So What
by Miles Davis
" So What " is the first track on the 1959 album Kind of Blue by American trumpeter Miles Davis.
It is one of the best known examples of modal jazz, set in the Dorian mode and consisting of 16 bars of D Dorian, followed by eight bars of E♭ Dorian and another eight of D Dorian. This AABA structure puts it in the thirty-two-bar format of American popular song.
The piano-and-bass introduction for the piece was written by Gil Evans for Bill Evans (no relation) and Paul Chambers on Kind of Blue. An orchestrated version by Gil Evans of this introduction is later to be found on a television broadcast given by Miles' first quintet (minus Cannonball Adderley who was ill that day) and the Gil Evans Orchestra; the orchestra gave the introduction, after which the quintet played the rest of "So What". The use of the double bass to play the main theme makes the piece unusual. This arrangement was later performed and recorded as part of the album Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall.
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SoWhat.mp4"]
Smooth Criminal
by Michael Jackson
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" Smooth Criminal " is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his seventh studio album Bad (1987). It was written by Jackson, and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released as the album's seventh single on November 14, 1988. It features lyrics about a woman who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth criminal". The refrain "Annie, are you OK?" was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in CPR training.
"Smooth Criminal" peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the sixth top 10 single from Bad. It also peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart. It was certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song reached number one in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands and Spain. Though "Smooth Criminal" was not one of the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, in retrospective reviews it has been regarded as one of the best songs on Bad and one of Jackson's signature songs. It has appeared on numerous greatest hits albums and was performed on all of Jackson's solo tours.
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SmoothCriminal.mp4"]
Lyrics
Smooth Criminal
As he came into the window
Was a sound of a crescendo
He came into her apartment
He left the bloodstains on the carpet
She ran underneath the table
He could see she was unable
So she ran into the bedroom
She was struck down, it was her doom
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay?
Are you okay, Annie?
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay?
Are you okay, Annie?
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay?
Are you okay, Annie?
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay? Are you okay Annie?
Annie are you okay?
Will you tell us that you're okay?
There's a sign at the window
That he struck you, a crescendo Annie
He came into your apartment
Left the bloodstains on the carpet
Then you ran into the bedroom
You were struck down
It was your doom
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay?
Are you okay, Annie?
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay?
Are you okay, Annie?
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay?
Are you okay, Annie?
You've been hit by
You've been hit by
A smooth criminal
So they came into the outway
It was Sunday, what a black day
Mouth to mouth resuscitation
Sounding heartbeats, intimidation
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay
Are you okay, Annie
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay
Are you okay, Annie
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay?
Are you okay, Annie?
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay? Are you okay Annie?
Annie are you okay?
Will you tell us that you're okay?
There's a sign at the window
That he struck you, a crescendo Annie
He came into your apartment
Left the bloodstains on the carpet
Then you ran into the bedroom
You were struck down
It was your doom
Annie, are you okay?
So, Annie are you okay?
Are you okay, Annie?
You've been hit by
You've struck by
A smooth criminal
Annie are you okay?
(I don't know)
Will you tell us that you're okay?
(I don't know)
There's a sign at the window
(I don't know)
That he struck you, a crescendo Annie
(I don't know)
He came into your apartment
(I don't know)
Left the bloodstains on the carpet
(I don't know why, baby)
Then you ran into the bedroom
(I don't know)
You were struck down
It was your doom, Annie (dag gone it)
Annie are you okay?
(Dag gone it, baby)
Will you tell us that you're okay?
(Dag gone it, baby)
There's a sign at the window
(Dag gone it, baby)
That he struck you, a crescendo Annie
He came into your apartment
(Dag gone it)
Left the bloodstains on the carpet
Then you ran into the bedroom
You were struck down
(Dag gone it)
It was your doom, Annie
Songwriters: Michael Jackson
Playlist of Tutorials for Songs from Ellington, Duke (List Ordered by Song Name) A B C D E F G H I J K L…
I'm Beginning To See The Light
by Ellington/ Hodges/ James
" I’m Beginning To See The Light " is a popular song and jazz standard, written by Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James, and published in 1944. Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots featuring Bill Kenny recorded a version in 1945, that was on the pop song hits list for six weeks in 1945, reaching #5. A competing 1945 recording by Harry James and his Orchestra, with lead vocal by Kitty Kallen reached No. 1 for two weeks in January of that year. James' version of the song reached No. 7 on Billboard's Second Annual High School Survey in 1945. Duke Ellington also released in 1945 a version, vocal by Joya Sherrill, which reached the top ten.
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ImBeginningToSeeTheLight.mp4"]
Lyrics
I’m Beginning To See The Light
I never cared much for moonlit skies
I never wink back at fireflies
But now that the stars are in your eyes
I'm beginning to see the light
I never went in for afterglow
Or candlelight on the mistletoe
But now when you turn the lamp down low
I'm beginning to see the light
Used to ramble through the park
Shadowboxing in the dark
Then you came and caused a spark
That's a four-alarm fire now
I never made love by lantern-shine
I never saw rainbows in my wine
But now that your lips are burning mine
I'm beginning to see the light
Songwriters: Edward Kennedy Ellington / Don George / Harry James / Johnny Hodges
Here's That Rainy Day
by Jimmy Van Heusen
" Here’s That Rainy Day " is a popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke that was published in 1953. It was introduced by Dolores Gray in the Broadway musical Carnival in Flanders.
Frank Sinatra recorded the song on March 25, 1959, for the Capitol album No One Cares, arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins. Sinatra performed it on a Timex-sponsored show entitled The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: An Afternoon with Frank Sinatra broadcast on December 13, 1959, and on the Emmy-nominated Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing, broadcast on November 25, 1968. On November 18, 1973, he performed it on his television comeback special, Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra, in a medley with "Last Night When We Were Young" and "Violets for Your Furs". Sinatra also performed the song during three concerts in 1974 at Caesar's Palace in Philadelphia and Saratoga, New York.
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/HeresThatRainyDay.mp4"]
Lyrics
Here’s That Rainy Day
Maybe I should have saved those left over dreams
Funny, but here's that rainy day
Here's that rainy day they told me about
And I laughed at the thought that it might turn out this way
Where is that worn out wish that I threw aside
After it brought my lover near
It's funny how love becomes a cold rainy day
Funny, that rainy day is here
Funny how love becomes a cold rainy day
Funny, that rainy day is here
Songwriters: Jimmy Van Heusen / Johnny Burke
Playlist of Tutorials for Songs from Minecraft (List Ordered by Song Name) A B C D E F G H I J K L M…
Haggstrom
by Daniel Rosenfeld
" Haggstrom " is the soundtrack to the 2009 Mojang video game Minecraft was primarily composed by German musician Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C418. In the legacy console editions of the game, there are 12 additional songs available in DLC for the game, composed by Gareth Coker. Later on, in the game's history, Lena Raine composed 4 tracks for the game. The game's soundtrack is mostly instrumental ambient music. It has been praised by critics; in 2011, the video game blog Kotaku chose the soundtrack as one of the best video game soundtracks of that year. Minecraft's soundtrack was released across two soundtrack albums, Minecraft – Volume Alpha (2011), and Minecraft – Volume Beta (2013). Both albums include music featured in the game, as well as other music included in trailers, and instrumentals that were not included in the game's final release. In 2015, Rosenfeld hinted at a potential upcoming third album for Minecraft's soundtrack. In 2017, Rosenfeld confirmed the future release, claiming the album "is still far from done".
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Haggstrom.mp4"]
Playlist of Tutorials for Songs from Davis, Miles (List Ordered by Song Name) A B C D E F G H I J K L…
All Blues
by Miles Davis
" All Blues " is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album Kind of Blue. It is a twelve-bar blues in 64; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of seventh chords, with a ♭VI in the turnaround instead of just the usual V chord. In the composition's original key of G this chord is an E♭7. "All Blues" is an example of modal blues in G mixolydian.
A particularly distinctive feature of the piece is the bass line that repeats through the whole piece, except when a V or ♭VI chord is reached (the 9th and 10th bars of a chorus). Further, there is a harmonically similar vamp that is played by the horns (the two saxophones in the case of Kind of Blue) at the beginning and then (usually) continued by the piano under any solos that take place. Each chorus is usually separated by a four-bar vamp which acts as an introduction to the next solo/chorus.
While originally an instrumental piece, lyrics were later added by Oscar Brown Jr.
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/AllBlues.mp4"]
Lyrics
All Blues
The sea, the sky, the you and I
The sea, the sky, for you and I
I'll know we're all blues
All Shades, all hues, all blues
Some blues are sad
But some are glad,
Dark-sad or bright-gald
They're all blues
All shades, all hues, all blues
The color of colors
The blues are more than a color
They're a moan of pain
A Taste of strife
And a sad refrain
A game which lif is pplayin'
Blues can be the livin' dues
We're all a-payin'
Yeah, Oh Lord
In a rainbow
A summer day that's fair
A parayer is prayed
A lament that's made
Some shade of blues is there;
Blue heaven's hue,
They're all blues
Talkin' 'bout the sea and the sky
Andi'm talkin' 'bout you and I
The sea, the sky
For you and I
And I know we're all blues
All shades,
All hues,
All blues
Sea, sky, you and I
See the sky, you and I
All Blues
All shades, all hues, all blues
Songwriters: Miles Davis / Oscar Brown Jr.
Playlist of Tutorials for Songs from Perry, Katy (List Ordered by Song Name) A B C D E F G H I J K L…
Dark Horse
by Katy Perry
" Dark Horse " is a song by American singer Katy Perry featuring rapper Juicy J. It was originally released on September 17, 2013, by Capitol Records as the first promotional single from Perry's fourth studio album, Prism (2013). Three months later, it was released as the third official single on December 17. Both artists co-wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin, Cirkut, and Dr. Luke, alongside Sarah Hudson. It was conceived by Perry and Hudson during a writing session in Perry's hometown of Santa Barbara, California, and Juicy J was later commissioned for a verse on the song.
"Dark Horse" combines the genres of trap, hip hop, pop-rap and electropop, replicating what has been described as a "Southern rap-techno mashup". The track features a minimal production, with a "seductive" and "mature" tone to Perry's vocals, while Juicy J is featured on the song's intro and rapped bridge. Perry, in interviews, said she wanted the song to have a "witchy, spell-y kind of black magic-y idea", so she wrote it from the perspective of a witch warning a man not to fall in love with her because if he does, she will be his last. The song was part of a competition sponsored by Pepsi in which fans could vote via Twitter on whether they would prefer either "Dark Horse" or "Walking on Air" to be released as the first promotional single from Prism.
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/DarkHorse.mp4"]
Lyrics
Dark Horse
I knew you were
You were gonna come to me
And here you are
But you better choose carefully
'Cause I'm capable of anything
Of anything and everything
Make me your Aphrodite
Make me your one and only
But don't make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy
So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know whatcha falling for
Baby do you dare to do this
'Cause I'm coming atcha like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, a perfect storm
'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
There's no going back
Mark my words
This love will make you levitate
Like a bird
Like a bird without a cage
But down to earth
If you choose to walk away, don't walk away
It's in the palm of your hand now baby
It's a yes or no, no maybe
So just be sure before you give it up to me
Up to me, give it up to me
So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know whatcha falling for
Baby do you dare to do this
'Cause I'm coming atcha like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, a perfect storm
'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
There's no going back
She's a beast
I call her Karma
She eat your heart out
Like Jeffrey Dahmer
Be careful
Try not to lead her on
Shawty's heart was on steroids
'Cause her love was so strong
You may fall in love
When you meet her
If you get the chance you better keep her
She swears by it but if you break her heart
She turn cold as a freezer
That fairy tale ending with a knight in shining armor
She can be my Sleeping Beauty
I'm gon' put her in a coma
Woo! Damn I think I love her
Shawty so bad
I'm sprung and I don't care
She got me like a roller coaster
Turn the bedroom into a fair
Her love is like a drug
I was tryna hit it and quit it
But lil' mama so dope
I messed around and got addicted
So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know whatcha falling for
Baby do you dare to do this
'Cause I'm coming atcha like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, a perfect storm
'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
There's no going back
Songwriters: Lukasz Gottwald / Jordan Houston / Sarah Hudson / Martin Max / Katy Perry / Henry Russell Walter
Lady
by Lionel Richie
" Lady " is a song written by Lionel Richie and first recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in September 1980 on the album Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits. It is listed at #60 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. The song was written and produced by Lionel Richie, recorded in 1980, and ranks among Kenny Rogers's biggest hits. Rogers once told an interviewer, "The idea was that Lionel would come from R&B and I'd come from country, and we'd meet somewhere in pop."
The success of "Lady" also boosted Richie's career. The production work on the song was his first outside the Commodores and foreshadowed his success as a solo act during the 1980s. Rogers was also a featured vocalist on "We Are the World", co-written by Richie. Richie performed "Lady" himself on his 1998 album, Time, and he and Rogers performed the song as a duet on Richie's 2012 release Tuskegee. Lionel Richie had originally pitched this song to the Commodores and they turned it down. Then later, it was given to Kenny Rogers to record and it became the biggest selling hit single for him as a solo artist.
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Lady.mp4"]
Lyrics
Lady
Lady, I'm your knight in shining armor and I love you
You have made me what I am and I'm yours
My love, there's so many ways I want to say I love you
Let me hold you in my arms forever more
You have gone and made me such a fool
I'm so lost in your love
And oh, we belong together
Won't you believe in my song?
Lady, for so many years I thought I'd never find you
You have come into my life and, made me whole
Forever let me wake to see you each and every morning
Let me hear you whisper softly in my ear
In my eyes I see no one else but you
There's no other love like our love
Oh yes, I'll always want you near me
I've waited for you for so long
Oh, Lady, your love's the only love I need
And beside me is where I want you to be
'cause,'cos, my love, my love, there's somethin' I want you to know
You're the love of my life, of my life, you're my lady
You're my lady
Songwriters: Lionel Richie
Playlist of Tutorials for Songs from Ballads (List Ordered by Song Name) A B C D E F G H I J K L M…
Ballade Pour Adeline
by Paul de Senneville
" Ballade Pour Adeline " is a 1977 instrumental by Richard Clayderman, composed by Paul de Senneville. Paul de Senneville composed the piece as a tribute to his newborn daughter, Adeline. World-wide sales of the recording now have reached 22 million copies in 38 countries. It remains Clayderman's signature hit. In 1976, Richard Clayderman (real name Philippe Pagès) received a telephone call from Olivier Toussaint, a well-known French record producer, who, with his partner, Paul de Senneville, was looking for a pianist to record a gentle piano ballad. Paul had composed this ballad as a tribute to his new born second daughter “Adeline”. The 23-year-old Philippe Pagès was auditioned along with 20 other hopefuls and, to his amazement, he got the job. "We liked him immediately", says Paul de Senneville, "His very special and soft touch on the keyboards combined with his reserved personality and good looks very much impressed Olivier Toussaint and I. We made our decision very quickly".
Philippe Pagès' name was changed to Richard Clayderman (he adopted his great-grandmother's last name to avoid mispronunciation of his real name outside France), and the single took off, selling an astonishing 22 million copies in 38 countries. It was called "Ballade pour Adeline". "When I signed him", says Olivier Toussaint, "I told him that if we sell 10,000 singles it will be marvellous, because it was disco at that time and we could not bet on such a ballad being a winner... We could not imagine that it would be so big".
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BalladePourAdeline.mp4"]
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Still Loving You
by Scorpions
" Still Loving You " is a power ballad by the German rock band Scorpions. It was released in July 1984 as the second single from their ninth studio album, Love at First Sting (1984). The song reached number 64 on Billboard Hot 100. In an interview with Songfacts, Rudolf Schenker explained, "It's a story about a love affair, where they recognized it may be over, but let's try again".
[video width="640" height="360" mp4="https://www.easypianoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/StillLovingYou.mp4"]
Lyrics
Still Loving You
Time, it needs time
To win back your love again
I will be there
I will be there
Love, only love
Can bring back your love someday
I will be there
I will be there
Fight, babe, I'll fight
To win back your love again
I will be there
I will be there
Love
Only love
Can break down the wall someday
I will be there
I will be there
If we'd go again
All the way from the start
I would try to change
Things that killed our love
Your pride has built a wall, so strong
That I can't get through
Is there really no chance
To start once again
I'm loving you
Try
Baby try
To trust in my love again
I will be there
I will be there
Love, our love
Just shouldn't be thrown away
I will be there
I will be there
If we'd go again
All the way from the start
I would try to change
Things that killed our love
Your pride has built a wall, so strong
That I can't get through
Is there really no chance
To start once again
If we'd go again
All the way from the start
I would try to change
Things that killed our love
Yes, I've hurt your pride, and I know
What you've been through
You should give me a chance
This can't be the end
I'm still loving you
I'm still loving you
I'm still loving you
I need your love
I'm still loving you
Still loving you baby
I'm still loving you
I need your love
I'm still loving you
I need your love
I'm still loving you
I need your love
I need your love
Songwriters: Klaus Meine / Rudolf Schenker
