Billy Joel - Q&A: Remember First Piano Teacher? (Hobart & William 1996)

[@joe-vz6hx]

nobody but nobody interacts with the audience or gives these kind of Q&A/"interviews" and talks like Billy Joel - pure gold - I wish he'd do more but so grateful for these videos

[@salnicolosi2466]

One of a kind....and to me .....hes not even showing any signs of slowing down

[@Chris-ji4iu]

I love that he can't talk about music without playing it.

[@markdowse3572]

Writing versions of Mozart when 8 or 9 is a dead give-away for a GENIUS ! IMHO.

[@NelsonVlog66]

Can you say child prodigy? A friend of mine is like that. She's been playing guitar, writing her own songs, performing live, and recording from a young age.

[@andreashoppe1969]

Omg even when Billy Joel literally hammered the piano like a child he sounded way better than many of us already.

[@markdowse3572]

Can't break skill nor habit! :)

[@helasherfussoni]

This man is amazing.

[@yurigagarin5805]

We need a podcast of Billy Joel just telling stories.

[@largolegato]

The thing is, even you just want to play a song you like, you still need some basic skill and knowledge of notation and chords. Not everybody has good ears and good coordination like his, as well as this creativity and imagination. BJ's musical gift, talent is one of the greatest, it's a rare gem. Most of the people, without any training, they can't even move their fingers on the piano or tell the difference between a major or minor chord.

[@andrewparke1764]

Really? I began piano lessons at age 5 or 6 and my story is quite similar to Billy's. I got tired of trying to learn to read music, so I just never did (I'm now getting a Master's in Music). Music theory just made sense to my ears without thinking about the staff. I thought most people were like this.

[@iambrad4163]

@@andrewparke1764 pretty sure you know that not everyone is like that but congrats on being great at the piano

[@andrewparke1764]

@@iambrad4163 I thought most people were like that, but certainly not everyone. I have no way to tally them up...

[@iambrad4163]

@@andrewparke1764 if you take piano lessons from a young age on it becomes like a language to you but for anyone who didn’t take piano lessons from a very young age it’s not that easy

[@trusarmor4957]

dude has ALWAYS been a BEAST!

[@helasherfussoni]

That man is a genius.

[@Myramoore1277]

He needs to add stand up comedy to his talent list

[@user_27357]

he should do a set like fred armisen’s standup for drummers, but for pianists

[@thelevisullivan]

He’s a musical Jerry Seinfeld

[@Lorenzo-fm4ov]

He's a fucking legend!!!!

[@incuriainre01]

Great piano teacher story. I think the John Thomson method was specially designed to force you to have a piano teacher as the pieces after Music Land are hard. Congrats to anyone that had to go through it.

[@user_27357]

oh the ptsd...

[@brendalg4]

Do you think Billy was able to make up Mozart style pieces at a young age because of the course or because he is a genius?

[@elsenored562]

2:16 John Thompson, Book One

[@Realest636]

It’s funny he’s right about piano teachers who teach children. I took piano for 1 year. She taught me like I was supposed to be a virtuoso. They sometimes really take the joy out of it. Music is supposed to be fun.

[@HermanIngram]

Learning a skill, especially a discipline like the piano is not easy. If you want fun, go to Disneyland. Skill is only fun when you have some.

[@Wrcallofduty420]

Billy Joel is an incredible music composer, writer, singer and a comedian.

[@marymwhite2]

HOLY SHEEET haha. Yes I remember playing Off We Go to Musicland..John Thompson. I also did a little playing around with my pieces I had to learn too. My piano teacher was a young 20 year old who was being taught by a Maestro that played the Kennedy Center and she indulged my playful variations, as long as I learned the pieces. My piano tuner was sweet old jewish man named Mr. Liberman..he did the tuning for the pianos at the Kennedy Center *smile*

[@454aubrey]

My piano teacher taught me in a completely different way from the classical way. She taught me chords and different variations on the chords. I could kind of read sheet music , and still can, but I prefer to play by ear. She also taught me about keeping time and built rhythm into my brain. Find a teacher who is willing to be open minded, that’s the trick to learning in a creative field.

[@mikemcf33]

so true. I had a teacher who would yell at me if I added any extra notes “That may sound good to you, but now you are playing a different song than what is written”. That kind of thing really should be encouraged. I hate playing “dots on a page"

[@johnroseman9087]

Priceless!!! Love you Billy! 🤣❤

[@melodiemaker2121]

Genius💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖Just Billy! 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💐💐

[@aussiecoastie72]

Great interview here with Billy ! Really enjoyed this .

[@Lovealwayswins1]

Love him!!!!

[@fernandodagasdas2917]

Nice story....Its really true to a young kid.

[@mcfly4959]

he’s so hilarious and adorable

[@marymwhite2]

Does anyone remember the two Mozart pieces in the 1st and 2nd John Thompson books? In the 1st book is Air from Mozart and I think in the 2nd is the Don Juan piece. I loved that one haha!

[@el_tatish2218]

Hahahahaha the end was so funny 😂

[@gustavomartinez9021]

A great comedian anda musician

[@NelsonVlog66]

The Mozart piece he played was used as the opening theme for Mr. Belvedere.

[@wennersballardiii5219]

When they make the biopic of his life “Music Land”, “Land of Music” or “Off we go to music land” should be the title.

[@fezzik7619]

An autobiography is a story you write about yourself. A biography is a story about you written by others.

[@wennersballardiii5219]

@@fezzik7619 What happens when you're leaving comments half a sleep at 2am

[@ralex3697]

Genius

[@eliyahuamar5304]

This video is why I play piano

[@camdenreith3706]

He should be a comedian like actually

[@NelsonVlog66]

I'm really surprised he hasn't been approached to host SNL.

[@jshum02]

"I had to take boxing because I was learning how to play the piano" There are probably not that many people who can tell this story because there are probably not that many people with the ear to be able to do what is required to tell the story

[@PokeJames503]

Okay, how did he do that at 2:47 ?! What is that called? What notes do I have to play? Help me guys!

[@amazed66]

Elton and Liberace didn't do it to meet......OK, never mind.

[@oakleysierney1918]

or mj :P

[@NelsonVlog66]

Although Elton did have a 'beard'. He was married to her briefly.

[@stevegreusome9961]

Bill Joel the German. Thanx cuz, me too!!!

[@IyaPatsyOriginalEgunlady]

Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

[@WakaWaka2468]

What's the name of that little jingle at 2:49?

[@WyattWinters]

doesn't really have a name, it's just like a riff

[@MuzixMaker]

2:50 LOL

[@largolegato]

OMG!! He liked the swan song too!!!! It was the piece inspired me to learn piano actually.

[@pacifist1360]

Billy Joel is amazing, but I thought Billy Joel's first piano teacher was Morton Estrin. I have never heard of Ms. Francis.

[@Th3rtySe7en]

I thought it was beethoven, but Ms. Francis must be pretty good.

[@hgpo27]

what is the song he is playing on the piano at the end

[@mariathomas6886]

hgpo27 moonlight sonata

[@hgpo27]

thanks, you are a good person

[@Sweendogization]

Autobiographies are always fiction. I’m sure Billy Joel’s mother would have a very different perception. But, he’s clearly a one of a kind.

[@cathrynpitt617]

what song does he play at the end

[@ComputerDavidJimdo]

+Cathryn Pitt I think this is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata

[@hansarvidnaustheller2077]

Moonlight sonata

[@carlbaumeister3439]

The little "made up" piano Mozart-like pieces he constructed were better than the classical album he put out in 2001, IMHO.

[@christophergolas9930]

Billy - Why aren't you a coach or mentor on 'The Voice' ?? Because your lane of music is woefully underrepresented there.

[@bfischer2473]

lol god bless you miss franics and god bless you billy and thx for lunch last year bottle of red bottle of white and prehspe a bottle of roses instead

[@andrewchan5810]

It wasn't in the dots. Hahaha

[@VincentDeBellis]

I was waiting for him to say why Elton John did it 😂

[@whyyeseyec]

If you want kids to be interested in learning piano, start them off with Jerry Lee Lewis' Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On. If that doesn't interest them, nothing will....

[@kaitlyn3386]

I wonder if the teacher likes Piano man

[@kevindasilva7279]

if music didn't work out, he would have become a stand-up comedian

[@dezistrada5349]

Ms. Frances? LOL!@*&^

[@brainsareus]

when Billy was a kid; no white kid on long Island NY was saying YO, quite yet. they'd be sayig, EY!

[@mikemcf33]

true! he has artistic license to his story telling

[@jennakeith5711]

Using piano to pick up chicks. That's the way to do it!

[@carlbaumeister3439]

But a guitar's easier to take to the beach ;-)

[@NelsonVlog66]

@@carlbaumeister3439 Harmonica fits in a pocket.

[@ryangolding9526]

Why I don't play piano lol

[@zackerycooper1206]

Chopin was not doing it to meet girls

[@IgnacioClerici-mp5cy]

how do you know?

[@davidmcrae4791]

Why did you learn the piano? "I did it to meet girls."

[@brainsareus]

How many people, must have been turned off to music; by horrible teachers, or terrible teaching methods?

[@kennethbrady]

too many to list. the interweb would break.

[@SterlingStudios]

Get rid of YOUR intro pay Billy more resect

[@louisxiv249]

Nice so you got a piano teacher, huh? I never took one and I can play Liszt's b flat billy and you CANNOT.

[@mikemcf33]

when you sell out MSG in NYC save me a ticket

[@HermanIngram]

Liszt’s B-flat what?