Springsteen in his prime, "Because the Night" features Roy Bittan playing his classic rock piano style on the track. Starting the song with a two-bar running 8th-note figure, almost classical in nature, the piano track contains Bittan's wonderful, powerful 4-note Right Hand chords, glissandi, a different two-bar classical-like running 8th-note figure in Verse 2, octave runs, a whole-step-up modulation three-quarters of the way through, and a strong Left Hand part, closely following Garry Tallent's bass guitar line.

If you want to study Bittan's style, and play his exact notes, you'll love this complete note-for-note transcription, which contains all 96 measures - the entire song.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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If you'd like to also have the bass guitar part, here is the piano score, just as described above, with the addition of Garry Tallent's bass guitar part:

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To listen, just click: Bruce Springsteen - Because the Night (from "The Promise" - Intro & Verse 1)

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run - Album Version - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Born To Run" was Bruce Springsteen's very first worldwide single release, in 1975. It became a classic rock anthem, launching his legendary career. Rolling Stone considers it to be in the Top 21 of the Greatest Songs Of All Time.

Springsteen has said that although the beginning of the song was written on guitar around the opening riff, the song's writing was finished on piano. The track was recorded during a touring break in August 1974 and featured session pianist David Sancious on piano. This is the version that was the power-house radio hit for Springsteen. Beginning in June 1973 Sancious began to tour regularly with the E Street Band; and legend has it that the band took its name from the street in Belmar, New Jersey, where Sancious' mother lived, as she had allowed the band to rehearse in her home. Sancious left the E Street Band later in the same month that he recorded the track for "Born To Run".

This piano part has never been transcribed before, but here it is now, complete - all 160 measures of David Sancious' piano part, note-for-note. If you want to play Springsteen's radio smash hit with complete accuracy, here is your chance.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run (Album Version - Verse 1)

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run - "Live In New York City" Version - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

When pianist David Sancious left the E Street Band in August of 1974 after recording the album version of "Born To Run", he was replaced by Roy Bittan, who has played piano for the E Street Band ever since. If you've ever been to a Springsteen concert since 1974, you've seen and heard Roy Bittan performing "Born To Run", and Bittan's piano part is quite different from Sancious' radio-hit version, right from the beginning.

Bittan replaced Sancious' intro with his own part, which follows the famous electric guitar riff, and recurs every Chorus. For other parts of the song, Bittan sometimes references a Sancious part here and there, but always with his own spin on it, and often with his hands two octaves apart, which cut through better for live shows. When Clarence Clemons' sax solo begins, Bittan's part is quite different and during the Bridge is completely different from any of Sancious' parts - often using big fat classical-concerto chord voicings in both hands for a very dramatic effect. At the end of the Bridge where the off-beat descending chromatic line occurs, an entire section is inserted that is not on the album version at all - a slow, out-of-time, ascending chromatic line, building the tension until the final Verse kicks in, leading to the strongly rocking Out Section.

The very best recording of this live version is Springsteen's double-CD, "Live in New York City" (2001). Bittan's wonderful, dramatic performance on it has been transcribed note-for-note - all 178 measures. If you've ever wanted to study Roy Bittan's wonderful, rocking style, here it is, complete with his octave runs, punchy right-hand chords, and high tinkly voicings - everything precisely notated.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run ('Live in NYC' Version - Verse 1)

Cat Stevens - Morning Has Broken - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

One of rock's most beautiful piano parts was performed by Rick Wakeman - Cat Stevens' 1972 classic, "Morning Has Broken". Prior to the actual recording Stevens heard Wakeman play something in the recording booth, a rough sketch of what would later become "Catherine Howard". Stevens told Wakeman that he liked it and wanted something similar. Wakeman told Stevens he could not as it was his piece destined for a solo album, but Stevens persuaded him to adapt his composition.

This is a note-for-note transcription of the piano part. Play it exactly as Rick Wakeman recorded it.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is "Morning Has Broken" on YouTube.

Coldplay - Clocks - Piano Part (transcribed & arr. by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Released in 2002, "Clocks" is one of Coldplay's biggest hits. The entire song is piano-driven, and starts off with Chris Martin's famous piano riff that recurs throughout the song. Later in the song a different arpeggiated piano riff is introduced that leads into the Bridge. Immediately after the Bridge, the first piano riff is heard again, followed by the second piano riff, which begins the Out Section, eventually fading out. "Clocks" begins with one distinctive piano riff and ends with another.

This is a transcription of the entire song - all 169 measures. If you'd like to play "Clocks" from beginning to end, this is exactly what you need.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is "Clocks" on YouTube.

Coldplay - The Scientist - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Recorded in 2001 and released in 2002 on their "A Rush of Blood to the Head" album, "The Scientist" is perhaps Coldplay's most hauntingly-beautiful ballad. Piano-based, it begins with eight bars of only Chris Martin's piano, playing its signature 4-bar phrase twice.

The chord voicings are not the common pop/rock voicings, where usually there is a chord in the Right Hand with an octave in the Left Hand. The Left Hand in "The Scientist"  does not play octaves but usually full chords and two-note intervals in voicings that can be a little tricky to pick out. They have never been accurately transcribed before. The Right Hand part also uses some chord voicings that are not commonly found, including some Brian Wilson-influenced inner voicings using Major 9th chords and Major 6th chords.

This is a note-for-note transcription of the entire album-length (5:08) version - all 91 measures. If you'd like to play the haunting piano part on "The Scientist" just as Chris Martin recorded it, here is your chance to do so.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is a video of the album-length version of "The Scientist" on YouTube.

Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Dan Fogelberg, one of rock's most talented writer/musicians, wrote "Same Old Lang Syne" based on a true experience that he had on Christmas Eve of 1976, and it went on to become one of pop music's most beautiful love songs. After graduating in 1969 he and his high school sweetheart had gone to different colleges, and then moved to different states, losing touch with each other. By pure coincidence seven years later they ran into each other at a convenience store in their home town, which they were both visiting for the Christmas holidays. They bought a six-pack of beer and talked in her car for two hours, and although the spark was still there, she had married. Five years later, in 1981, she heard the song on the radio that he'd written about their encounter, and although she had since divorced, kept quiet about it until after his death, concerned that it would disrupt Fogelberg's marriage. Fogelberg himself refused to reveal her identity.

On the recording Fogelberg played all the instruments except drums (Russ Kunkel) and soprano sax (Michael Brecker). His piano part is a true classic. The piano intro starts out almost like a music box, then drops down to the mid-register for the first verse, where it stays for most of the remainder. It is a long song, almost 5 and a half minutes, comprising 122 measures: an Introduction, ten Verses, three Choruses, and an Out section. The piano part sounds simpler than it is, ingeniously divided between two hands, although much of it sounds like one hand - reflecting his wonderful talent as a multi-instrumentalist.

If you'd like to learn one of pop's most beautiful love songs exactly as it was recorded and at the same time increase your knowledge of how a pop piano part can be excellently constructed and performed, "Same Old Lang Syne" is a textbook example. Because of the complexity of picking out all 122 measures note-for-note, this transcription is slightly more expensive than the others, but well worth it. The intro itself is one of the most instantly recognizable piano intros in pop/rock music. Treat yourself to the only precisely accurate transcription available anywhere of Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne".

Difficulty: Moderate

Price: $7.95

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To listen, just click: Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne (Intro Only)

Here is the complete Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne" on YouTube.

Dr. John - Pine Top Boogie - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Dr. John is simply one of the best piano players of all time, a true master of the New Orleans-boogie style. In 1988 he videotaped a video tutorial called "Dr. John Teaches New Orleans Piano" (released by Homespun Tapes) in which he played "Pine Top Boogie" to illustrate his legendary boogie style - his version of "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie", recorded in 1928 by Clarence 'Pine Top' Smith.

This is a note-for-note transcription of the entire piece - all 70 measures. In a minute and fifty seconds Mac Rebennack (Dr. John's real name) shows off many of his trademark tricks: octaves, double-fisted chord tremolos, tremolos in sixths, 'flips', and swirling rhythms, all grounded by a low, growly, rhythmic bass line in the Left Hand - so low that it often goes down to the next-to-the-lowest note on a piano, low B-flat.

If you've ever wanted to see exactly what Dr. John is doing to create his 'sound', this transcription is just what you've been looking for. 

Difficulty: Challenging

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To listen, just click: Dr. John - Pine Top Boogie

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

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To listen, just click: Eagles - Desperado - Piano Intro

Elton John - Levon - Chord Chart & Important Piano Fills (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Elton John is one of rock's greatest pianists, and "Levon" contains some of Elton's greatest piano-playing. Recorded in 1971, the song was inspired by the founder of Elton and Bernie Taupin's favorite band at the time, The Band - Levon Helm. Jon Bon Jovi has even said that "Levon" is his favorite rock song of all time.

Yet for all its greatness, the piano part has never been accurately published. One reason, perhaps, is that after the second Verse other instruments take prominence in the mix, obscuring much of the piano part. However, the most important piano piano parts can be heard well enough to notate: the Intro, the first two Verses, the Choruses, and the beginning of the Out Section.

Taken from the original hit recording (5:22 in length) from the "Madman Across the Water" album, this transcription contains the entire song - 80 measures - mapped out in a beautifully laid-out chord chart showing all of the important piano licks and some of the string lines. When the piano is obscured by the orchestra and other instruments, such as in the Pre-Choruses, the exact piano rhythms are notated so that you can study Elton's wonderful, signature rhythms and re-create them exactly.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is Elton John's "Levon" on YouTube.

Etta James - At Last - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"At Last" is simply one of the most beautiful romantic ballades in R&B and Pop history. Etta James' version, released in 1961, is the definitive version of this classic, originally written in 1941 by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the movie "Orchestra Wives". Celine Dion covered it in 2002, as did Beyonce in 2008, but no version has ever had the pure magic that Etta James' recording did (an excerpt of which was used as a Jaguar commercial in the 1990's).

The piano is very difficult to hear under the other instruments and string orchestra, but this is a note-for-note transcription of the piano part from Etta James' version. The song has some tricky, difficult-to-hear chord changes, but every one is of course notated precisely in this note-for-note transcription of the entire song - all 41 measures - including augmented chords, Major ninth chords, seven-flat-nine chords, sharp-nine chords, ninth chords, thirteenth chords, and various inversions.

And although this is not a transcription of the entire string arrangement, it does include the main string line that begins the recording before Etta's vocal enters (and ends the piece in the Out Section).

If you've ever wanted to play "At Last" but just couldn't get it to sound right - or just wanted to study the amazing chord progressions in it - here is your chance to play it exactly as Etta James recorded it.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is Etta James' "At Last" on YouTube.

If you want not only the piano part but also the bass guitar part (it may be an upright bass on the recording), a transcription is also available that contains the bass part note-for-note - every single bass note of the entire Etta James' recording. This transcription contains both the piano part and the bass part (three staves):

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George Winston - Cloudy This Morning - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

George Winston is simply the most talented New Age pianist/composer on the scene. The first time I saw him was on TV playing a guitar duet with the late, great Chet Atkins. When they were finished, Winston put down his guitar, went to the piano, and played an amazing New Age piece of his own. When the camera showed his hands on the keyboard, they looked absolutely terrible - very bad hand position, almost claw-like, as though he'd never had a lesson in his life. If the sound had been turned down, one would have thought that it must sound amateurish. But the sounds that came out were quite the opposite; the piano playing was terrific. Winston displayed a very high level of creativity and it was clear that he was a creative force to be respected and admired. Clearly Chet Atkins was proud to share the stage with him.

One of the things Winston is good at is creating music that is not just pretty, but goes beyond that to paint a picture - a true soundscape. And "Cloudy This Morning" does just that. Although it's not particularly easy, it's a lot of fun to play, and will take the listener - and the performer - into Winston's own colorful world - a kaleidoscope of tones.

Although some of Winston's compositions have been transcribed, "Cloudy This Morning" (from his album "Forest") has never been made available before. This note-for-note piano transcription will let your own hands recreate just what George Winston's hands must feel like as he paints a picture of a cloudy morning, and the moods that go with it. This is your opportunity to not only play his music precisely as he recorded it, but to also study it and understand better the wonderfully creative mind that conceived it.

Here is George Winston's "Cloudy This Morning" on YouTube.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Groundhog Day - Phil's Boogie - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

In the movie, "Groundhog Day", Bill Murray's character, Phil, plays a scorching-hot boogie that amazes the crowd. Actually composed and performed by session pianist Terry Fryer, the boogie is quite a virtuoso showpiece.

Difficulty: Challenging

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To listen, just click: "Phil's Boogie" from "Groundhog Day".

Here on YouTube (the first 48 seconds) is that scene in the movie.

Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child of Mine - Piano Arrangement/Chord Chart (transcribed & arranged by Elmo Peeler).pdf

The Guns N' Roses' 1988 classic, "Sweet Child of Mine", has no piano in it. This is a simple arrangement based on the exact guitar and bass guitar notes. If you want to play "Sweet Child of Mine" in a band, or to accompany a singer, this is what you need.

The exact guitar notes that open the song, all the way up to when the vocal enters, are included in the Right Hand Part. The Left Hand is the Bass Guitar part, note-for-note. Please note that after the Intro, the Right Hand chords are represented by slashes with chord names above them, so you do need to have a working knowledge of chords and the ability to improvise. This is perfect as a "road map" of the entire song.

Here is Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child of Mine" on YouTube.

Difficulty: Moderate

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The Jeff Beck Group - Going Down - Left Hand Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

In 1972 The Jeff Beck Group released their version of the blues classic, "Going Down". The pianist was Max Middleton, who was classically-trained. His right hand parts are more easily copied than his left hand pattern, which was influenced by Jerry Lee Lewis' left hand patterns. Very few pianists play this challenging 24-bar Left Hand pattern correctly, which is difficult to pick out but necessary to play correctly to accurately capture the feel of the recording.

This note-for-note transcription does not include any Right Hand parts, but is precisely the 24-bar Left Hand pattern, which, at 175 BPM, is challenging to get up to speed, but a lot of fun to play. If you'd like to learn it, here it is, exactly as Max Middleton recorded it.

Difficulty: Moderate

Here is the Jeff Beck Group's "Going Down" on YouTube.

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Joe Cocker - Feelin' Alright (Live) - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Feelin' Alright" is one of rock's classic dance songs. If an audience is going to ever get out of their seats and dance, it will be to "Feelin' Alright". Although written by Dave Mason of Traffic, Joe Cocker's 1969 recording is the definitive version.

The following year when Cocker kicked off his Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour with two nights at Bill Graham's Fillmore East night club in New York City, the concerts were recorded and released as an album. Leon Russell was Musical Director for the tour, and played guitar on "Feelin' Alright". Chris Stainton, who'd been with Cocker since 1966, played piano on this track.

Stainton's piano part throughout the entire song draws heavily from the studio version, played by Artie Butler, but with Stainton's own ideas. His piano solo near the middle of the song resembles Butler's solo very little, except the notable use of the same classic C9 and F13 voicings in the Left Hand. Stainton has his own bag of tricks, with liberal use of octaves, including an octave run that begins on the highest C-octave on the piano and descends over four bars, using the C minor pentatonic scale, until it's in the mid-register. Another octave run, this time an ascending chromatic scale, builds the solo into the piano breakdown. At that point everything stops except the piano (and percussion), which plays eight bars of funky riffs, before the singing and other instruments resume.

This is a note-for-note transcription of Chris Stainton's 32-bar piano solo - all 45 seconds of it.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: Joe Cocker - "Feelin' Alright" (Live) - Piano Solo

John Lennon - Imagine - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

John Lennon thought that "Imagine" was as good as any song he ever wrote with The Beatles. Certainly one of the greatest rock songs ever, a true Classic, Rolling Stone considers it to be in the Top 3 of the Greatest Songs Of All Time.

The piano part - one of the most recognizable piano riffs ever conceived - was first played by John Lennon; but he wasn't completely happy with his own performance so he asked Nicky Hopkins to record over it, using the same notes, but with a more polished performance. The result is that the piano part is a bit murky and it's difficult to hear every note with precision. No sheet music has ever accurately notated it.

However, in 2003 "The Lennon Legend" DVD was released. For the audio part of the remastering of this DVD-project, instead of using the 2-track (mixed) tapes as normally used in these cases, the producers went back to the original multi-track session tapes and remixed the songs from scratch. This resulted in a much clearer piano part that can be transcribed note-perfectly. If you'd like to perform this wonderful, minimalist piano part precisely as John Lennon conceived and Nicky Hopkins performed it, here is your opportunity.

This is the piano part for the entire song - all 56 measures, note-for-note.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Easy

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To listen, just click: John Lennon - Imagine (Instrumental Version - Verse 1)

Liberace - Boogie Woogie - from "Here's Liberace" - Piano Solo (transcribed & arranged by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Liberace became famous because he could play, with a capitol P. Possessing the technique of a classical concert pianist, he loved showing off his technical prowess, especially in that most pianistic of styles: boogie-woogie. One of his favorite boogie-woogies was one very loosely derived from Pinetop Smith's "Pinetop's Boogie". He played this showy, technically challenging boogie since the early 1950's at least, and perhaps as early as the 1940's.

This is a note-for-note accurate transcription of Liberace's "Boogie Woogie" that was recorded live at the London Palladium and released in 1980 on the album, "Here's Liberace". It was part of a three-song medley, "Jalousie/Boogie Woogie/You Made Me Love You".

To play this extroverted Liberace classic well, one must have a strong left hand capable of playing two different classic boogie-woogie left hand patterns (the left hand pattern in Verse 1 is different from the left hand pattern found in all the other verses), plus an extremely articulate and fluid right hand.

Difficulty: Challenging

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To listen to Liberace play this boogie-woogie solo, click here: Boogie Woogie (from 'Here's Liberace')

To see Liberace play a very similar version of this boogie on YouTube, click here: Boogie Woogie (from a 1969 TV show)

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Call Me the Breeze - Piano Solo & End Run (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

This is another great example of Billy Powell's Southern-boogie-rock style at its best. A little over a minute in length and the equivalent of two full verses, the piano solo, from their "Second Helping" album, is packed full of Powell's pianistic tricks: streams of fast, high, filigree single notes, two-handed glissandos, across-the-barline phrasings, tremolos, hammered-on fourths - and all at the very rapid clip of 194 BPM.

Also included in this precise note-for-note transcription is the bass guitar line that supports the wonderful, flashy piano solo. Although it's meant only as a guide as to what the bass is playing during the solo, some adventurous pianists may want to actually play the bass line in the Left Hand while the notes are flying in the Right Hand solo. And some bass players may just want to double-check that they are in fact playing exactly the bass line that Leon Wilkeson recorded.

At the very end Powell plays a wonderful run just to add a cherry on top of this fun, musical sundae. That end run is also included here. The "Call Me the Breeze" solo and end run have never been transcribed before, so take advantage of this opportunity to study exactly how it was played by one of rock's greatest pianists.

To see customers' comments about this transcription, click here and here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Call Me the Breeze - Piano Solo & End Run

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

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To listen, just click: Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Know a Little - Piano Solo

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man - Intro - Arranged for Piano Solo (transcribed & arranged by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Simple Man is one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's greatest songs - a true classic. The three-chord progression was written by Gary Rossington (the only remaining original member of the band), and the words were written by Ronnie Van Zant. Shortly after Van Zant's grandmother and Rossington's mother passed away, they got together in Van Zant's apartment and in about an hour they wrote this song about advice their mothers had given them. Current lead singer Johnny Van Zant has said that it's one of his favorite songs to sing.

The intro is hauntingly beautiful and sets the mood perfectly for the entire song. Beginning with an arpeggiated 16-note figure on just a solo electric guitar, the bass enters in measure three and plays a counterpoint line for four measures. In measure seven the bass increases the counterpoint to an almost Bach-like counter-line to the continued guitar arpeggios, setting the stage perfectly for the vocal entrance in measure nine.

There is no piano part at all in the original recording. But when played on piano, the guitar and bass parts create an almost classical sound - beautiful in its own right, and completely capable of standing alone with no other accompaniment. This piano arrangement is a note-for-note transcription of those guitar and bass parts during the Intro. If you're a guitarist or a bass player, this transcription can help you, too, by showing you the exact notes played on the original recording. If you're a keyboard player, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how wonderful this Lynyrd Skynyrd classic can sound on your piano or organ.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man - Intro (Arranged for 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.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama - Piano Solo

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Workin' - Organ Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Workin'" (also known as "Workin' Man") is the first track on Lynyrd Skynyrd's tenth studio album, "Edge of Forever", recorded in 1999. The Hammond B-3 organ part was played by original member Billy Powell. A driving, classic Southern boogie/rock song sung by Johnny Van Zant, "Workin'" is primarily driven by the guitars, with Powell's organ part remaining in the background, and consisting of only chords and occasional palm glissandos.

This transcription of the entire song - all 127 measures - is not a literal transcription of the organ part, but is similar to a Master Rhythm chart and will enable an organist to play the song even better than just the organ chords would allow. This chart contains not only all the chords and the rhythms of those chord changes, but it also contains a note-for-note transcription of the main guitar parts. These are included so that an organist can play some or all of those parts along with the guitarist to make the organ part more interesting than just chords alone.

Also included are Performance Notes suggesting techniques to improve upon the recorded organ part, e.g., pedal tones to make the Out Section more exciting, and how and where to play "power chords" (open fifths where the third of the chord is omitted).

If you're a keyboard player who wants to play this song but doesn't know how to construct an organ part that's perfect for this guitar-driven Lynyrd Skynyrd classic, this is exactly what you need.

To see a customer's comment about this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Workin'" on YouTube.

Manfred Mann - Blinded by the Light - Organ & Bass Parts (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

In 1977 Manfred Mann's Earth Band had a No. 1 hit with "Blinded by the Light", written by Bruce Springsteen. It was included on their 1976 album, "Roaring Silence", and featured Manfred Mann playing keyboards and Colin Pattenden on bass guitar.

The opening organ lick is a classic, although few players get the exact chord voicings correct. This transcription includes not only that classic organ riff, but the entire organ part in the Intro, 1st Chorus, 1st Verse, and 1st Pre-Chorus - all precisely as recorded by Manfred Mann himself on keyboards. This transcription ends after those four main sections, and it includes the first 47 bars of the song.

The exact bass guitar part for those sections is also included in this note-for-note transcription. Mann is playing nothing with his left-hand, so if you want to play the organ part on a piano or electric piano (or even organ for that matter), this bass part will help it to sound more complete. And if you're a bass player, this precise transcription of the bass part will let you sound just like the recording, complete with the bass slides.

If you're a keyboard player and have wanted to perform Manfred Mann's classic opening riff exactly as he recorded it, this transcription will let you do it.

Difficulty: Easy

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To listen, just click: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded by the Light (Intro, 1st Chorus, 1st Verse, and 1st Pre-Chorus)

Michael Jackson - Earth Song - Piano Part (transcribed & arranged by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Written in a hotel room in Austria, and released in 1995 on "HIStory", "Earth Song" was Michael Jackson's attempt to raise the consciousness of the world regarding the environment and animal welfare. He purposefully kept the melody simple, in a way that many different cultures around the world could relate to and sing.

A solo piano begins "Earth Song", and is soon covered by other instruments and Andrae Crouch's Choir. This is a simple piano part for the entire song - all 89 measures. The piano part is note-for-note accurate until the piano is completely covered by other instruments and the large choir. From that point on, the piano continues in exactly a logical extension of what the pianist might have played. The Left Hand always closely follows the bass line, just as the studio pianist would have done.

If you'd like to perform the piano part for "Earth Song" just as originally recorded, this is perfect for you.

Difficulty: Easy

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Here is Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" on YouTube.

The Marshall Tucker Band - Stay in the Country - Organ Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Stay in the Country" was released in 1990 on The Marshall Tucker Band's 15th album, "Southern Spirit". One of the highlights of the song is Don Cameron's excellently constructed Hammond B-3 solo. Cameron, who played keyboards on three MTB albums, including "Still Smokin'" (1992) and "Walk Outside the Lines" (1993), packs a lot into the solo, including classic B-3 techniques such as holding a note like a pedal tone to build tension while playing other notes around it, quick flat-fingered glissandi used like grace notes, and perfect fourths for power. The chord progression underpinning this solo is D, A minor, C and G; and Cameron's choice of notes is very creative, especially over the C chord.

The exact bass guitar line is also included in this note-for-note transcription of the organ solo.

If you'd like to learn how to play better organ solos, this one is a good example to study.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen to the organ solo, click here: The Marshall Tucker Band - "Stay in the Country" (organ solo)


Pat Benatar - Looking for a Stranger - Organ Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Looking for a Stranger" was released in 1982 on Pat Benatar's fourth album, "Get Nervous", her first album to use Charles Giordano on keyboards. From Brooklyn, New York, Giordano played on Bruce Springsteen's 2006 album, "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions", and in 2008 became the newest member of the E Street Band, after the death of Springsteen's longtime organist Danny Federici.

The organ part in "Looking for a Stranger" is a wonderful, rhythmic, bouncy track that uses several classic rock/pop organ techniques: full-palm glissandi (that Billy Preston pioneered twenty years earlier), rhythmic hand 'slaps' (effectively used by Jon Lord on Deep Purple's "Hush"), a classic Hammond percussion setting during the Verses, and clever pop chord substitutions (A minor over C and B minor over D, in the key of G).

This is a note-for-note transcription of the entire song - all 140 measures. If you'd like to study how one of rock's best organists has constructed and recorded an outstanding keyboard part, and learn how to play it yourself, this transcription is exactly what you need.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: Pat Benatar - Looking for a Stranger (Intro, 1st Verse & 1st Chorus)

Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Maybe I'm Amazed" was written in 1969 by Paul McCartney shortly before the breakup of The Beatles, and was released in 1970 on his first solo album, "McCartney". Later, in 1977, his band, "Wings", released a single of a live performance of the song from the band's 1976 tour of America, which became a top-ten hit in the United States. This is a transcription of the 1970 studio version.

Although most people don't think of McCartney as being a great piano player, he certainly has recorded some outstanding piano parts: Lady Madonna, Let It Be, and this song. In fact, on Maybe I'm Amazed he played all the instruments: guitars, drums, organ and piano. The piano part includes lots of pianistic goodies: gospel-influenced grace notes, creative use of inversions, chromatic runs, effective dynamics, and unusual chord voicings (sometimes adding a minor third into a Major chord). If you want to study Paul McCartney's piano style, this is an excellent example.

This is a note-for-note transcription of piano part for the entire song - all 73 measures - 3:49 in length. A little of the Hammond B-3 organ part is also included (in the third Chorus). If you want to play "Maybe I'm Amazed" precisely as Paul McCartney recorded it, this will show you how.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" on YouTube.

Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale - Organ Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

One of the greatest Hammond organ parts ever recorded is Matthew Fisher's Bach-influenced performance on "A Whiter Shade of Pale". In 2003 Procol Harum performed an even longer, absolutely terrific version in their "Live at the Union Chapel" concert. The original recording was 4:03 in length; the "Live at the Union Chapel" performance is 7:02, three minutes longer! Matthew Fisher plays not only his classic original parts, but adds about three minutes of equally awesome new material!

If you'd like to have all the intricacies of Matthew Fisher's organ parts revealed to you, so that you can study them, learn them, and perform them yourself exactly as he does, this note-for-note transcription of both hands - every organ note - is your solution. It's really an amazing organ part - all 123 measures!.

To see a customer's comment on this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is Procol Harum's 2003 "Live at the Union Chapel" performance on YouTube.

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

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To listen, just click: Ray Charles - What'd I Say (Intro, Verses 1&2)

Ray Charles - Sweet Sixteen Bars - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

In 1957 Ray Charles recorded one of the greatest slow gospel-blues instrumentals ever, "Sweet Sixteen Bars", a long (4:07), completely instrumental performance of wall-to-wall Ray Charles' piano.

The sparse instrumentation of only piano, bass and drums allows Ray's piano to stand out and shine, with no distractions. There are no vocals whatsoever, and no other solos - no bass solo, no drum solo - only the genius himself transforming his piano into a slow acoustic piano sermon, speaking from his very soul.

And slow it is - Not to get too technical, but the piece is in 6/4, which by definition contains two beats per measure, each beat subdivided into three quarter notes. His tempo begins at a very slow 36 BPM and actually slows down further over the course of the four minutes until it reaches a molasses-slow tempo of 31 BPM!

If you want to study Ray Charles' amazing gospel-blues piano style, there is no better recording than this classic.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is Ray's 1957 performance on YouTube.

Ricky Skaggs - Country Boy - Piano Solo (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

In 1984 Ricky Skaggs released his sixth studio album, "Country Boy". The title track was a #1 country music hit in 1985, and contains some very virtuosic instrumental solos - the piano solo is smokin'! Although only 15 seconds long, the piano solo blazes away at 167 BPM (Beats Per Minute) with a steady, machine-gun stream of 16th notes.

The pianist incorporates lots of showy pianistic techniques: repeated notes, 'yodeling' sixths, ragtime flourishes, ascending octaves - a total of 172 notes in the right hand alone - that is averaging almost 12 notes every second!

This is a note-for-note transcription of the entire 10-bar piano solo - a textbook study in flashy country/bluegrass piano.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: Ricky Skaggs - "Country Boy" (Piano Solo)

The Rolling Stones - Cool, Calm and Collected - Intro & 1st Two Verses - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Cool, Calm and Collected" was released in 1967 on The Rolling Stones' "Between the Buttons" album, and featured a remarkable barrelhouse/ragtime piano track played by Jack Nitzsche, recorded in November 1966. A remarkably talented musician, Nitzsche wrote pop songs, "Needles and Pins", "Up Where We Belong" (for which he won an Academy Award for Best Song), arranged a number of pop/rock hits, including "River Deep and Mountain High" by Ike & Tina Turner and the choral arrangement for The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and also composed movie scores, including those for "The Exorcist" and "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest".

Nitzsche's piano part in "Cool, Calm and Collected" starts the song out with a rollicking barrelhouse piano solo, with the Left Hand full of octaves descending into the lowest registers of the piano while the Right Hand has fun with ragtime-influenced rhythms and voicings. When the vocals enter in the First Verse, the Right Hand piano voicings change to fistfuls of octaves with the Left Hand thumping away in the low registers. There is even a strong reference to Jerry Lee Lewis's style in the first two measures of the Second Verse before resuming an exotic ragtime flavor.

The Rolling Stones used a number of pianists over the years, including Ian Stewart and Nicky Hopkins, but few of their recordings display such a wonderful, eclectic piano part as does "Cool, Calm and Collected". This is a note-for-note transcription of the Intro and first two verses of this early Rolling Stones classic (there is no piano part in the Choruses).

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen, just click: The Rolling Stones - Cool, Calm and Collected (Intro & 1st two Verses)

Sopwith Camel - Hello, Hello - Piano Part (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

Sopwith Camel, remembered as part of the San Francisco psychedelic rock music scene of the late 1960's, was the second San Francisco-based band to be signed by a major record company, right after Jefferson Airplane and just before the Grateful Dead. And they were the very first San Francisco-based band to have a hit record -  "Hello, Hello", in January 1967. Their producer, Erik Jacobsen, also produced The Lovin' Spoonful, and later Norm Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky". Although they disbanded after less than two years, during their short life they set attendance records that surpassed such groups as the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

Founding member Terry MacNeil composed "Hello, Hello" and played one of rock's greatest tack piano parts on it - a wonderful ragtime/vaudeville/honky-tonk track that he created in the studio in only one night. The intro was a loose translation of a song MacNeil had learned on guitar, Chet Atkins' "Trambone". The boom-chuck Left Hand part was influenced by MacNeil's mother's piano style, herself an excellent pianist from an earlier era. The classic tack piano track is a textbook study in honky-tonk/vaudeville piano techniques, incorporating tremolos, minimalistic Right Hand & Left Hand voicings rarely playing more than two-notes at the time, and ragtime/honky-tonk rhythms.

This is a note-for-note precise transcription of the tack piano part for the entire song - all 79 measures. If you'd like to recreate a classic 1960's flower-power song exactly as it was played on the record, and study a textbook-perfect tack piano track at the same time, here is your chance.

To see a comment about this transcription from the original pianist that recorded the track, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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To listen to the first part of the song, click here: "Hello, Hello" (Intro, Chorus & Verse only)

Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride (Live) - Organ Intro (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

"Magic Carpet Ride", a true rock classic, was Steppenwolf's second-biggest hit (behind "Born To Be Wild"), released in 1968 on their album "The Second". The studio version does not have an organ solo for an Intro. However, Steppenwolf's later live performances do begin the song with a flashy, gothic B-3 Hammond organ solo by Michael Wilk, using free-timing, palm glissandi, and some fun runs using the Dorian mode.

This note-for-note transcription starts at the very beginning of the piece (a low-pitched palm glissando), and continues through the entire Intro (which is an organ solo), and then ends right after the vocal enters at Verse 1 - about 49 seconds into the song. In addition to the entire organ Intro, the main 2-bar pattern that kicks off the first verse is also included.

If you'd like to play this rock classic exactly as Steppenwolf themselves perform it - or just to study how Michael Wilks constructed this wonderful, virtuosic B-3 solo - here's your chance.

Difficulty: Moderate

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Here is the video of this Live performance of "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf on YouTube.

Woody Woodpecker Theme - Piano Solo by BrasilianMusician (transcribed by Elmo Peeler).pdf

There's a terrific piano solo version of "The Woody Woodpecker Theme" posted onto YouTube by "BrasilianMusician" in a wonderful, honky-tonk style. Apparently BrasilianMusician's real name is Fabricio Paulo (or Fabricio Vinheteiro),  a talented South American professional pianist who has his own web site where he plays a wide variety of styles and pieces, from other TV show themes to Chopin.

This is a note-for-note transcription of his arrangement of the "Woody Woodpecker Song", which first appeared in Woody Woodpecker cartoons in 1948. This arrangement for piano solo incorporates a lot of the honky-tonk piano techniques used by saloon pianists in Western movies and TV shows, including a stride-style Left Hand, and three-note voicings of the melody where the Right Hand plays octaves plus a third note voiced a third under the top note, giving the piece a honky-tonk/ragtime style - sort of a Woody-Woodpecker-Meets-Miss-Kitty-in-the-Longbranch-Saloon feeling.

If you want to learn a short (just under a minute in length) but virtuosic piece to show off to friends that's guaranteed to bring a big smile to the face of everyone who hears it, this is perfect. It's a blast to learn and to perform!

To see a customer's comment on this transcription, click here.

Difficulty: Challenging

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Here is the Woody Woodpecker Theme as played by "BrasilianMusician" on YouTube.
 

 

Other Great Piano & Organ Parts:
(you can speed up these transcriptions by commissioning them)
 

The Crusaders - Put It Where You Want It (Electric Piano Part).pdf

Booker T. & The MG's - Green Onions (Organ Solo).pdf

The Beatles - Rocky Raccoon (Honky-tonk Piano Part).pdf

The Animals - The House of the Rising Sun.pdf

The Animals - Bring It on Home to Me (Piano Part).pdf

George Winston - Before Barbed Wire.pdf

Elton John - Tiny Dancer (Intro).pdf

Groundhog Day (the movie) - 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.


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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

To see a customer's comment about this piece, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

To listen, just click: Elmo Peeler - Tremolo Boogie

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Coming Soon:

Elmo Peeler - The Four-on-the-Floor Boogie.pdf

Elmo Peeler - The Science Fair Boogie.pdf

Elmo Peeler - The Beijing Boogie (aka The Chalmers Johnson 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

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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.

To see a customer's comment about this arrangement, click here.

Difficulty: Moderate

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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.
 


Classical Style Piano Solos:
 

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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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Elmo Peeler - Blues Exercise No.8 (The Worst Thing in My Life).pdf

This is a wonderful exercise in how to play old-school blues, and is based upon the piano part from B.B. King's "The Worst Thing in My Life", recorded in 1964. Comprised of 24 measures - two 12-bar blues phrases - this is a slightly simplified version of the original piano part. Each of the two sections has a different Right Hand blues pattern, with the first 12 bars using stabbing 7th and 9th chords, and the second 12 bars using tinkling thirds in a higher register - perfect as an introduction to learning the rhythms and voicings of that wonderful early blues style.

Difficulty: Easy

To listen to the original version of the two 12-bar phrases, just click: B.B. King - The Worst Thing in My Life - Blues Exercise

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Coming Soon:

Elmo Peeler - The Leon Russell Exercise
 


Free Sheet Music
 

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.

If you need the entire song, not just the main piano riff, click here.
 

 

A Piano Arrangement of Ricky Nelson's "Tracy's Song" is available.

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.
 


 

Accurate piano transcriptions of The Beach Boys songs are available.

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.
 


 

Note-for-note piano transcriptions and chord charts are available for Rod Stewart songs.

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.

If you're interested in piano lessons via Skype,  see International Piano Teacher.

For wonderful piano recordings, go to the Recordings Page.

ManyMIDI Products
Beverly Hills, CA
323-650-6602
sheetmusic@manymidi.com

Last modified: January 27, 2012