Vincent Prinzivalli Song Comparison

Billy Joel- Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LraZEoRnkPc

The King's Singers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2V5D6BHOrA

Alexander Balla (MasteroftheMood)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5zJeoYymjs

Rob Mahlum (ahsgolf2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezz6GPRq7lQ

I chose to compare three different arrangements of Billy Joel’s “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)” from his 1993 album, River of Dreams.

A lifelong Billy Joel fan, I have always loved this song and consider it to be one of my favorite of his ballads. The song features an emotional text, inspired by Billy Joel’s daughter, for whom he wrote the song, as he and his wife were experiencing divorce. It was recorded with Joel on piano, adding strings and possibly synthesizer in the background. Characteristic of Billy Joel’s writing, the accompaniment explores the entire range of the piano and uses borrowed chords. The piano part usually consists of chords in rhythm with the melody, filled in with interesting suspensions and passing tones that support the vocal line by adding color and flavor to the harmony. Beethoven’s well-known influence on Billy Joel’s music becomes evident in the instrumental bridge midway through the piece.

The King’s Singers do a fantastic arrangement of this song. Sung in their famous a cappella style, the arrangement really shows off the talent and skill of the ensemble. The six vocalists are able to effectively imitate some of the same expanded harmonies and suspensions heard in the piano of the original recording. The King’s Singers perform the song with remarkable phrasing and impeccable blending, especially in the homophonic section of the arrangement. They also use a neutral syllable to replicate the middle instrumental bridge. Countertenor David Hurley does an impressive job when he takes over the melody as a solo and the entire group fades out together beautifully at the song’s conclusion.

Next, I compared two solo guitar/voice covers of the song, starting with Rob Mahlum. I thought Rob did a pretty good job with his rendition. His singing was pretty good for a live recording and his guitar arrangement worked well with his singing style. However, I felt straight block chords all the way through was a little too plain, and would have liked to see some more movement in the accompaniment. Alexander Balla, in my opinion, had a better approach in his arrangement, as he used more finger picking, creating a more interesting accompaniment. By doing this, Alexander was able to incorporate more of the moving lines found in Billy Joel’s piano part, particularly with respect to the introduction. I also liked the way Alexander handled the section at 1:55 by singing “du’s” while bringing out his finger picking technique. Balla’s technique and more elaborate ideas made his guitar cover much more enjoyable to listen to.

Music Comparison

I listened to “Hymn to the Sea” by James Horner, from Titanic. The first arrangement was from the soundtrack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wz1xA5kxVI&feature=related

It begins with soft, deep piano chords, a singer and a trumpet on the melody. Then the tune is taken up by uilleann pipes, with strings on harmony. A flute doubles the pipes, and a higher violin counter-melody is heard. Lower wind instruments begin a scalar pattern in the bass. A choir of boys enters in harmony, and all the instruments drop out except the strings. Later the trumpet is again in harmony with the choir, barely audible. The pipes and strings carry the final statement of the melody, joined by a few notes of a harp. The strings and the trumpet play the finishing cadences.
This arrangement is wonderful; I particularly like the ending, which to me resembles the end of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, with the bass notes and the high violins. The singer is essential to the piece; she sets the mood and states the melody. Both she and the uilleann pipes add a quality of sadness and simplicity to the piece.
The second arrangement I listened to was by the solo singer on the soundtrack, Norwegian singer Sissel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tis7uLQD4Yc&feature=related

She begins with the melody from the movie, very similar to that on the soundtrack, accompanied by strings and a women’s choir. The last note transitions to a modern arrangement of the folk song "Eg Veit I Himmerik Ei Borg," the song which inspired Horner to compose “Hymn to the Sea.” It uses drums, electric guitar, organ/synthesizer, and the women’s choir. Just as soon as this ends, however, Sissel repeats a verse of “Hymn to the Sea.” This creates unity between the pieces, and juxtaposes an ethereal wistful song with a much stronger one.
I admire this piece very much. Using a familiar piece like this one from “Titanic” with a rather obscure Norwegian folk song is, in my opinion, fantastic.

Georgia On My Mind-Comparison

For my three comparisons I tried to use tunes that I personally enjoyed, and from an original version that I loved. I didn't want to listen to any half-effort arrangements. So the tune I choose as my forefront is Ray Charles version of "Georgia On My Mind." Which is based off of Ray Charles piano accompaniment and voice of course. The tune I heard was live behind a backing big band. Ray sings with such soul, earthiness, and ease that it boggles the artistic mind. By hearing Ray's expression through his gospel nature, it brings anyone as close to church as they can be without actually going.

The next arrangement of this tune that I chose to compare was by The Spencer Davis Group. A rock band in the late 60's led by organist Steve Winwood. The organ was the featured instrument on this live performance in 1967. Steve Winwood has a powerful voice, and didn't miss a beat on singing this tune. He accompanied his singing with smooth blues licks on the organ. The band also switched the tune up by adding a swing section featuring Winwood's organ solo. I always knew Winwood to be a great backup organist, but didn't know much of his solo style, and in this recording he impressed me with standard jazz licks and great motivic devolopment with his phrases. I really enjoyed hearing this version.

The last arrangement that I chose to compare was by Gerald Albright. Albright does this rendition on the alto saxophone. There was no vocal part. Albright has an incredible tone, and fully improvises around the "Georgia On My Mind" melody. After this, he went over the chords backed by a full band and ripped an incredible solo, improvising with smooth blues lines and difficult jazz licks. Following his solo was a righteous guitar solo that was a constant blend of dimished scales followed by smooth melodic blues scales not straying away from the original minor blues feel of the song. Albright came back in with the melody and ended the song beautifully. I like this version despite the lack of vocal content.

Music Comparison - David B.

I choose to compare the 3 versions of the song When the Saints Go Marching.


The first is the classic Louis Armstrong version. Louis Armstrong was one of the first musicians to actually popularize the song as a pop tune, and his influence surely helped the song also become a Jazz standard.

Louis’ version is in the classic Dixie land style, with multiple soloist add their own melodies simultaneously, namely the clarinet and trombone, while Satchmo sticks to the melody mostly. He adds his own flourishes to the melody and after a run through the melody on trumpet; he goes on to sing the melody, with call and response style. The Bass Piano and drums serve as a rhythm section, stick to accompaniment throughout the piece, and while the clarinetist and trombone player go on to take actual solos before Louis takes his own trumpet solo. Overall the song has a relaxed and joyous feel, and is pretty enjoyable to listen to.

The next version is the worst version, featuring WMI Chorus 2006 led by Dorothy Nancekievill of the International Staff Songsters. It is a bad choral version, with corny piano accompaniment, and just looses the spirit of the song. It trades of the melody between the male and female voices, and adds multiple melodies at once later in the song, maybe to emmulate the multi-soloist style of Dixieland jazz. The melody is moved around quite a bit, with new sections being added here and there for no paticular reason. It is a piece of music, I would very much not like to listen to again, and the piano is played is such a corny style, it almost sounds like the performer is joking and mocking the song being played.

The final version is actually by Bruce Springsteen. This version is the most liberal in the interpretation. It begins with an intro of Bruce noodling on his guitar and singing a little bit before going into a somber version of the classic melody. Two other singers take a crack at the melody, with some light organ and piano accompaniment, all with their slightly different interpretation. There is a trumpet solo later in the piece, which some semi-bluesy jazzy rambling. Overall it is a somewhat interesting interpretation, but nothing to listen to more than once.

Musical comparison

I chose to review the piano solo called Django. I am going to write a paper on Django Reinhardt, the gypsy jazz guitarist for another class, and so am interested in learning as much as I can about his style of sound. I have developed a new appreciation for jazz as a result of my research. The two contrasting pieces are played with a lot of improvisation and differ in technique.

The first one simply titled Django, starts out with the basic melodic introduction of the minor key and about half way through he starts to improvise the chords using substitutions. You can feel the passion he has for the piece due to the pick up of the rhythm. It seems that he then becomes more contemplative as the tempo slows back down and he returns to the original melodic line. This version has a more full sound than the next one. He seemed to be a young man and was playing a grand piano on a stage in modern times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AWnyGsxTkI&feature=related

The second one was done in the 50’s or 60’s by the John Lewis trio and includes accompaniment on upright bass and drums. It starts out in a similar fashion as the first one and then morphs into a very improvisational and more obscure impression of the melody. It has a lot more syncopation and less classical style arpeggios and chord progressions than the first. I actually enjoyed this one much more because it took me out a lot farther from the original melody and into a contemplative and serene space of new melodic possibilities that I otherwise would not have imagined.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siU4m39B89o&feature=related

Kyra Wagstaff Song Comparison

For my song comparison, I chose Elton John's "Tiny Dancer."

The first recording, which is by far my favorite (it's Elton John, after all!), was the original piano part performed by the singer himself. I think there's something definitely more genuine about this recording BECAUSE it's Elton John, the man who wrote the music, performing it. Every line seems to follow the lyrics accordingly, telling a story in a way that you are not focusing so much on the music as you are on what it's making you feel which, I believe, is one of the most important things and separates him from the other people who have taken on this piece, on piano or in a different form. It has a certain easiness and natural movement that I find to reveal the vulnerabilty of the composer, which also reflects in the lyrics, in this case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqiQcJ-d8r8

Next I listened to a guitar cover of Tiny Dancer by a random guitarist on youtube. I felt that his vocals were really harsh at times and the guitar part was actually a lot weaker than I expected. Nothing really moved me, honestly. However, I suppose all songs are open to interpretation and, in this case, I'm not really a big fan. It sounded very choppy at times and the dynamics were lacking in all ways, pretty much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV79SOMdEcc&feature=related

Finally, I listened to a remix version of the song, which, as you can probably imagine, was interesting. Surprisingly, though, I really enjoyed it! Not quite the same, but then, it did have a feel to it that still did the song justice, just in a different sense. Honestly, it sounded like what they play over the loud speakers at Abercrombie and Fitch, meaning it was catchy and danceable. The vocalist had a very modern voice which I would consider a cool choice for it. It no longer told a story like the original, however, it still kept me listening without wanting to cringe at parts, as I experienced with the guitar cover. The version was much longer with all of the added remix beats, so it got a bit boring to listen to after the first few minutes, but all in all, I didn't mind it so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aFrAH8Wdss&feature=related

Don Bradner- Arrangement Comparisons

I chose to search for arrangements of the most famous organ piece every written, JS Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Besides this piece having the great significance that it has, I look at it and reminisce of my days in theory class and how Bach wrote the rules on counterpoint and voicing. With that knowledge, it is hard for me to listen to this great work without a baffled look on my face. To see how other musicians interpret and perform Toccata and Fugue is impressively entertaining.

The first video I chose to write about was an acoustic guitar arrangement performed by Michael Fix. I looked forward to seeing how well the guitar could cover all of the voices, especially the full chords near the end. Fix had to use multiple picking techniques to accommodate the varying styles of the piece. The tempo related liberties taken were very characteristic of the organ at times which was nice to see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUmyxpEXtTw

The second video was perhaps the most interesting musical performance I have ever seen. The performer was Robert Tiso playing the “Glass Harp”, commonly known as a collection of pitched wine glasses. The virtuosity shown by Tiso was purely amazing as he moved his hands effortlessly across the glasses while playing an arrangement that stayed close to 100% true of the original composition. To me, the best part of a Glass Harp is the resonance that the glasses give off. The tone is very similar to that of an organ or chimes in a church.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKRj-T4l-e8

The last video is certainly my favorite as it is an arrangement for trombone quartet. The group is known as the Trombone Quartet of Costa Rica. Before viewing, I had many questions as to how a trombone quartet could perform this intertwined fugue while breathing and passing the passages from one player to another. The synergy of the quartet has to be perfect to avoid rhythmic inaccuracies and inconsistent intonation. I have to say, the quartet did a great job sticking to the original composition as much as their instruments allowed for it. The darkly thick and powerful chords were wonderfully supported by the bass trombone player, thus helping the quartet to produce a sound characteristic to an organ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRSA48Njh7o

Comparison Assignment

I choose to do my comparison on several arrangements of Lou Reed’s song “Perfect Day.”

The version recorded by Lou Reed (which is the original) begins with a short piano introduction before he begins to sing. Soon thereafter, you will hear strings join in and some soft percussion. It makes use of a device often used in Rock/Popular music, the quiet verse and the loud refrain, so there are some great contrasts in dynamics throughout the song that keep you interested. Overall the song is somewhat simple, but there are enough finishing touches on the song to really make it great. The introduction of the strings is one of them. With just the piano accompaniment in this song it would’ve been really bare, but the strings really fill out the sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYEC4TZsy-Y
The next version I found of this song sounded really interesting to me at first. It was a “One Man Band” version, with one guy playing the piano, singing, and playing foot drums and therefore providing a beat. The problem with this version was just that I think the guy was doing too much. One way he accomplished doing all of these things was to make the piano part really staccato. In doing so he really changed the feel of the original and I didn’t like it nearly as much. He lost a lot of what made the original great and that was the detail and thought put into all of the parts. It was an impressive feat however to see this guy play all these parts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3R3JgZF7Nk
The last version of the song was someone who had taken the music and arranged it all for one guitar. It contained both the vocal melody and the accompaniment. I thought this version was very well done. The guy did a pretty decent job of containing as much as he could of the song for guitar. Obviously again the fullness of the strings is lost but I actually enjoyed the somewhat mellow mood of this arrangement; and for it being one guitar, it was a pretty full sound he managed to pull out of the guitar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5B_opp0HhQ

Veni Veni Emmanuel

I chose a choral piece that we are performing in the University Choir, Veni Veni Emmanuel. It is a 9th century Plainsong arranged by Allen Koepke for piano and SATB. I found several other versions of this piece on youtube.

The first example was the original plainsong. It is chantlike and simply arranged without paino accompaniment. It is performed by a women's choir and is very beautiful, I like the way the harmonies sound in the church they are singing in, they resonate and blend very beautifully. This particular recording is quite good I enjoyed listening to it several times.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtEnALtK-Yg

The second example is of a brass ensemble performing the peice. It is performed by the Syracuse University Brass Ensemble and the Hendricks Chapel Choir. It has an intro different from the arrangement I have, I like this intro a little better but they are both appropriate. I the arrangement is also different due to the number of different voices the brass ensemble has over the SATB version. Also there is no piano, which is something different about the version I have. The second half of the piece however has a choir and makes this version very unique and interesting. The arrangement is by James Spencer.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkyXk_dcyU

The third example is an arrangement of the melody and is played on the 51 bells of the K. Eijsbouts carillon in St. Nikolai Tower Memorial, Hamburg Germany. It is a very cool arrangement and very interesting. I have never seen this instrument before and it is played in a very interesting way, with the fists. I'm really glad I stumbled on this version it is very pretty and something I have never seen before.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkCPQySK_X8

Allison Vandenbosch song renditions

For my piece I chose Gymnopeidie #1 by Eric Satie. I have always loved this piece. It has a slow lilting feeling to it, and is very peaceful to listen to.

The first video I listened to was the original piano score of the piece. When played by a piano, the piece sounds slow, and lilting. The song seems to have a lot of emotion behind it. When played on a piano, the piece sounds very simple, but very peaceful. It is one of those songs that you curl up with a good book ,and a hot cup of tea, and play this in the background J The video for this is also really cute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al5U1WJ48rM

The second video was the piece done by an orchestra. In my opinion, the piece kind of loses it’s mysterious sound. It also sounds a lot faster, and has a bunch of diminuendos in the main theme. That being said, the piece does sound much fuller and richer. I especially love when the oboe is playing, it reminds me of the movie “the secret garden” from the 90s. This rendition sounds like it could be a movie score for a romantic movie or something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Vw459QbAw&feature=related

The third video was the piece played on a guitar. I must say, it sounded very lovely, but not quite as peaceful as when played on the piano. This rendition of the song is also played a little fast, with not as much dynamic changes. There is also some strumming for extra embellishment for the main theme. When the lady is playing, the way that she does her rhythms feels a little off at points (almost like she made a mistake or something). I think it may just be her style though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXmCWXo9bpc&feature=related

Isora HEckel comparison of "Amazing Grace"

Comparison of “Amazing Grace”
The first arrangement of “Amazing Grace” is for 2 parts, and piano accompaniment. The piece is arranged by Benjamin Harlan. I heard this piece performed by a women’s ensemble. The alto section sings the first verse with just open fifth chords as an accompaniment. There is a modulation and the sopranos sing the second verse with an increase in piano accompaniment. There is another modulation with the altos singing the third verse. The accompaniment for this part is contrary motion moving lines. Another modulation leads into the fourth verse with both sections singing the verse and chords are in the accompaniment. About half way through the verse is yet another modulation and amen. The alternating sections and accompaniment add texture and dynamics to the piece.
The second arrangement of “Amazing Grace” is a combination of two spirituals, entitled “The Gospel of Grace” with “Amazing Grace” and “I’m New Born Again” arranged by Mark Hayes. This is sung by a male soloist and piano accompaniment from a CD. Mark Hayes is known for combining spirituals into toe tapping and handclapping arrangements. This piece has a very challenging accompaniment and only one modulation for the final section of the song. There is rhythm and tempo changes in this piece as well.
The last arrangement of “Amazing Grace” is performed by Gary Karr, on You Tube. This arrangement starts with violin for verse one. The second verse has cello and organ. The third verse is just organ. The bass is playing the last verse with a faint organ accompaniment.
When looking for an internet arrangement, a fact that I noticed was that “Amazing Grace is performed at many funerals. The last arrangement could easily be heard at a funeral. The second arrangement, because of the combination of spirituals has a much lighter mood. The first arrangement could be used at many different kinds of settings or concerts.

Sarah Shapiro- Theme Comparison

“Hedwig’s Theme” by John Williams, from the Harry Potter film series

Videos Comparing (from Youtube.com)

–Harry Potter Hedwig’s Theme, Piano (fesitolare)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLN6AU2WL8Y&feature=related

–Harry Potter Theme (harrythepiano) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwpBSHEHEek

–Harry Potter-Hedwig’s Theme (klaus195)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBxIJtkqiNg&feature=related

Both of these videos on Youtube present the famous “Hedwig’s Theme” from the Harry Potter movies, but in very different styles. The first video features a pianist playing the theme in a very simple manner, exactly as it appears in the movie series. Later, however, he makes the theme more complex and adds his own . He improvises on the left hand part and creates an intricate accompaniment that compliments the simple right hand treble part.

Meanwhile, in the second video, the pianist uses his creativity and musicality to center “Hedwig’s Theme” in many famous melodies such as Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean,” themes from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” and Beethoven’s “5^th Symphony” theme. He also plays the theme in a very classical style, a Gershwin style, Chopin style and a jazz style. The pianist’s ability to improvise while a cameraman yells composers and genres to him while playing the same underlying theme throughout the video is stunning.

In the third video, the pianist’s role is different because he is not the soloist but the accompanist. He states the melody in the simplest of ways and then continues to play the melody but in an accompanist style as he is playing with a violinist. He plays more simple foundation chords and incorporates less of his own creativity.

"Carol of the Bells" Review

The piece I decided to pick for arrangement comparisons was "Carol of the Bells" by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, a Ukranian composer who got the theme for the song from a traditional Ukranian New Year's chant.

The first arrangement I found was an arrangement for piano by George Winston. He has the same theme and adds ornamentation on descending notes in one part. This version is played rather slowly compared to other versions that are played quite fast. It's a very pretty arrangement of this famous Christmas song.

The Carol Of The Bells-George Winston

The second arrangement I found was an arrangement by guitarist Steven King for acoustic guitar. He has an unusual introduction, but is still beautiful. He has a jazzy approach in about the seventh measure and has an overall faster tempo than that of the first arrangement. I liked the guitar version because it had a more mellow sound than the piano (even though both were played very well.)

Steven King plays Carol of the Bells on solo acoustic guitar

The third arrangement I found was a vocal rendition done by the group Celtic Woman. They had an orchestra and a solo violinist who ran around playing the violin very fast. They had a choir sing with the four singers and had an introduction that was more traditional than the guitarist's. The violin player added her own harmonies and ornamentations as the song went on and had solo parts that acted almost as a fifth voice. What I liked most about this arrangement was that it lent itself for more harmonies since there were more instruments involved and voices.

Celtic Woman-Carol Of The Bells

"He's a Pirate" Review

The ‘main theme’ in Pirates of the Caribbean is “He’s a Pirate.” It is well known and a very recognizable tune. The orchestra score, as heard in the movie and on the movie soundtrack, is an epic theme that signifies an accomplishment by Jack Sparrow. This theme is present in all three movies and is heard throughout the course of each movie. It is more prevalent around the end of each movie when the conflicts have been resolved and Jack is off to his next adventure. The orchestra part is a little under two minutes long. However, this theme is so powerful it easily outshines some of the lengthier pieces on the soundtrack. Those pieces might have more time to develop, but “He’s a pirate” does not need this, as it captures the listener from the beginning.

The piano reduction, while essentially the same piece (in terms of notes, theme, rhythm, etc.), does not have quite as full of a sound as the orchestra. The solo voice, as opposed to the multiple voices in an orchestra, does not convey the same “epic” feel that the orchestra does. While the piano reduction is still enjoyable, it is not as intense as the orchestra.

I listened to the guitar version after listening to the piano reduction. After being a bit disappointed by the piano reduction, I had little hope for the guitar as it was also a single voice. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how full the guitar sounded. I then read the caption and realized there were two to three guitars playing at once as the performer previously recorded himself playing the other parts. This made it so much cooler, as it became more of a guitar trio and really made a very full and interesting sound. The way the chords were played in conjunction with the melody was really interesting and a new spin on the orchestration of the piece. I might go so far to say guitar part was better than the orchestra part, as I really enjoyed it. I was impressed even more by this particular performer because he notes on his youtube page that he learned the piece by ear so it might not be one hundred percent accurate. However, I thought it was pretty accurate and overall really well done.

Finally, the techno version of the piece. The techno version utilizes the same melody as well, but offers a modern twist on an orchestral piece. The beat intertwines itself with the theme and takes an originally orchestral piece to a whole new level. What makes it so cool is it is “He’s a Pirate” but at the same time it could totally be played at a dance party or club. This version really exemplifies the versatility of music.

Clearly, there are many ways to play the same piece. When I first started researching, I was already very familiar with the orchestra version of “He’s a Pirate.” After listening to these different versions on different instruments, I have been both surprised and disappointed with the differences. However, it was still very worthwhile to explore different versions and see how they compared with my pervious notions and standards. Overall, they all conveyed the same message that the original orchestra version is meant to convey: He is in fact a Pirate.


Youtube links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMyqHXfosT4&feature=PlayList&p=31B49B3F03E3DB66&index=0&playnext=1

- Piano reduction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z_lAjt-gMw

- Guitar reduction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUnrWo6z9WY

- Orchestra (from soundtrack)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-zNPJyXQXg

- Techno Pirates

CD Review

I chose to do my CD review on Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”

Elton John’s song “Tiny Dancer” begins with a pretty piano intro that lasts for 13 seconds. The whole song consists of multiple instruments. The song features a piano-based melody accompanied by pedal steel guitar and light percussion. There is also a choir, guitar and a string section that accompanies Elton John’s playing and singing. Overall, the chord progression and piano playing is relatively easy; the rhythm is a little tricky. What makes this relatively easy is that he plays the same melody over and over during the duration of the song; except within the bridge and chorus. “Tiny Dancer” has beautiful dynamics. Most of these dynamics consist within the other instruments. The choir and string section seems to add great effect to the constant crescendos within the piece. The song seems to contain a stunning build up which releases at the end of the piece. After a full accompaniment of instruments, “Tiny Dancer” ends just as it began with Elton John’s beautiful piano melody.

Ben Folds version of “Tiny Dancer”

Ben Folds is a piano player very similar to Elton John. I do know that Elton John was a huge influence on Ben Folds. The two have a very similar piano playing style which translates well when Folds does Elton John covers. Also, I should note, the two also look like one another, which is interesting. In Ben Folds’ version of “Tiny Dancer,” he is accompanied by no instruments at all. It is just his voice and his piano. It appears that he is playing note for note with slight variations of note colorings. He too creates great dynamics within the song. In fact, I believe he creates even better dynamics than Elton John. The reason I say this is because Folds is not accompanied by anybody which obviously makes the piano the main focus of the music. Meaning, there are no distractions that would lead one’s ear away from the piano; hence, the reason why, when I listen to Elton John’s version, I hear less dynamics within the piano.

John Bayless version of “Tiny Dancer”

John Bayless’s version of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” is original and brilliant. Bayless isn’t accompanied by any instruments and in this cover, there aren’t any vocals. I would define his version as a classical variation that is far more complicated than John had intended for. Bayless plays the original melody, but plays it with different voicings. The song is also played at a faster tempo. Along with the original melodies, he adds the vocal part within his piano playing. The movement that he displays on the piano is quite impressive. So impressive that it’s hard to really see what he is doing. However, it is safe to say that his piano skills are far more superior to both Elton John and Ben Folds. All octaves are used within this arrangement and multiple piano techniques including the crossing of hands and piano slides. I am very impressed with this version and am glad that I found an arrangement of this song that is far more different than most.