Q&A: How do I play your songs?

I had a question about why these songs wouldn't play on certain PCs. My guess is that a software upgrade is in order. Since these tracks are mp3 files, they should work on the more recent versions of your favorite media player. Here's a few:

Apple iTunes (an advantage is that you can receive automatic Piano by Joel updates.)
RealPlayer (there's a free one here, as well as an enhanced version for about $20)
Windows Media Player

I hope this helps. Happy downloading!

At the Cross

Today's hymn is At the Cross by Isaac Watts (1674-1748) with music by Ralph Hudson (1843-1901). I recorded this one yesterday, and wanted to add some layers; but decided to post the piece in it's raw form.

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In the Garden: By Request

Once again we take the piano outside (minus rain, see this post) for an original rendition of the classic, In the Garden by Charles Austin Miles (1868-1946.) The sound effects remind me of the trip I took to the local nature center this weekend (minus piano.) Listen carefully for the wind chimes.

Thank you again for posting comments. I really want this to be an interactive experience, so I am always happy to hear from listeners.

The bird songs are by Peter Barker, and the wind chimes are by mRk. You can find free sound effects at flashkit.com.

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Latest Requests

Ok, I've got a few requests to work on:

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Holy, Holy Holy
Praise Him, Praise Him
Crown Him With Many Crowns
All Hail the Power of Jesus NameHe Leadeth Me
Savior, Like A Shepherd
Great is the Lord
In the Garden

Boy, you guys are keeping me busy! I'll see what I can do. My goal is to deliver at least a new arrangement per week, but usually there's more, so keep checking back. And keep those requests coming!

Also, though they're not hymns, I'm thinking about arrangements of Danny Boy and the Little Fugue.

If you think you missed something, be sure to check the archives, below and to the right.

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My Jesus I Love Thee

Today's selection is My Jesus I Love Thee, with music by Adoniram Judson Gordon (1836-1895) and words by William Featherston (1846-1873.) I thought I would experiment with sound effects this time, so picture a few of us sitting around the piano on a rainy day. (It took me a while to dry off the keyboard!)

Seriously, the rain effects were produced by wildpeaks (graphic-designer.com) and the thunder by MM Developer (www.mechanicmatt.com.) Both are free, and you may download your own sound effects at flashkit.com.

This tune would sound great on the cello...

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A Wise Man, a House, and a Rock

This is an improvisation on the childrens' traditional favorite, "The Wise Man Built his House upon a Rock." I wanted to experiment with multitrack recording, and have a little fun with a base and a snare. Sure, there are some other musical ideas I wanted to incorporate, but I decided that it's a fun tune the way it is. If you don't like it, don't worry... it's really short!

I'm happy to say that Piano by Joel is now available on iTunes. It doesn't include the blog entries, just the music; but if you would like to subscribe, just do a podcast search for Piano by Joel. Sorry, the artwork image was broken last I checked.

I got quite a list of requests from someone. I'll be taking a look at that.

Thanks for listening!

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It is Well with My Soul: By Request

This is an improvisation on a well-loved hymn by Philip Bliss (1838-1876.) It's short and simple, but I hope you enjoy it. As with any song, there is more than one way to interpret it, so you can look forward to further arrangements. This hymn in particular has some definite possibilities.

I've been working on a fun rendition of an old children's favorite this weekend, but there's still at least one or two musical ideas that I want to include before releasing it. Stay tuned!

On a related note (ha), I started digitizing my old vinyl records this weekend, so that I can listen to them on the PC and on CD. If any of you have been wanting to do the same thing, I recommend the excellent, free Audacity software. I've had good experiences with it, and it offers quite a few features.

Have a good week. Hope to have a new original for your listening pleasure in a few days.

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Be Thou my Vision: By Request

Note: The score to this piece is now available as well. Please see this post.

Welcome back. Today's song is Be Thou my Vision by Eleanor Hull, written to the tune of an ancient Irish melody. This is played in a more modern style, but I'd like to think about how to capture more of a Celtic flavor in a future release.

I want to let everyone know how much I appreciate you for listening! You are always welcome to post comments and requests. This is, after all, a bunch of friends sitting around a piano.

Remember that you are also free to download, copy, excerpt, and distribute these recordings as much as you would like. The Creative Commons license (click the graphic below for more information) only requires that you attribute the work, and obtain permission for commercial use. So go ahead. Burn a CD. Burn two. Give them to your friends. Enjoy.

Now for today's selection.

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O For A Thousand Tongues, Revisited

Saturday's post featured this hymn, but today you'll hear it played in a far different style. I recommend listening to them both, so you can hear the contrast.

I'm learning to play using far fewer notes.

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Get the most out of this blog!

I'm waiting for my host to provide me with access to a new song I uploaded this morning. Hopefully, I'll be able to post it soon.

In the meantime, blogging today can get pretty technical, so allow me to provide a brief tour of this page.

A blog ("web log") is usually a web page with articles organized by date. A podcast is similar to a blog, but contains audio that can be picked up by podcast listening software. Piano by Joel is both a blog and a podcast.

A blog can also include several other features:

• Comments - clicking the comments link under each article displays a popup window containing comments that readers have made. These comments also get e-mailed to me, and are a big part of making this an interactive reading and listening experience.
• Trackback - Sometimes another blogger somewhere will post an article on his or her blog, in reference to one of my posts. Clicking the trackback link under one of my articles will show you a list of other related articles on other blog sites.
• E-mail - You can e-mail a post to someone by clicking the little envelope icon, displayed next to the trackback and comments links.
• Permanent Link - If you like a particular post, you can right-click on the permanent link link at the bottom of the post, which will popup a menu (in Internet Explorer, anyway.) Select copy shortcut on the menu, and you now have the link to that article. Just paste it into an e-mail or into your own web page.

You can imagine how tough it is for someone who likes to read blogs to actually keep up with them all. But unlike a normal web page, you can subscribe to a blog. All you need to do is set up an account with an online service like Bloglines (free), My Yahoo (free), or Newsgator. The easiest way is to click one of the subscribe buttons to the right. For example, clicking the "sub Bloglines" button will take you to the Bloglines site, let you sign up (quick and free) if you haven't yet, and provide you with a page that alerts you to any new articles:

Finally, there are a few images at the bottom of the screen:

• Blogger - My blog host. You can get a free blog here.
• Haloscan - A free service that provides trackback for me (see above.)
• CC - Some Rights Reserved - This is the Creative Commons license. I short, it allows people to copy and distribute my work all they want, as long as they attribute it to me. Permission is still required for commercial use. I'll make special mention if a different license applies to anything. So go ahead, burn all the CDs you want, and pass them out to all your friends.

There it is, a brief tour of the strange things you may see on this page. I encourage you to start your own blog. Please let me know if you do, I'd like to stop in for a visit.

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Oh For a Thousand Tongues to Sing

Ever had feelings that words could not express? I think that Charles Wesley would have understood:

O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.

This is someone who is so filled with joy and praise to God that he can barely contain himself. One voice is not nearly enough to express his praise. If he were a pianist, he would probably wish for a thousand fingers. That's the idea that this piano rendition attempts to capture.

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Oh For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
by Charles Wesley (1708-1788) music by Carl G. Gläser (1784-1829.)

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Update on Requests

Thank you for your requests! Here's an update:

It is Well with My Soul
Public domain. In progress.

Be Thou my Vision
Public domain. In progress.

Great is the Lord
I'm certain it's copyrighted, but I'll figure out how to obtain permission to perform an original arrangement. I'd like to learn how to get my legal ducks in a row, anyway. A lot of works I enjoy playing are copyrighted.

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I am Thine O Lord

Let's do another hymn by W. Howard Doane (1832-1915) and Fanny Crosby (1820-1915.) I took some liberties with this one, so I hope you enjoy it. You can listen by clicking the link below.

I'm currently working on It is Well and Be Thou my Vision, which both appear to be in the public domain (I'm pretty sure the ancient Irish didn't copyright that melody.) Hopefully they will be ready soon, so keep checking back.

I picked up a microphone tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to use it as I become more experienced with electronic recording and publishing. In the near future, I would like to do occasional longer podcasts (maybe 15 minutes) with music and commentary.

A friend reminded me of the times in college when we all sat around the piano in the student center, playing whatever we could think up. My hope is that this tiny microcorner of the internet would somehow re-create that experience in some small way.

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Near the Cross

Today's selection is a piano arrangement of Near the Cross, by W. Howard Doane (1832-1915.) Of course, lyrics are by Fanny Crosby (1820-1915.)

Thank you for all the comments and requests. I need to double-check copyright info on requests before I go arranging, recording and publishing; but one of these days, I'll need to learn how to obtain the necessary permissions.

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Do I take requests?

This blog/podcast isn't about publishing polished, studio quality work. It's meant to be spontaneous, personal, and interactive in nature, much like many of the classic text blogs. This is you, me, and some friends, sitting around a piano. The difference is, since I'm publishing for the web, I need to stick to public-domain works, at least until I learn the ins and outs of obtaining the necessary permissions, etc.
Since we're all gathered around this piano, I'm happy to take requests. Just check out the extensive public-domain music list at PD Info, and let me know what you'd like to hear.

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Amazing Grace

Virtually everyone will recognize this 19th Century American melody, recorded live in a contemplative, contemporary style. Like most of my arrangements, this one is completely unique, made up as I go along. Hope you enjoy the piece.

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