Role of the Performer: The Piano Guys

 

    The Piano Guys is a musical group that was formed in St. George Utah in 2010. The Piano Guys first gained fame with their music videos, taking popular songs and adding a classical twist to pop music. When the group was first formed it consisted of Steven Sharp Nelson, the cellist, Jon Schmidt, the pianist, Paul Anderson, the videographer, and the producer Al van der Beek. The Piano Guys' goal with their music was to create engaging and capturing music with their performances. They started to gain attention after posting their music videos on YouTube. They have released 13 albums, accumulated over 2 billion streams over several music platforms, and have around 2,4 billion views on YouTube.  Along with their 13 albums, they have also had 6 of their songs reach number 1 on Billboard’s Top Classical Albums chart.


        The Piano Guys did a cover of Sweet Child O' Mine, originally by Guns N' Roses, released in 1988. The cover of Sweet Child O' Mine was released in September 2021. This transformation of a classic rock song into a classical piece shows their incredible ability to take an already great song and make it unique in their own way. They are able to maintain the original song's energy but change the experience of the song to a classical one. The song enriches the iconic feel of Sweet Child O' Mine and follows a similar rhythm and beat. This is a perfect mesh of rock and classical music, Sweet Child O' Mine is one of my favorite classic rock songs of all time; it perfectly preserves what makes that song so good, and the classical conversion of it creates a soothing and peaceful feeling to it.


    Titanium by David Guetta was released in 2011, and The Piano Guys' cover of it was released in October 2012. This cover is another example of The Piano Guys' skill in being able to skillfully execute a classical approach of a pop/alternative song. They once again are able to perfectly maintain the essence of the original song, while taking their own classicle spin on it. The cover of Titanium follows a similar beat and rhythm to the original song. The cello's deep tones and the piano's light tones and rhythm blend beautifully with this song. They were able to seamlessly blend the old styles of classical music with this modern music style. I love this cover of Titanium and the piano and cello are two instruments that are able to express the emotion and feeling of the song without words perfectly. This cover was able to give the the same feeling the original song gave me with the additional sense of comfort with the cello and piano.

    It is very important for an artist to be able to express their take or version of something, it is what allows an artistic community to grow and improve. When you make something unique you are opening doors for something new or different to be made. The Piano Guys are able to do this and make something good feel new and better in a different way. With musical covers like The Piano Guys' cover of Sweet Child O' Mine, a community of music that otherwise might not listen to it, can appreciate it in a classical twist. This grows every genre, hitting every audience, and allowing everyone to enjoy good music with their preferred genre.



Citations

Opry. “The Piano Guys - Wednesday, November 30.” Opry, www.opry.com/show/2022-11-30-the-piano-guys#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWho%20would%20have%20ever%20thought,a%20diehard%20audience%20of%20millions. Accessed 6 Nov. 2024.

“The Piano Guys.” Dayton Live, 29 Oct. 2024, www.daytonlive.org/events/piano-guys/#:~:text=Since%20their%20official%20debut%20in,13%20albums%2C%20including%20six%20No.

Comments

  1. You are absolutely right on this and I agree with you. The Piano Guys are very talented when it comes to taking a song from a different genre of music and putting their own unique twist on it, making it sound like a classical song. Reading your blog post made me investigate the Piano Guys more and listen to some of their music, and I think if you enjoyed researching them you should try listening to their cover of “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri as it showcases their talents.

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  2. Hi Lincoln! I love the piano guys. I have tried to learn piano so many times and I just don't think my brain is made for doing it. I applaud these guys for how effortlessly and cool they make piano playing look. Have you seen that they also add chello now? I think thats so cool. Have you seen this performance by them? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n543eKIdbUI

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