Upper Hands Piano Blog

Happy September! It’s an important month in my family because my husband’s birthday is September 28th, and he likes to have BIG celebrations with lots of people and lots of music.

The song Happy Birthday to You is one of the most requested songs in a pianist’s repertoire. When we add a piano accompaniment to our singing it just sounds SO MUCH more FULL! I thought I would offer you a few arrangements of Happy Birthday so that you can serenade your loved ones on their big day.

First I have the “Easy” arrangement which might not feel so easy if you are a beginner. You can always just start by playing the right hand melody alone, and writing the letters next to any notes you don’t yet know. Notice that I am playing the eighth notes with a “swing” rhythm- an uneven long-short jaunty rhythm to give the tune a little bounce. This arrangement will only be posted for a year, so print today!

Print HAPPY BIRTHDAY (Easy Arrangement)

Next is my Intermediate arrangement of Happy Birthday, which is on p.24 of my Upper Hands Piano, BOOK 4. On this page I suggest that Happy Birthday might be a great song to memorize for those times when you might be called upon to provide accompaniment for an impromptu birthday celebration! Once again you can use the ending phrase as an introduction:

Finally, for the more advanced pianist, I arranged Happy Birthday using some jazz chords. There is no intro on this one; just nod your head and start singing to indicate to your fellow singers to start singing with you. Your notes will extend into a dramatic ending as the singers hold out the last “…you.”

Whew! That’s a lot of celebrating! Which arrangement will you be playing? I enjoy them all, but I must admit I’m a sucker for the edgy, slightly dissonant sound of jazz chords.

Sorry my free arrangement was a little late this month. I’ve gotten caught up in a lot of musical projects and lost track of my dates! I hope you have a lovely September as the air cools a bit, and we start the countdown to my very favorite season: Autumn. I hope the air is clean and clear wherever you are in the world, and that you are enjoying the longer nights with a return to some indoor activities such as reading books, journaling, cooking, drinking hot drinks and playing the piano! With love and music, Gaili

Hi Piano Pals

I’ve been wanting to arrange the George Gershwin fav ‘S Wonderful since it came into the public domain this year. So many great singers have recorded it but my favorite is João Gilberto‘s beautiful, sexy performance that was featured in the film Eat, Pray, Love. You might notice that Gilberto sings the melody “in front of the beat,” meaning that he often sings the lyrics too soon. But his band keeps the beat and he never gets too far ahead. While you might not be lucky enough to have a band playing a percussive accompaniment, you can play the melody and chords on piano, and even sing the lyrics! This is an intermediate arrangement:

Print: ‘S Wonderful (intermediate)

The intermediate arrangement will only be available for one year (through July 2024) so print today!

If the chords feel too complicated to play, download my simplified arrangement:

I hope you are managing to stay cool and hydrated if you are in a searing hot climate right now. I suggest that you get in the habit of keeping a water bottle or spill-proof flask near (not on) your piano/keyboard and take sips regularly as you play. I have several students who were taken to the emergency room because of dehydration (and it wasn’t even summer); dehydration is very dangerous, and easily preventable, so drink up! (Sorry, not alcohol, which is dehydrating.)

How is your summer going? What are you playing this month? We want to hear all about it!

Stay cool and be well, with love and music, Gaili

P.S. If you are new to this blog, welcome! I am a veteran piano teacher of 36 years! I post free sheet music every month, arranged for beginning to intermediate piano students, plus posts and worksheets to motivate and inform. I have written piano instruction books for older adults (UpperHandsPiano.com), younger adults and teens (PianoPowered.com), Songs of the Seasons piano sheet music books for seasonal classical and popular favorites, and my latest piano/guitar/vocals books called The Music Remedy – sheet music collections to restore and revitalize the spirit. Check out my books on the websites above, or click below to view them on Amazon.com.

Happy July, pianisti (that’s pianists, in Italian)!

For the last couple of months I have been consumed with preparing for my trip to Europe for my daughter’s wedding. She married her lovely Italian man in Barolo, a gorgeous wine region in the Piedmont District of Italy. I had a wonderful time at the wedding and was so happy to be celebrating with family and friends, famiglia e amichi. This month I am spreading the Italian love by giving away free sheet music for Giacomo Puccini’s Musetta’s Waltz. Musetta’s Waltz gained popular attention when it played throughout the film Moonstruck, a romantic comedy starring Cher and Nicolas Cage, in 1987. I arranged this piece for my piano instruction book series for older adults, Upper Hands Piano: A Method for Adults 50+ to Spark the Mind, Heart and Soul (BOOK 3) because it is so melodic and beautiful; it’s the quintessential Italian aria. Notice in the sheet music that there is a highlighted bass measure; practice this left hand chord progression first, as it’s a little tricky to play.

PRINT MUSETTA’S WALTZ (simplified)

Remember: my free sheet music is only available for 1 year, so print it today!

Intermediate and advanced pianists might like to play this original arrangement. Just ignore the top vocal line of each staff:

Now that I am back home, still savoring memories of the beautiful wedding, I’m also excited to get back to my routines and practices. On Sundays I like to do my scheduling for the week. I schedule meditation, exercise, piano, accordion and French practice for the week into my phone calendar. It’s so easy to let days go by without getting to the piano bench or other desired activities, so I find that when I schedule them in, I do them, and end the day feeling content and accomplished. Of course I want to leave room for spontaneity and don’t want to feel over-scheduled, so I try to keep my expectations realistic.

Do you have activities you want to pursue or skills you would like to improve this summer? Please share your summer projects and tell us what pieces you are working on.

With love and music, Gaili

P.S. If you are new to this blog, welcome! I am a veteran piano teacher of 35 years! I post free sheet music every month, arranged for beginning to intermediate piano students, plus worksheets, practice tips and information on music and the brain (see the sidebar for previous posts ➡️). I have written piano instruction books for older adults (UpperHandsPiano.com), younger adults and teens (PianoPowered.com), Songs of the Seasons easy/intermediate piano sheet music books for seasonal classical and popular favorites, and my latest intermediate/advanced piano/guitar/vocals books called The Music Remedy: sheet music collections to restore and revitalize the spirit. Check out my books on the websites above, or click below to view a few of them on Amazon.com.

Happy March Piano Peeps!

I have a remedy for your poor frozen fingers! Playing The Blues should give them a good thaw!

If you are a more experienced player, you might be curious about playing The Blues. One Blues style is Boogie-Woogie, and it is primarily a piano genre featuring a repeating percussive bass part. I wanted to give you a little lesson in Boogie-Woogie Blues because it sounds SO great. Though it’s difficult to learn, it is also a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. The structure is a 12 measure repeating pattern. Boogie is all about the bass, and I’ll show you that the way you play the bass eighth notes will determine whether it will sound like Rock and Roll, or a traditional Blues. You will notice this sign in the bass staff:

˙/.

It simply means to repeat the (bass) notes from the previous measure.

NOTE: Less experienced piano players can play just the downbeats, which means beats 1, 2, 3 and 4. Leave off the upbeats, or the “ands” (the second eighth note of each eighth note couplet) for a simpler, but still Boogie Blues piano bass.

Here is the sheet music on my website:

Print THE BLUES #1-2

⇧This sheet music will only be available for a year, until February 2024, so print today!⇧

When you play the Boogie left hand eighth notes evenly, it sounds like Rock and Roll; think Jerry Lee Lewis or Chuck Berry. Here is a demonstration of Blues #1 in a Roll and Roll style, first slowly, then faster.

I’m going to play you Blues #1 again, this time in a “Swing” rhythm, in which the eighth notes are played long-short, long-short. All the eighth notes played ON the beat (beats 1, 2, 3, and 4 which are also called the downbeats) are long, and the second eighth note of each couplet (the “ands” which are also called the upbeats) are played short. This gives it the lazy, long-short sound we associate with traditional blues. Think Muddy Waters, Albert Ammons and Billie Holiday.

Here is Blues #2 in a medium tempo with the even eighth notes Rock and Roll style.

Now listen to Blues #2 with the traditional long-short Swing rhythm.

Which style of The Blues do you prefer? The driving even eighth notes of Rock and Roll? Or the slow, lazy sound of traditional blues? Both feature a boogie-woogie bass, but the rhythm you choose changes the “feel” dramatically!

I hope you are staying warm and dry wherever you are. In just a few weeks it will be the SPRING EQUINOX, a time for restoring balance in our lives and at the piano. This is a great month to review my Dynamic Balance Exercises. Dynamic Balance is the ability to play one hand softer or louder than the other. This exercise is also a skill for more experienced piano players.

Beginners: did you know that I am offering free video piano lessons to take you through Upper Hands Piano BOOK 1, on the Sixty and Me community platform? So far I have posted my Introduction and Lessons 1, 2, 3 and 4. To get started, visit the FREE LESSONS tab on my website, then subscribe to Sixty and Me to continue getting my lesson posts. These lessons are created especially for Adults over 50. You can join any time and go at your own pace. I hope you enjoy!

Stay warm and cozy, and start learning The Blues this month! Most everyone loves listening to The Blues – it is such an elemental African-American music form. I have many more Blues pages to offer you in the future (always free), so get started!

With love and music, Gaili