I am is a solo pianist and composer who resides
in Fayetteville NC. If you were to ask me to describe
my piano style, i would say somewhere between Chopin,
David Lanz and Jim Chappell. I strive to put melody
and heart into all my piano compositions.
“It’s all about the melody” I like to say: “I believe that a melody should be distinctive, memorable, well-formed and expressive. All too often as a keyboard player it’s tempting for the melody to be simply notes in between each PLUNK of a chord or the last bit layered on top of a chord progression. I beleive a melody should stand on its own. You should able to play it alone without accompaniment and it make logical and lyrical sense.”
Currently I am working on recording my debut album “Songs From My Heart” This will feature 18 tracks of solo piano music and piano with ensemble. I am also in the process of building a piano tutorial which will be named Creative Piano Tools. This membersite will feature instructional videos on creating piano compositions and explore the songwriting process as it applies to solo piano.
Musical Background:
I am largly a self-taught musician. I as a bit of a late bloomer. I did not have my beginning as a “child prodigy pianist”. I did however grow up in an environment where I was exposed to a wide variety of music.
“I grew up listening to the highly melodic music of the Mo-town era, the
timeless melodies of the Classical Masters as well as the songs we sing at our Kingdom Halls, we call “Kingdom Melodies”. “All of these musical influences had a tremendous impact on my melodic style”.
The Missing Ingredient:
By the early 90’s I had established himself among my family and friends as a capable pianist and was beginning to experiment with writing melodies and songwriting. But something was missing. “I was writing melodies and experimenting with songwriting, but I could not seem to find “my voice”. I was not drawn to pop, jazz or classical writing though I loved all these types of music.”
“Then one day I heard a song from the album “Summer” by George Winston. I bought that album and listened and listened. That was it! This was the style I was looking for: New Age Piano Solo. Later I discovered other New Age Pianists like David lanz, Jim Chappell, Yanni, Jim Brickman and Wayne Gratz.” This Style suited perfectly to my own “inner voice” and the melodies I was begining to write.”
Giving Back:
As I was trying to find his own musical voice, I was always
disappointed by the lack of material on how to write New Age type solo
piano music. “Most of what I found was pop and jazz training and when
I did find a book that mentioned New Age piano, it was showing how to
sound like New Age piano, but it not from a true New Age artist and lacked much depth.”
“How I wished that true a New Age pianist like George Winston or Jim Brickman
would teach a songwriting course showing how they wrote their songs. How they came up with the melodies, chord progressions and left hand patterns.
“Somewhere along the way I promised that once I had written enough songs and gained enough songwriting experience, I would share what I had learned with other pianists who were trying to do the same as I was.”
As a result “Creative Piano Tools” was born.