It Is What It Is

Begin Again – Taylor Swift (cover)

Megan Nicole Alex Goot The Piano Guys

Taylor Swift — Begin Again (Piano/Cello Cover)

ThePianoGuys

~~Published on Feb 13, 2013~~

~~The Story behind the song~~

Ironically this song for us was about beginning again and we filmed it in a café on a Wednesday (see Taylor Swift’s lyrics). No kidding. But what’s crazy is we didn’t plan it that way. Just like so many of our songs and videos, miracles made it happen.

We were writing another cover tune and it was flowing like molasses uphill in January. After beating our heads against the wall for too long trying to make it work we stepped back and reset … and decided to begin again. But like so many things in life the struggle had a great payoff. While we were writing the cover-tune-fail we found inspiration from a classical piece, as we often do — J.S. Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze” (Cantata No. 208).

As we were listening to this piece it called to memory a tune from Taylor Swift’s album, “Red.” Her “Begin Again” melody and Bach’s Cantata seemed so well matched it was a mash-up made in Heaven. We switched to Swift’s tune immediately and our arrangement finally started flowing like the Fountains of Versailles. There were even moments (especially the Bridge melody of “Begin Again” and the primary melody of the Cantata) when the two seemed to play off and echo each other naturally. We wanted this arrangement to be a mix of the two styles — a pastoral, classical feel paired with a pop-country vibe … polished off by a bit of Valentine romance.

Then it was on to find a location! We just did what we always do … find a bunch of locations that have potential only to find, at the last minute, that they don’t fit, can’t work, or won’t allow us to film…then, after all we can do, we’re gifted a location by a miracle! The day before we were scheduled to film, one of us woke up with an image in his head — a vision of a green European garden café. Where could we find any living plant, let alone a quaint outdoor Euro-café, in the middle of winter in Utah?

A GREENHOUSE!

As this blessing would have it, we found a perfect indoor garden setting in a greenhouse with a café vibe that was just what we had envisioned. And it was 4.3 miles away from where we were meeting! On top of that, an employee there said she was a “big fan” and went straight to the owner for us … who turned out to be a high school friend of Steve’s parents! And what day could they fit us in? A Wednesday. We don’t believe in coincidences.

Life’s too meaningful to believe in meaninglessness.

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!!

We ALL are ONE!!

At the end of the day …. The Piano Guys Series, second CD #13!!

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Dr. Rex

~~May 8, 2014~~

The Piano Guys are an American musical group consisting of Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, Paul Anderson, and Al van der Beek.

After the five of them started collaborating the group really started to take off, producing a music video each week and posting it to YouTube.

~~Success~~

“OUR VISION IS TO CREATE MUSIC AND VIDEOS THAT INSPIRE & UPLIFT.
WHATEVER WE DO, WE PUT OUR HEART AND SOULS INTO EVERY NOTE AND FRAME.”

The deluxe version of The Piano Guys 2 comes with a DVD featuring 11 music videos.

Today we are featuring “Can’t Help Falling in Love” from their second CD with a major record label.

Jon Schmidt (born 1966) is an American pianist currently residing in Bountiful, Utah. He describes his style as “New Age Classical.” He was born to German immigrants who acquainted him with the works of such composers as Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin. He began songwriting at age 11. To date, he has released eight albums and seven piano books containing transcriptions of original arrangements.

His work is often described as New Age music with pop elements of hook and melody. His works were also featured on sample discs for the Iomega Hipzip Digital Audio Player with the pieces “Sacred Ground”, “All of Me”, and “Waterfall”.

His influences include Mannheim Steamroller, Billy Joel, and Beethoven.

~~SOURCES~~

~ELVIS – Can’t Help Falling In Love~~

(Remastered audio)

~~Uploaded on Apr 17, 2008~~

Beautiful live version!

Can’t Help Falling in Love (Elvis)

ThePianoGuys

~~Published on Mar 16, 2012~~

Jon fell in love with this song when he heard the reggae cover by UB40, one of his favorite bands. His arranging style often reflects the influence of the classical music and training with which he was raised.

These two elements collide in this arrangement.

(Think Beethoven meets UB40 with a little tounge-in-cheek thrown in for fun).

Writers: Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George David Weiss
Publisher: Gladys Music
Arranged by Jon Schmidt

UB40 – CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE- LYRICS

~~Published on May 5, 2013~~

UB40-CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE”, sound recording administered by: EMI

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!!

We ALL are ONE!!

At the end of the day …. The Piano Guys Series, second CD #11!!

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Dr. Rex

~~May 7, 2014~~

This song is perfect for this time of the day. It’s the time to go to sleep once I complete this post. The sleeping baby lullaby.

Sweet dreams, dear readers!

The Piano Guys are an American musical group consisting of Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, Paul Anderson, and Al van der Beek.

After the five of them started collaborating the group really started to take off, producing a music video each week and posting it to YouTube.

~~Success~~

“OUR VISION IS TO CREATE MUSIC AND VIDEOS THAT INSPIRE & UPLIFT.
WHATEVER WE DO, WE PUT OUR HEART AND SOULS INTO EVERY NOTE AND FRAME.”

The deluxe version of The Piano Guys 2 comes with a DVD featuring 11 music videos.

Today we are featuring “Twinkle Lullaby” from their second CD with a major record label.

SOURCES

~~Twinkle Lullaby (Twinkle Little Star)~~

The Piano Guys

~~Upladed on Aug 23, 2011~~

The past few months we’ve been filming time lapses of the beautiful desert sky in Utah. These ended up working perfectly with Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson’s arrangement of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

We hope you enjoy it!

~~Credits~~
Arrangement produced by Jon Schmidt
Arrangement written by Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson & Al van der Beek
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Al van der Beek at TPG Studios
Piano: Jon Schmidt
Cellos: Steven Sharp Nelson

~~Locations of Time-lapse~~
Kolob Mountain, about 35 minutes away from home
Warner Valley, a couple miles away from home
Sand Hollow Sand Dunes, a couple miles away from home
Gunlock Reservoir, 10 miles away from home
Brighton, Utah
Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson played at Flat Iron Mesa Park

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!!

We ALL are ONE!!

At the end of the day …. The Piano Guys Series, second CD #8!!

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Dr. Rex

~~May 3, 2014~~

The Piano Guys are an American musical group consisting of Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, Paul Anderson, and Al van der Beek.

~~Success~~

“OUR VISION IS TO CREATE MUSIC AND VIDEOS THAT INSPIRE & UPLIFT.
WHATEVER WE DO, WE PUT OUR HEART AND SOULS INTO EVERY NOTE AND FRAME.”

The deluxe version of The Piano Guys 2 comes with a DVD featuring 11 music videos.

Today we are featuring “Waterfall” from their second CD with a major record label.

SOURCES

His influences include Mannheim Steamroller, Billy Joel, and Beethoven.

Steven Sharp Nelson (born 1977) is a pioneer in “cello-percussion”—an alternative performance method that combines traditional, lyrical cello techniques with unconventional pizzicato and percussive technique. He was born and still resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. He began studying cello at age 8, percussion at age 12 and guitar at age 17. He has invented a new method of playing the cello that combines elements learned from each of these instruments.

Nelson’s true cello career began when he was 15. He was recruited by Peter Breinholt to arrange string parts and perform with Breinholt’s band, Big Parade. Since then he has recorded on over 100 different albums ranging from folk & bluegrass to hip hop.

He has also made his way as a solo artist. His first album Sacred Cello (2006) was atop the Billboard Charts. He has since two more solo albums that have also received significant acclaim (Tender Mercies, 2008 and Christmas Cello, 2010).

Waterfall (Jon Schmidt Original)

ThePianoGuys

~~Published on Jun 13, 2012~~

Written when he was 17, “Waterfall” is like an old friend to Jon. It
got him the cutest girl in his high school, made him the life of many
parties, and has been a big hit with pianists and piano teachers
alike. Jon says that in high school it was proof that chics dig even
ugly guys with skills.
This tune has significant
meaning to Jon and all of us at ThePianoGuys because It played a
pivotal role in convincing Jon to commit to a full-time career as a
pianist. An earlier video of Waterfall was done as a pre-TPG
experiment. This version is ThePianoGuys’ official video release.

Filming location:
Thanksgiving Point Gardens – http://www.thanksgivingpoint.org/visi…

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!!

We ALL are ONE!!

At the end of the day …. The Piano Guys Series, second CD #4!!

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Dr. Rex

~~April 29, 2014~~

The Piano Guys are an American musical group consisting of Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, Paul Anderson, and Al van der Beek.

~~Success~~

“OUR VISION IS TO CREATE MUSIC AND VIDEOS THAT INSPIRE & UPLIFT.
WHATEVER WE DO, WE PUT OUR HEART AND SOULS INTO EVERY NOTE AND FRAME.”

The deluxe version of The Piano Guys 2 comes with a DVD featuring 11 music videos.

Today we are featuring “Lord of the Rings” from their second CD with a major record label.

SOURCES

https://hrexach.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/at-the-end-of-the-day-another-musical-note/

Lord of The Rings – The Hobbit (Piano/Cello Cover)

ThePianoGuys

~~Published on Nov 20, 2012~~

~~Story behind the song~~

Since the beginning of The Piano Guys, “Lord of the Rings” has been our most requested work. As we reach one million subscribers we wanted to dedicate this arrangement to our “subs.” This was an intimidating project — encompassing the power and the beauty of the many musical themes throughout the movies; capturing the emotion and the “epic” nature of the story; and all with a few cellos, a piano, and a couple Canon 5D Mark IIs.

We normally write our tunes during intense compositional binges — the bulk of our songs have been written within the period of a few days. This one was different. It was a drawn-out process during which we studied the music of The Lord of Rings, contemplated what themes to incorporate, how they could tell the story by flowing from one to the other. We also spent a lot of time finding new ways to imitate instruments from various sections of the orchestra using Steve’s cellos — from the brass section through the woodwind section to the percussion section.

We love the story of The Lord of the Rings. It is a tale that has spiritual meaning for us. We love its messages — that “even the smallest person can change the course of the future,” that “there’s good in this world and it’s worth fighting for,” “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us” … and that everyone should have a “second breakfast.” We love the poignant depiction of loyalty between the Fellowship of the Ring (we even included the “Fellowship” theme three times – at 0:18, 3:58 and at the end of the arrangement – to feel like a common thread in the music as it is in the story.)

We wanted to paint these messages musically as vividly as possible. Like so many things in the creative realm, and to paraphrase Mr. Bilbo Baggins, the hardest part was the first step. After a brief introduction of the Hobbit Theme and Fellowship Theme (arguably the most relevant musical moments) we felt strongly that we needed to begin with the deeply touching melody that serves as the soundtrack to Arwen’s vision of her future son (in the extended version of Return of the King).

That gave way to a Divinely-led journey from the Shire and Rivendell through Isengard and Rohan to Gondor’s victory over Mordor. We endeavored to represent each of the major allies and opposing forces in the story:

The Elves 0:44
The Ents 1:48
Rohan 2:08
Mordor and Isengard 2:32
Hobbits 3:08
Gondor 4:11

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!!

~~FUTURE PLANS~~

The Piano Guys have the intention of playing their music at the seven wonders of the world. At the time of this writing, they have played at the Great Wall of China and. add to that, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil – Large Statue.

~~Full Read/Posts~~

https://hrexach.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/at-the-end-of-the-day-on-a-musical-note/

We ALL are ONE!!

At the end of the day …. The Piano Guys Series, second CD #3!!

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Dr. Rex

~~April 28, 2014~~

The Piano Guys are an American musical group consisting of Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, Paul Anderson, and Al van der Beek.

~~Success~~

“OUR VISION IS TO CREATE MUSIC AND VIDEOS THAT INSPIRE & UPLIFT.
WHATEVER WE DO, WE PUT OUR HEART AND SOULS INTO EVERY NOTE AND FRAME.”

The deluxe version of The Piano Guys 2 comes with a DVD featuring 11 music videos.

Today we are featuring “Mission Impossible – Featuring Lindsey Stirling” from their second CD with a major record label.

SOURCES