Katie Rushing Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 Hi PWJ Members! This month's spotlight goes to.......... Rich Barton! @Rich B Please join with me in congratulating him on his Member Spotlight! Where are you from? Born and raised in New York! When did you start playing piano? I took standard piano lessons between ages 6 through 15! I learned to read music, but I was tired of classical music so I stopped lessons all together. It wasn’t until age 25 where I found PWJ and fell in love with piano all over again. What got you interested in learning music? I was always inspired about the idea of improvisation, how a pianist could fill a silent room with whatever they’re feeling. The desire to be able to play free from an arranged sheet music fueled my interest in learning music. What is your favorite style of piano music? My favorite style of piano music is jazz! I love the liberties I'm able to take in the genre while playing from a lead sheet Do you have any favorite pieces to play? My favorite piece is my own arrangement of my wife and my wedding song, Heart and Soul. Three months before my wedding (September 2020), I sat down at the piano and wanted to see if I could incorporate some of the PWJ techniques into a Heart and Soul lead sheet. Using a bass-to-rootless voicings left hand pattern, a blocked-chord harmony right hand, and some PWJ foundational courses in the keys of the song (F and Bb), I was able to put together an arrangement that I was super happy with. I even used the modulation course to modulate the song from F to G! What has most helped you most in improving as a pianist? I can think of a couple things that have helped me the most: 1 - I began applying the courses to songs I wanted to learn, instead of learning the sample song and moving onto the next course. A majority of courses are in the key of C, so I gain a deeper understanding working on a song that's in, for example, the key of F or Eb. 2 - Utilizing the Student Assessment helps me tremendously. I can apply courses to my own songs all I want, but in order to make sure I'm applying the courses correctly, I submit student assessment videos. There, Jonny gives valuable feedback and direction on where to go next with the arrangement. Do you have any tips for other PWJ members? I find that practicing in intervals of 15-20 minutes with 5 minute breaks (aka the Pomodoro technique) helps me retain what I learn. The science behind it is that our brains work best by learning in "chunks". When you learn something and practice it, you need to give your brain rest so that it can, in computer terms, write and store the material into memory. If you try to learn too much (40 minutes of nonstop practice), your brain may not be able to store the entire thing, which leads to frustration at the piano. Once I learned this concept, I was amazed at how fast I was picking things up. If you have a chance, try practicing a section of a piece for 15 minutes, walk away for 5 doing something completely unrelated, come back and try to play what you just learned. You'll amaze yourself on how much you retained. What is your favorite part of the PWJ Membership? There's no question that the community is my favorite part of the membership. There are times where I lose steam and take a few days off from the piano, but then I'll see someone on the Facebook group post a video and the comments of encouragement help lift me out of my slump. It's funny how a comment encouraging someone else can help lift my spirits. We all struggle one way or another, but with the community PWJ has developed, the struggle is much easier to handle. It's really incredible. What are your future music goals? I hope to have a cocktail jazz repertoire that can easily fill 45-60 minutes so that I can play background music for restaurants and such. I'm so happy to share that I accepted my first gig, playing piano for a wedding ceremony in December 2021 out in Tennessee! The songs I was asked to learn may steer me off the cocktail jazz dream for a few months, but nonetheless I'm extremely excited (and nervous) for the opportunity. If anyone has any piano wedding tips, I would love to hear from you. Do you have any words you try to live by or a favorite quote? There is a parable in the Bible that speaks of a man providing three of his servants different amounts of talents (the name of a type of coin back then), each according to their abilities. After the man left, two of the servants invested their coins and were able to make more money, but the last, fearing he would lose it, buried his talent until the man returned. The two servants who invested were praised by the man, while the last servant did not receive praise. "Talent" back then is the same word that we know today with the meaning "special natural ability". We're all given this gift- this talent- of being able to play piano, regardless of whether we're at a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level. When we play in front of people, we're able to use our gift to spread so much joy. I try to make it a point to remember to use my talent to bring happiness to my friends and family in a way that not many other people in my life can. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susana R Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Congrats Rich!!!! Loved your answers, especially your tip! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe S Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Congratulations Rich!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara W Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Congratulations, Rich! And congrats on the gig too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura U Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Congrats, Rich! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott M Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Nice job Rich! Thanks for the tips and inspiration!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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