At the end of the day …. The Piano Guys Series, second CD #14!!

~~May 9, 2014~~

This is the last song of The Piano Guys 2. Feels like saying goodbye to a good friend. I will be looking for more songs by these great, innovative musicians. I’m sure they have plenty others up their sleeve. 

Stay tuned to see what I find!

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

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician.

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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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

Today we are featuring “Begin Again … featuring Megan Nicole & Alex Goot” from their second CD with a major record label.

~~SOURCES~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

~~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!!

~~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.

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician.

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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

~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 #10!!

~~May 5, 2014~~

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

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician. 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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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

Today we are featuring “Me and my Cello – Happy Together” from their second CD with a major record label.

~~SOURCES~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

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).

~~Me and My Cello – Happy Together (Turtles) Cello Cover~~

ThePianoGuys

~~Published on Mar 30, 2012~~

Many people ask why Steve is SO HAPPY when he plays the cello. We followed him around with our cameras on his day off. We think we now understand why.

**NO INSTRUMENTS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS VIDEO**

We used a “stunt” cello for these scenes just in case — and we were really careful out of respect for the instrument. After all the filming, “Jackie” (named after Jackie Chan since he does all his own stunts) only had one minor scratch inflicted by a shopping cart (this proves the saying that statistically there are more shopping cart accidents than sky diving accidents).

~~Story behind the song~~
This music video was one of our very first ideas as ThePianoGuys.

It originated when we were filming “The Cello Song” the first project that Steven Sharp Nelson, Al van der Beek, Tel Stewart, and Paul Anderson did together (which is also the first time they all MET!)

As we were finishing the all-night film session, we starting talking about the many “uses” of the cello and before we knew it we were laughing about how funny it would be to make a movie about “cello bonding” — spending quality time with the cello. We didn’t feel like we could ever get away with making this video, but we just couldn’t help ourselves. For a while Al and Steve tried to write an arrangement of two Bob Marley tunes for the background of the video.

It wasn’t flowing, so the project was abandoned for several months. Since the making of “Cello Wars” we haven’t really had the opportunity to throw “funny” at our audience. And to be honest, we’ve missed it. We all love to laugh — especially at ourselves. It keeps the pressure of producing videos every other week bearable. We revisited this concept, but this time with a new tune — the Turtles “So Happy Together.” It fit perfectly. We ended up with a lot more scenes than we could use—some of which we were sad we couldn’t fit it. Maybe we’ll make an “extended version” one day.

“This video is dedicated to all of my music teachers that taught me to have FUN with music — to let it live and breathe rather than insist it be dead and dissected. As for my other music teachers that didn’t teach me to have fun. I’ll try to make a video for you some other time.”

~~Steven Sharp Nelson~~

~~The Turtles – Happy Together – 1967~~

~~Uploaded on Aug 31, 2011~~

“Happy Together” is a 1967 song from The Turtles‘ album of the same name. Released in February 1967, the song knocked The Beatles‘ “Penny Lane” out of the number one slot for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group’s only chart-topper. “Happy Together” reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1967. The song was written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon, former members of a band known as The Magicians. The song had been rejected a dozen times before it was offered to The Turtles, and the demo acetate was worn out.

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!! 

We ALL are ONE!!

At the end of the day …. The Piano Guys Series, second CD #9!!

~~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.

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician. 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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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

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

~~SOURCES~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

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.

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).

~~Charlie Brown Medley~~

ThePianoGuys

~~Uploaded on Aug 31, 2011~~

We thought it would be fun to do an impromto concert for our favorite audience, and it was a blast. We hope you enjoy it in the spirit in which it is given. We met some incredible people at Stirling Court in St. George, Utah.

~Credits~
Original songs by Vince Guaraldi
Music produced by Jon Schmidt
Arrangement written by Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson & Al van der Beek
Piano: Jon Schmidt
Cello & cello-percussion: Steven Sharp Nelson
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Al van der Beek at TPG Studios

~Video produced by~
Paul Anderson
Tel Stewart
Shaye Scott

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!! 

We ALL are ONE!! 

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

~~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.

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician. 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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

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.

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 #7!!

~~May 2, 2014~~

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

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician. 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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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

Today we are featuring “Just the Way You Are” from their second CD with a major record label.

~~SOURCES~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

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.

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.

He has studied the cello (still his primary instrument) under Ryan Selberg, Stephen Emerson, and John Eckstein. He obtained a degree in music from the University of Utah School of Music, graduating in 2002.

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).

~~Just the Way You Are – Bruno Mars (Piano/Cello Cover)~~

ThePianoGuys   

~~Uploaded on Jan 27, 2012~~

~~Story behind the song~~
As always our subscribers give us the best song suggestions.

We think “Just the Way You Are” is one of those melodies that only comes along every once in a while. The word ‘love’ is tossed around a lot today. This arrangement goes out to anyone that feels something so deeply for someone that words can’t even begin to describe. Jon says, “I tried to represent the song lyrics which match how I feel about my wife to a tee. The way I feel about her affected the musical arrangement big time. It shows that ‘amazing’ girl how I feel about her (after 20 plus years of marriage.)”

We hope everyone can relate. We hope everyone hears the very deepest side of what they feel for someone when they listen to this song.

Funny moments to look for:
Jon’s death bed, pause at 04:00

Arrangement produced by Jon Schmidt
Arrangement written by Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson & Al van der Beek

~~Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are~~

[OFFICIAL VIDEO]   

~~Uploaded on Sep 8, 2010~~

“When I see your face, there’s not a thing that I would change
Cause you’re amazing, just the way you are
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while
Because girl you’re amazing, just the way you are
The way you are, the way you are
Girl you’re amazing, just the way you are”

We ALL are ONE!! 

At the end of the day …. The Piano Guys Series, second CD #6!!

~~May 1, 2014~~

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

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician. 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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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

Today we are featuring “All of Me” 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.

He currently works with Steven Sharp Nelson on a project called The Piano Guys, which has proved quite popular.

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~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

~~All of Me (Jon Schmidt)~~

ThePianoGuys

~~Uploaded on Oct 3, 2011~~

Written when Jon was about 21, “All of Me” is one of his most popular original tunes.

~~Credits~~

Written by Jon Schmidt
Piano recorded by Chuck Myers & Jake Bowen at Big Idea Studio
Video produced by Paul Anderson & Tel Stewart

~~All Of Me – John Legend & Lindsey Stirling~~

~~Published on Oct 28, 2013~~

Thank you to John Legend!

His new album Love In The Future featuring the original version of “All Of Me”.

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!! 

We ALL are ONE!! 

At the end of the day …. The Piano Guys Series, second CD #5!!

~~April 30, 2014~~

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

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician. 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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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

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

~~SOURCES~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

~~Berlin – Original song for 12 cellos (and a kick drum)~~

ThePianoGuys

~~Published on Apr 10, 2013~~

ALL THE SOUNDS YOU HEAR WERE CREATED BY 105 CELLO TRACKS

~(and a kick drum)~

Filmed all on location in Berlin, Germany

~~Story behind the music and the video~~

What do Bach, Beethoven, Strauss, Brahms, Schumann and many more of the world’s greatest classical composers have in common?

They are all from Germany!

While we were on tour there we wanted to drink in Germany’s musical genius. It was an amazing experience. We had a chance to tour Europe twice in the same month. Prior to our first trip we had been brewing an original tune.

We wanted to write a cello “hook” that could grab people and that could be looped throughout the tune. We then started building more cello loops and moments with unprecedented sounds from the acoustic (wood) cello, carbon fiber, steel, and electric cellos. When the dust settled we had four minutes of layered, edgy, sort-of dubstep-with-a-U2-influenced goody-bag — on the electric cello loops we used some of the same cool delay effects and chord style of legend guitarists such as The Edge, Ewan Dobson, Buckethead and Yngwie Malmsteen.

We were excited but a little unsettled and we couldn’t figure out why. It was incomplete. We then left to Germany. We had some incredible adventures while we traveled and performed there. Upon return we had a week between our two Europe trips and we were determined to finish the song. Al and Steve were a little discouraged after having put so much work into a song and feeling good about it, and yet not knowing exactly what it needed.

This is a good moment to say again how grateful we are for our supportive families. They are the true “Behind the Scenes” of ThePianoGuys that make everything possible and give us the happiness we draw our inspiration from. If it weren’t for Rachel (Al’s wife) and Julie (Steve’s wife) this song would have failed. They gave us the encouragement and the ideas we needed to sprint the last mile.

We had one day to finish it up.

That morning inspiration struck Al and Steve at the same time in different places — we still have the iPhone voice memo recordings (recorded at less than an hour apart) that we used to sing the capstone melodies that came to us. When we met at the studio we simultaneously announced we had the melody the song needed — only to find out that the song needed BOTH melodies — separately in different places and then together as a duet at the end of the song.

As we listened to the final product we couldn’t help but feel the picturesque classical vibe mixed with a pop/dubstep vibe was an abstract depiction of what we felt as traveled through and performed in Berlin.

We decided just days before we were to board the plane again that the song would be called “Berlin” and that we should film it while we were in the city — a place so richly steeped in classical heritage, history, and vitality. Filming in front of its incredible landmarks was such an unforgettable experience.

(Read rest of the story herehttp://thepianoguys.com/portfolio/ber… )

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!! 

We ALL are ONE!! 

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

~~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.

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician. 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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

~~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/2014/04/09/at-the-end-of-the-day-another-musical-note/

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!!

~~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.

They gained popularity through YouTube, where they posted piano and cello renditions of popular songs and classical music. Schmidt and Nelson’s music is accompanied by professional-quality videos shot and edited by Paul Anderson. 

Paul Anderson owned a piano shop in St. George, Utah. He met musician Jon Schmidt as the latter walked in to ask if he could practice there for an upcoming concert. Months later, Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart (then just for fun) started making videos together with Jon Schmidt. It was not too long after that they did their first collaboration with Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek as the studio and music technician. 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~~

Several of the group’s YouTube videos have over 20 million views, while all of them have over 750,000. As of February 2014, The Piano Guys’ YouTube channel has over 345 million total video views and about 2,500,000 subscribers.

“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 Piano Guys 2 is the third studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US Billboard 200.

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~~

http://thepianoguys.com/

http://www.sacredcello.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piano_Guys

https://www.facebook.com/PianoGuys

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/the-piano-guys

http://floridatheatre.com/event/piano-guys/

~~Mission Impossible (Piano/Cello/Violin) ft. Lindsey Stirling~~

ThePianoGuys

ALL THE SOUNDS YOU HEAR WERE CREATED BY THE INSTRUMENTS SHOWN

~~Story behind the song~~

It was May of 2011 … a few days after Lindsey Stirling and ThePianoGuys had each filmed their first official YouTube videos (“Spontaneous Me” and “Michael Meets Mozart”). Lindsey and Steven Sharp Nelson (cello guy) shared the stage at a concert. After the show they talked enthusiastically about a YouTube collaboration down the road.

A year and a half and a million fan requests later and it’s finally here! We love Lindsey Stirling! It feels like we’re family — we started on YouTube around the same time, we “grew up” in the same place, we all LOVE what we do and we’re all REALLY good dancers … except for ThePianoGuys.

We chose the theme from “Mission: Impossible” because we thought it would be a great music video to “be ourselves” in — to play off each other, throw in some special effects, a couple “stunts,” and some slapstick! The concept for the song and video began with spy gadgets — we wanted all of them to be string instrument parts! Then how would we pair up graceful, pro-dancer Lindsey and not-so-graceful Steve?

It was simple. Steve had to carry around his own chair! Then the graceful/not-so-graceful thing contrasted beautifully! When Jon Schmidt (Piano Guy) was cast as the “villain” and donned an eye patch we knew we were on to something…

(Read rest of the story here http://thepianoguys.com/portfolio/mis… )

~~Filming locations~~

THANK YOU to Stephen Wade Auto for serving as our last minute filming location when all others fell through! They were so nice to us and let us film in their place all through the night and they saved us on the repeling scene!

We ALL are connected through MUSIC!! 

~~Mission Impossible – Lindsey Stirling and the Piano Guys (Funny Version)~~

~~Published on Jan 28, 2013~~

We ALL are ONE!!