Tag Archives: Clavinova

I want a new Clavinova…Uh

Posted on by
Reply

With the current global economic situation, not to mention this country’s woes, etc. I don’t think I could afford to get a new Clavinova for the time being Sad. I also haven’t had much luck in selling my Young Chang E-121 acoustic upright piano (I had one potential buyer, but the price she offered was too low for me). So it looks like I’ll have to make do with my existing CVP-105 Clavinova. Sucks, I know.

If you’d like to help contribute to my Get a New Clavinova fund Smile just click on one of my ScratchBack top posts in the sidebar. It’s only a $5 USD contribution and you can put your link and message up here in my blog for all to see. Thank you.

Related posts

My Music

80

My Hands

MY SONG DOWNLOADS ARE AVAILABLE NOW!

Following on some requests from readers, I’ve decided to make all the mp3 songs in this page available for download. All I ask in return is a small donation of $2 USD minimum per song. Feel free to donate more if you wish.

Presently, there are over 35 songs available, so you’re spoiled for choice. Just pick the songs you want and click on the PayPal Donate button below. For example, if you have picked 5 songs, enter $10 (but feel free to donate more!) in the donation amount box. Next, fill in the Contact Me form in my blog, enter your details, and tell me the songs you want. They will then be sent to your email address.

And here’s a special bonus: pick at least 20 songs (or all of them) and I’ll send them by air mail to you in a CD at no extra charge. Just make a minimum donation of $20 USD to qualify for this offer!

Thank you for listening to my music and I hope that you’ll kindly donate to my fund.

This page will showcase my own piano performances of my favorite songs. If you’d like me to play a particular favorite of yours, drop me a line and I’ll see what I can do. I will be adding to this list periodically. All the songs were played on my Yamaha Clavinova CVP-105 Digital Piano.

To play, click on the arrow icon (click on it again to stop). Sit back and enjoy. And if that has whetted your appetite to learn the piano, I’ve got just the book for you!

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Forever Young – Music by Jerry Goldsmith, from the movie with the same name.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Cinema Paradiso – Music by Ennio Morricone. One of my favorites.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Somewhere in Time – Music by John Barry. From the movie of the same title, starring the late Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Over the Moon – Music by John Williams, from the movie E.T.

Added on October 5, 2008

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Blessed Assurance an original arrangement I made for classical guitar, bagpipes, and piano.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    How Great Thou Art a light and jazzy arrangement, complete with finger snaps.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Standing on the Promises a marching band-type thingy, to round off this trio of hymns.

Added on May 12, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    It is well with my Soul a simple straightforward piano arrangement, specially for my friend PR.

Added on May 15, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    It’s Wonderful one of my favorite Gershwin songs of all time, given a light Bossa Nova treatment. For all the wonderful friends I have out there.

Added on May 18, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    I will always love you this song from the movie The Bodyguard (starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner) always sends goosebumps up my spine whenever I play it. I’ve given it a very quiet and intimate arrangement here, with only a grand piano and electric piano playing.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    SFC this was a little tune I wrote during my first semester at the University of Arizona in 1981. Just piano, with a triple-time feel, to conjure up the carefree feelings of those wonderful years gone by.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    The Bodyguard this haunting Main Title theme by Alan Silvestri captures perfectly the extremely poignant love affair between the two main characters in the film. I arranged this for just piano and strings.

Added on May 19, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    A Longing for You I was just playing on my piano late last night, and somehow or other this melody appeared. A wistful theme, conjuring up memories of times past, and of times yet to come.

Added on May 26, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    I Have Nothing another powerful ballad from The Bodyguard. The title says it all: “I have nothing, if I don’t have you.”

Added on May 29, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    The Nearness of You a jazz standard with my own piano interpretation. Enjoy.

Added on May 30, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Unchained Melody made popular again by the 1990 movie Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. This is one of those late-night tunes where you kick off your shoes, put the track on, and think of a loved one.

Added on June 1, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    You’re my Everything another one of my favorite romantic songs. I’ve given it a light accompaniment, interspersed with piano and classical guitar.

Added on June 4, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    The Shadow of your Smile a classic standard, given the piano treatment by me, of course.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    The Look of Love starts off with an acoustic double bass line, followed by piano and congas in the background. I love this song, it’s an all-time favorite of mine.

Added on June 6, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    If I were a rich man this delightful song from the musical and movie Fiddler on the Roof could be the theme song of my life. Just like Topol in the movie I slog like a bull, living from paycheck to paycheck–such is the life of a musician. Wish I could return to the US, that would be awesome (where’s Donald Trump or Bill Gates when I need them?)

Added on June 7, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Ain’t No Mountain High Enough originally written way back in 1966 by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, this song, to me, represents HOPE in capital letters. My favorite version is the one by Diana Ross, who initially was apprehensive about recording it. Fortunately she did, because it rose to #1 in the Pop and R&B charts. The chorus says it all: “Ain’t no mountain high enough, Ain’t no valley low enough, Ain’t no river wide enough, To keep me from you.” I feel that the music speaks volumes, even when done instrumentally. Hope you enjoy it.

Added on June 9, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    I Believe in You and Me one of the songs from the 1996 movieThe Preacher’s Wife, starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. For that special someone in our lives.

Added on June 10, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    I only have eyes for you written way back in 1934 by Harry Warren, this song is a tear-jerker. And I just love the lyrics. Arranged for big band, my way.

My love must be a kind of blind love
I can’t see anyone but you.

Are the stars out tonight?
I don’t know if it’s cloudy or bright
I Only Have Eyes For You, Dear.

The moon may be high
but I can’t see a thing in the sky,
‘Cause I Only Have Eyes For You.

I don’t know if we’re in a garden,
or on a crowded avenue.

You are here
So am I
Maybe millions of people go by,
but they all disappear from view.
And I Only Have Eyes For You.

Added on June 11, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Just the way you are this very touching song by Billy Joel is a classic. Here I’ve given it the respect a classic deserves, with only a solo piano track. This song is dedicated with much love and affection to CLM.

Added on June 14, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Somewhere here’s another song of hope, from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story (1957) I’m playing this straight through, using primarily piano with some orchestral strings in the background. A very moving song, full of hope, joy, and promise.

Added on June 20, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Love Letters I’m returning to the sultry bossanova rhythm for this 1945 classic by Victor Young and Edward Heyman. It’s songs like this that stand the test of time and conjure up a certain essence of romance. I feel so restful playing this song, because as the lyrics say, “Love letters, straight from the heart…” And I’m playing this straight from the heart, for CLM.

Added on June 22, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    As long as he needs me sung by the character of Nancy in the musical Oliver! (1960) This is a special request from someone who’s very special to me.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Medley: Where is Love/Food Glorious Food two more great songs from Oliver! performed on piano alone.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Reviewing the Situation starts off with a honky-tonk piano, and then segues into a Tango feel. I’ve forgotten what the original sounded like in the Oliver! soundtrack, but I think the Tango rhythm suits this song perfectly.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Pick a Pocket or Two I used an accordion as a lead, and added some pizzicato strings and choir in the background, to enhance the mood of the song.

Added on June 27, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Lovin’ You arguably Minnie Riperton’s most well-known hit. Here I’ve given it a piano treatment, with double bass and some strings in the background. I dedicate this song to CLM, with great love and respect.

Added on June 29, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    You are so beautiful this simple and lovely ballad by Joe Cocker epitomizes what love is all about, not just physical beauty, but beauty that can only be found in the heart.

Added on July 4, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    I’ve grown accustomed to her face this is in my opinion, the most romantic song in the musical My Fair Lady.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Wouldn’t it be loverly ah, who could ever forget Eliza Doolittle singing this song?

Added on July 7, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    My baby you a moving ballad by Marc Anthony, at the request of CLM. I hope you enjoy this, much as I enjoyed playing it.

Added on July 9, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Fly me to the Moon I give this wonderful Jazz standard a fast tempo treatment, with piano, electric piano, and double bass.

Added on July 15, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Someday my Prince will come From the Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) comes this classic triple-feel tune. I’ve scored this just for solo piano and played it in a more introspective style.

Added on August 8, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Honesty It’s been some time, but I’m back. Here’s one of Billy Joel’s introspective songs, played on solo piano.

Added on August 25, 2009

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Killer Joe I was just doodling on my piano and this Benny Golson tune came up. I jazzed it up a bit, and let loose with some improvisation passages.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    By the time I get to Phoenix A song from the sixties, written by Jimmy Webb and made popular by Glen Campbell (it reached #26 on the U.S. Pop charts in 1967) My version clocks in at just under five minutes.

December 2, 2009. Wow, has it been that long since I updated this page? Okies, I’m going to add some Christmas tunes seeing that it’s that time of the year again. To start off with, here’s Do you hear what I hear?

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Do you hear what I hear? Right, I’ve made my mind up, all these Christmas tunes will feature just piano alone.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    O Holy Night

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Christmas Medley Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Silent Night.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    White Christmas

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Blue Christmas I don’t know why, but Elvis’ version of this song always gets to me. Here I give it a more laid-back feel.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Some Children See Him Especially for my friend Crystal.

The following carols are from A Quiet Christmas, a CD I recorded and released way back in 1998.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Bell Carol There is something joyous, yet wistful in this Ukrainian Christmas tune. I love it!

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    O Come O Come Emmanuel Not as often heard as some of the other carols, but full of meaning, nevertheless.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Go tell it on the mountain A really jazzed-up version, enjoy.

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    I saw three ships Quiet and reflective, just the way I like it.

Added on January 11, 2010

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    The Man I Love I think George Gershwin was perhaps one of the greatest songwriters ever, in the 20th century. A master of both jazz and classical idioms, he composed countless songs, including this one. The Man I Love exudes sensuality not only in the lyrics, but in the music. A timeless classic.

Added on April 26, 2010

  • Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

    Run to You From Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard. Although this song wasn’t as well-known as I will always love you, it’s still a tear jerker. Dedicated to CLM with much love and affection.

Related posts

I want a new Clavinova!

Posted on by
1

Yamaha CVP-405

For those of you who don’t know what a Yamaha Clavinova is, I believe the picture above speaks a thousand words. The Clavinova is essentially a digital piano with real piano sound samples (go to the link above and listen to them). Furthermore the keyboard touch resembles that of a Grand Piano, and when I sit down to play on one, it’s simply heavenly. Unlike an acoustic piano, the Clavinova never needs tuning (there’s nothing mechanical inside), it can be linked by USB or MIDI to a computer…the advantages go on and on.

I’m presently using a CVP-105 which I bought years ago, and am strongly considering upgrading to the CVP-405 pictured above. The local Yamaha dealer has agreed to trade in my CVP-105, but I want to find a buyer for my Young Chang E-121 Upright piano first. That way I won’t have to fork out so much money for the CVP-405. If you’re interested, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you with further info. That is, if you live within Malaysia.

Young Chang E-121

Young Chang E-121

Related posts

Playing on a wonderful piano…

Posted on by
3

…is like making love to a beautiful woman. I couldn’t agree more. During my years in the States, I’ve been fortunate enough to have played on some wonderful concert grands (courtesy of the University of Arizona’s Music Department) such as a Steinway and a Baldwin (we had one signed by Liberace). When I play on a wonderful piano, I can get carried away and play on and on.

On the other hand, I’ve played on my share of crappy pianos too. Argh, these are the instruments of death and torture that make me wonder "Why am I doing this?" For non-musical people who think that if a piano is OK if it sounds, that could hardly be further from the truth. Not that I expect the best piano to be available before I can "get in the mood." But it wouldn’t be fair to expect a carpenter to produce beautiful furniture with mediocre tools, would it? Likewise with artists and musicians.

Fortunately, piano makers such as Yamaha have come to the rescue. With their wonderful range of Clavinova digital pianos, musicians don’t have to worry about playing on a sub-standard instrument, or one that is out of tune. And get this: the piano sounds are actual samples of Yamaha’s grand pianos, digitalized and stored in the Clavinova. With the Clavinovas costing a fraction of the price you’d have to pay for an actual Grand, I’d say that it’s definitely worth the money and the savings.

I’ve been using the Yamaha CVP-105 Clavinova for a few years now, and it sounds just as good as the day I bought it. No need for tunings, virtually maintenance-free, and having a host of other cool features like auto-accompaniment, MIDI, recording capabilities, etc. No regrets as far as I’m concerned.

Steinway model D

Related posts

If I were a rich man…

Posted on by
5

…Yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum! Yesterday I went to teach three students who had just moved into their new house. When I arrived, I was gawking at the property. It wasn’t just one house, it was two houses joined together, with four levels! The total combined area must have been in the region of 6,000 sq ft. And to make me even more envious, they had just bought a brand new Yamaha Clavinova CVP-405 Digital Piano for their children to play on. Sigh

Somehow or other, I was reminded of Topol singing "If I were a rich man" from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Ah, if only I had lots of money! This makes me want to watch FOTR all over again, even though the movie is a whopping 3-hours long.

Related posts