thank you for the well-thought out opinion. You are a musician and I appreciate your lack of pretension. Little do a few folks on here realize that its not thinking that Prince is not the be-all-end-all of piano players that offends people here--its the suggestion and implication that those who find merit in his playing are non-musicial idiots and deluded fans.

PeteSilas said:

see, that's why i hate these threads, yes i know jazz musicians can play a million notes a second, i know they can stack a ton of harmonies on, i'm not saying that they can't. I'm saying what Prince did, and what made him special in his genre, the chords he used are unusual for pop music, in my opinion it's what gave his music that little bit of extra flavor, those jazz/gospel sounds that are sometimes so subversive that the average pop listener will have no idea what they are hearing only that it's different and they like it. You wanna play the game of who's the best that can go on forever and like ray charles used to say "i know there are 10 players better than me in any city i set foot in" sales/musicianship only have so much correlation. In fact, i have a buddy now, he's got a jazz album near the top of billboard, i'm happy for him, but knowing the genre, he probably didn't have to sell very much, no one buys that stuff anymore.

CAL3 said:

clearly some of y'all haven't been exposed to any great pianists.

.

Check out Herbie Hancock.

.

McCoy Tyner.

.

Art Tatum.

.

Bill Evans.

.

Dave Brubeck.

.

CHICK COREA.

.

Earl Hines.

.

Ramsey Lewis.

.

KEITH JARRETT

.

These are just a few folks who can (or could) play absolute CIRCLES around Prince. I mean, I love Prince -- but there is a tendency by "fams" to overestimate and over-elevate his musicianship.

.

I'd say he was a great pop keyboardist. But let's KEEP IT REAL. His harmonic conception didn't have near the complexity of the greats mentioned above.

the main point for me is i fail to see how Prince would have benefitted in any way by spending more time on being a better pianist in lieu of all the time he put into production,performance,songwriting,practicing other instruments. would have been pointless, yet, it seems as though he did do some woodshedding in his final days, he never played better, never.

CAL3 said:

in some ways they do, but who wants to listen? classical is the same, no one really wants to listen to that not too many make a living as a classical pianist, and even billy and elton admit that they knew they'd never be concert pianist level which is why they started in pop. nat king cole was one of the all time greats as a pianist, when he became a pop star as a singer, no one even cared about that. people decide what they want, do they want to make some money? do they want art? do they want technical greatness? lots of musicians, great ones that don't even seek attention, i've seen them.

rogifan said:

CAL3 said:

clearly some of y'all haven't been exposed to any great pianists.

.

Check out Herbie Hancock.

.

McCoy Tyner.

.

Art Tatum.

.

Bill Evans.

.

Dave Brubeck.

.

CHICK COREA.

.

Earl Hines.

.

Ramsey Lewis.

.

KEITH JARRETT

.

These are just a few folks who can (or could) play absolute CIRCLES around Prince. I mean, I love Prince -- but there is a tendency by "fams" to overestimate and over-elevate his musicianship.

.

I'd say he was a great pop keyboardist. But let's KEEP IT REAL. His harmonic conception didn't have near the complexity of the greats mentioned above.

Aren’t those all jazz performers? So basically you’re saying is jazz musicians run rings around everyone else.

Musician9 said:

stpaisios said:

Talking 'bout calibre - 'Future Soul Song' is up there with your favorite classical piece... its a symphony of one kind. ppl don't want to believe that because its not written for orchestra and other 'classical' terms.

'Average' pop musican don't write something like 'Anna Stesia' or 'I Hate U' or 'Everywhere' or 'The One' or 'Come'... should i continue?

yes, you should continue, and also read the OP which talks about technical ability. The songs you listed are like nursery rhymes, Anna Stesia? Come on, you're joking, maybe not. But again, it's your opinion, like I have my opinion, but you attack me revealing that you're not a musician in the process. P has 2 types of fans, musicians and non-musicians, sorry if us musicians don't adhere to your pre-conceived notions of what is good or complex, or anything at all. And like all non-musician orgers you spew up the same ole responses like, you're a troll, why aren't you famous, he was the best ever, he's not a virtuoso because he did so many other things. I don't give a shit. IMO he was just a hard-working musician who deserves multiple kudos but mastered nothing, and why do you care so much? Is he your God, your father, your son, your family, your sugar daddy? I can't believe how offended you bunch feel when someone offers a different critique than yours for someone you'll never meet, know or care for you, strange. And to answer another schmuck on this thread, I can't trade licks with him, cos HE'S DEAD...

You took Prince trying to expose your thought on mastery, technical ability etc.

Well, you took a wrong guy. For example, one can say that John Zorn is a hard-working musican who deserves multiple kudos but mastered nothing cuz you cant make sense with none of his work. Prince on the other hand mastered the art of writing pop/funk/jazz-rock songs.

Take your seat and listen 'Dance 4 Me', 'Call My Name', '3121', 'Everlasting Now', 'Supercute'... then we can talk.

[Edited 3/20/18 3:39am]

I'm classicly trained myself and have been playing since I was 4 years old. I always thought Prince was decent but afte seeing him do the Piano and a microphone tour I realized he was much better than I ever thought possible. Some very difficult sections at times

lynx said:

CAL3 said:

PeteSilas said:

PeteSilas said:

way better than he should have been considering all the other stuff he did.

Ha!

Very succinctly summed up, sir!

Genesia said:

PeteSilas said:

for me, i have to think of all the other things he did because it's astounding. It's like watching mike Tyson in his prime when he had great power but not any greater than other heavyweights but he also had the fastest hands in heavyweight history, doesn't make sense.listening to the final shows and how great he was on keys considering all the things he did i just scratch my head and wonder when he found the time to get that good, he was also great at fusing the piano with his vocals. People are mentioning elton and billy but there are many great pianists who are as good or better, Jerry Lee Lewis was a motherfucker, Charlie Rich might arguably be better than anyone, Aretha Franklin was a child prodigy on the piano who was an amazing player as an adult, Leon Russell. Harmonically, though, i think Prince had a distinctive quirky sound of his own on keys, sounds jazzy, gospelly, but it sounds like he did like lisa did and hit extra notes not caring what kind of chord it would be so long as it worked. I don't care what anyone says, he was the best.

[Edited 3/19/18 13:25pm]

No one was talking to you.

Technically, when you post on a message board you are talking to everyone. If you want a private conversation to ensure no one horns in on your brilliant thoughts, use Orgnotes.

jdcxc said:

CAL3 said:

clearly some of y'all haven't been exposed to any great pianists.

.

Check out Herbie Hancock.

.

McCoy Tyner.

.

Art Tatum.

.

Bill Evans.

.

Dave Brubeck.

.

CHICK COREA.

.

Earl Hines.

.

Ramsey Lewis.

.

KEITH JARRETT

.

These are just a few folks who can (or could) play absolute CIRCLES around Prince. I mean, I love Prince -- but there is a tendency by "fams" to overestimate and over-elevate his musicianship.

.

I'd say he was a great pop keyboardist. But let's KEEP IT REAL. His harmonic conception didn't have near the complexity of the greats mentioned above.

Ridiculous. The thread is about Prince’s technical proficiency and you give a list of some of the greatest JAZZ keybordists of all time. So unfair. Prince is brilliant on multiple instruments, but you can find better “technical” virtuoists all through musical history. Your also missing the point about Prince’s genius. They couldn’t do Housequake. Btw...Prince had good keybordists in his camp- Lisa, Patrice Rushen!!!, Renato and Cassandra.

.

They couldn't do "Housequake"?? Is that your go-to PIANO-based track for Prince?

.

It's not ridiculous when discussing Prince's musicianship to point toward a few people who can/could school Prince.

.

Those people I mentioned ARE brilliant on piano - which is what the question of this threat was about. I'm not "missing the point" about anything - read the title of THIS thread. It wasn't a discussion of his overall "genius."

PeteSilas said:

see, that's why i hate these threads, yes i know jazz musicians can play a million notes a second, i know they can stack a ton of harmonies on, i'm not saying that they can't. I'm saying what Prince did, and what made him special in his genre, the chords he used are unusual for pop music, in my opinion it's what gave his music that little bit of extra flavor, those jazz/gospel sounds that are sometimes so subversive that the average pop listener will have no idea what they are hearing only that it's different and they like it. You wanna play the game of who's the best that can go on forever and like ray charles used to say "i know there are 10 players better than me in any city i set foot in" sales/musicianship only have so much correlation. In fact, i have a buddy now, he's got a jazz album near the top of billboard, i'm happy for him, but knowing the genre, he probably didn't have to sell very much, no one buys that stuff anymore.

.

And THAT'S why I said that Prince was a GREAT pop/R&B/rock keyboardist. No argument there.

.

My comments weren't directed at everyone. I know damn well there are people here who have some perspective on Prince's musicianship. But let's be honest - there are some who do not.

.

There are people here who freely admit they don't even LISTEN to anyone else besides Prince. And sometimes those are the same folks venturing breathless assessments about Prince's virtuosity.

.

The thread is about Prince's technique as a pianist. It's all completely relative. What's the benchmark for "good." Even if we set aside the legends of jazz, take pop jazz pianists like Harry Connick and Diana Krall -- was Prince as good as them? I've heard both of them play stuff that is simply on a different level than anything I've heard Prince play. And it's not always (or really ever) about playing a million notes a second.

.

You lost me when you started talking about record sales and "no one buys that stuff anymore" (jazz has never been a big selling genre). I don't know what point you're trying to make. If someone chooses to ignore even fusion or crossover jazz because they don't have the patience for it, that's their loss. My point was just that Prince never demonstrated himself to be more than an excellent pop-oriented musician. Not that that's anything to scoff at.

PeteSilas said:

in some ways they do, but who wants to listen? classical is the same, no one really wants to listen to that not too many make a living as a classical pianist, and even billy and elton admit that they knew they'd never be concert pianist level which is why they started in pop. nat king cole was one of the all time greats as a pianist, when he became a pop star as a singer, no one even cared about that. people decide what they want, do they want to make some money? do they want art? do they want technical greatness? lots of musicians, great ones that don't even seek attention, i've seen them.

rogifan said:

CAL3 said: Aren’t those all jazz performers? So basically you’re saying is jazz musicians run rings around everyone else.

.

To rogifan: yes, great jazz musicians run rings around everyone in the pop world. Which doesn't invalidate the music of pop musicians. It just means that great pop music is built with different ingredients than jazz. But the question was, how "good" of a pianist was Prince. Plenty good for his pop-oriented genres. And I don't mean that to sound condescending.

.

Part of the trouble in accessing Prince's musicianship is that he typically did not spotlight his musicianship on his studio albums. I'm sure many would agree, he was a much greater musician than his recorded output truly demonstrates. Had he been releasing live albums throughout his life, and not leaving that material to the devoted bootleg collectors, he would almost certainly be held in higher regard. But his records are more demonstrations of production/arranging brilliance - and spotlighting the strength of his songwriting - than features for great musicianship.

.

And his instrumental albums - while not devoid of interest - don't do much to elevate any objective assessment of his musicianship.

.

To PeteSilas: what's with this "who wants to listen" stuff? I just am not following the points you're trying to make about the commercial viability (or lack thereof) of jazz (and/or classical) music.

CAL3 said:

well cal, I know for a fact that prince had no interest in capturing jazz or classical markets, he only had so much interest in the black market at the beginning, his teacher John Hamilton taught him that a hit on black radio meant nothing, Prince wanted it all and he got it. And who does want to listen to someone fucking around on an instrument when it has no real emotional impact or meaning to them? which, unfortunately is what a lot of jazz and classical is. fact, they don't sell.

CAL3 said:

PeteSilas said:

in some ways they do, but who wants to listen? classical is the same, no one really wants to listen to that not too many make a living as a classical pianist, and even billy and elton admit that they knew they'd never be concert pianist level which is why they started in pop. nat king cole was one of the all time greats as a pianist, when he became a pop star as a singer, no one even cared about that. people decide what they want, do they want to make some money? do they want art? do they want technical greatness? lots of musicians, great ones that don't even seek attention, i've seen them.

.

To rogifan: yes, great jazz musicians run rings around everyone in the pop world. Which doesn't invalidate the music of pop musicians. It just means that great pop music is built with different ingredients than jazz. But the question was, how "good" of a pianist was Prince. Plenty good for his pop-oriented genres. And I don't mean that to sound condescending.

.

Part of the trouble in accessing Prince's musicianship is that he typically did not spotlight his musicianship on his studio albums. I'm sure many would agree, he was a much greater musician than his recorded output truly demonstrates. Had he been releasing live albums throughout his life, and not leaving that material to the devoted bootleg collectors, he would almost certainly be held in higher regard. But his records are more demonstrations of production/arranging brilliance - and spotlighting the strength of his songwriting - than features for great musicianship.

.

And his instrumental albums - while not devoid of interest - don't do much to elevate any objective assessment of his musicianship.

.

To PeteSilas: what's with this "who wants to listen" stuff? I just am not following the points you're trying to make about the commercial viability (or lack thereof) of jazz (and/or classical) music.

rogifan said:

Musician9 said:

Elton John has composed scores for full-blown musicals and Billy Joel released a classical album for piano and orchestra called Fantasies & Delusions in 2003. I own it and Prince could never compose something of that calibre, his field is pop music with bits of r&b, funk and rock, even his forays into jazz were simplistic at best. But he's better than the average pop musician, I guess, which is really the measuring stick here, just like he was an average guitarist IMO, but better than other pop stars, not true guitarists.

Not better than true guitarists.

Musician9's comments should not be taken too seriously. What he is saying is not technically wrong but to compare art with measuring sticks is the wrong approach, we all would agree with that. I have heard from many that Prince was a fantastic instrumentalist but there were many that were better. An example, I recall talking to a well known industry bass player. This player explained that Victor Wooten could smoke Prince on bass guitar and and his brother Reggie would do the same of Prince oin guitar. However, there are videos of Victor himself talking about Prince's feel on bass and how amazing Prince's bass lines were...he went onto to play 'Let's work'. Similarly, the most celebrated guitarists say the same about his guitar playing. Some say similar things about this piano playing. Then we all know he was a first rate singer and song writer, bandleader and showman. This same bass player explained this, the fact that he could do it all and at such a high level is precisley what set him apart from pretty much everyone.

There has to be a reason why the Herbie Hancocks, Miles Davis, Greg Phillanges, Claptons, Bonos, Brian Mays, Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel's of the world all wanted to hear him or play with him. He crossed all lines.

Musician9's comments are annoying but not entirely wrong. He's just missing the big picture when it comes to Prince.

PeteSilas said:

well cal, I know for a fact that prince had no interest in capturing jazz or classical markets, he only had so much interest in the black market at the beginning, his teacher John Hamilton taught him that a hit on black radio meant nothing, Prince wanted it all and he got it. And who does want to listen to someone fucking around on an instrument when it has no real emotional impact or meaning to them? which, unfortunately is what a lot of jazz and classical is. fact, they don't sell.

CAL3 said:

.

I still trying to understand your point of view on this. I realize it's a fact that jazz doesn't sell (I play jazz myself, and I know all too well how unpopular it is).

.

Jazz (and classical) is a form of high art - and art isn't commercial viable. Art - be it painting, theatre, literature, or music - always struggles to find an audience.

.

As to listening "to someone fucking around on an instrument when it has no real emotional impact" - I mean... I'm not trying to be confrontational, just really asking - do you believe that is what jazz is? Sure, there are jazz instrumentalists who are perhaps too wrapped up in technical prowess over emotional investment, it's a HUGE broadside to suggest that's what "a lot of jazz is."

.

I don't think European classical music belongs in this discussion of Prince's skillset. Not anymore than, say, Indian classical music would. Because I would wholeheartedly agree that Prince was never involved in that form.

.

But I think it is valid to bring jazz into the discussion because - while no, he was wasn't trying to "capture the jazz market," he did have an interest in jazz, worked with some jazz musicians, and with the release of certain instrumental albums certainly invited comparisons to jazz.

.

Not all great jazz musicians would necessarily make great pop performers (most don't have the stage presence required to attain mainstream popularity - and the few who arguably do are usually written off as "sell-outs" for pandering to a mass audience). That said, any skilled jazz musician can handle playing pop music if they're willing to simplify their approach. But very few pop stars - even the best of them, like Prince - could truly hold their own in a cutting session with actual jazz players.

.

So what? Maybe jumping in with a list of otherworldly jazz pianists was a smartass move. But I don't think it's entirely irrevelvant when there are some Prince guys'n'gals who believe he was a keyboard wizard. I just meant, let's put it in perspective.

.

I LOVE Prince's keyboard playing. I think the 'One Nite Alone' studio record is highly underrated - can't get enough of his playing on the title track, "Avalanche," and others. I love his work on "Condition of the Heart" - I always crank up that long intro. I think in the popular music world, Prince was up there with Stevie as a truly incredible, inventive, emotive player. I wish he had featured his instrumental prowess more effectively throughout his studio recordings and I hope live stuff like the final tour gets official release so more people can appreciate it than just boot collectors.

.

But I was just - in probably a snarky tone that was unneccesary - trying to say, don't stop there. Explore the transportive artisty of pianists whose musical concept was more advanced than Prince's. Otherwise you're selling yourself short as a music fan (I don't mean "yourself" as in you, Pete, just people in general).

jdcxc said:

CAL3 said:

.

They couldn't do "Housequake"?? Is that your go-to PIANO-based track for Prince?

.

It's not ridiculous when discussing Prince's musicianship to point toward a few people who can/could school Prince.

.

Those people I mentioned ARE brilliant on piano - which is what the question of this threat was about. I'm not "missing the point" about anything - read the title of THIS thread. It wasn't a discussion of his overall "genius."

The reference to Housequake had nothing to do with piano chops...its from a Prince interview in which he disses the Grammies. My point is that the thread has devolved from whether Prince was a good pianist to whether he was one of the greatest piano virtuosos ever. For Prince, all instruments served his otherworldly songwriting skills.

.

I know, I was just being a sarcastic a-hole. I remember the comment about U2 winning a Grammy when 'Sign' was nominated.

.

My point was that what really devolves a thread like this is straying off topic - and whether or not 'Sign' should've won a Grammy over 'Joshua Tree' is pretty far from the original question, agree?

.

But I agree on the songwriting thing and the fact that Prince's musicianship was designed to showcase those songs. Also his producing and arranging skills. Prince the songwriter, the vocalist, and the live performer - in a class of his own. Prince the keyboardist -- good player who wasn't by any stretch strictly a piano player. So of course he isn't going to compare to the most revolutionary piano players.

cal, didn't read your full post, my point is, the objective that prince had was different, if he wanted to devote all his time to piano playing he would have. None of us would have heard of him though.

CAL3 said:

PeteSilas said:

well cal, I know for a fact that prince had no interest in capturing jazz or classical markets, he only had so much interest in the black market at the beginning, his teacher John Hamilton taught him that a hit on black radio meant nothing, Prince wanted it all and he got it. And who does want to listen to someone fucking around on an instrument when it has no real emotional impact or meaning to them? which, unfortunately is what a lot of jazz and classical is. fact, they don't sell.

.

I still trying to understand your point of view on this. I realize it's a fact that jazz doesn't sell (I play jazz myself, and I know all too well how unpopular it is).

.

Jazz (and classical) is a form of high art - and art isn't commercial viable. Art - be it painting, theatre, literature, or music - always struggles to find an audience.

.

As to listening "to someone fucking around on an instrument when it has no real emotional impact" - I mean... I'm not trying to be confrontational, just really asking - do you believe that is what jazz is? Sure, there are jazz instrumentalists who are perhaps too wrapped up in technical prowess over emotional investment, it's a HUGE broadside to suggest that's what "a lot of jazz is."

.

I don't think European classical music belongs in this discussion of Prince's skillset. Not anymore than, say, Indian classical music would. Because I would wholeheartedly agree that Prince was never involved in that form.

.

But I think it is valid to bring jazz into the discussion because - while no, he was wasn't trying to "capture the jazz market," he did have an interest in jazz, worked with some jazz musicians, and with the release of certain instrumental albums certainly invited comparisons to jazz.

.

Not all great jazz musicians would necessarily make great pop performers (most don't have the stage presence required to attain mainstream popularity - and the few who arguably do are usually written off as "sell-outs" for pandering to a mass audience). That said, any skilled jazz musician can handle playing pop music if they're willing to simplify their approach. But very few pop stars - even the best of them, like Prince - could truly hold their own in a cutting session with actual jazz players.

.

So what? Maybe jumping in with a list of otherworldly jazz pianists was a smartass move. But I don't think it's entirely irrevelvant when there are some Prince guys'n'gals who believe he was a keyboard wizard. I just meant, let's put it in perspective.

.

I LOVE Prince's keyboard playing. I think the 'One Nite Alone' studio record is highly underrated - can't get enough of his playing on the title track, "Avalanche," and others. I love his work on "Condition of the Heart" - I always crank up that long intro. I think in the popular music world, Prince was up there with Stevie as a truly incredible, inventive, emotive player. I wish he had featured his instrumental prowess more effectively throughout his studio recordings and I hope live stuff like the final tour gets official release so more people can appreciate it than just boot collectors.

.

But I was just - in probably a snarky tone that was unneccesary - trying to say, don't stop there. Explore the transportive artisty of pianists whose musical concept was more advanced than Prince's. Otherwise you're selling yourself short as a music fan (I don't mean "yourself" as in you, Pete, just people in general).

i'm listening to a youtube P&M concert i haven't heard before, dude was way better than he had to be. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, i'll get swell headed and think i'm better than him then i'll hear something like this, where he is going fluidly from one song to the other, playing different arrangements of songs that he's been playing on the tour, as if he's improvising the changes right there and i'll feel like a bum again. He ain't the only one to make me feel like that, lots of unnamed kids i've stumbled upon over the years have. I've actually heard one guy who i think could compete with anyone in the world, when i met him the teachers were making it so he couldn't give lessons, peoples small mindedness and jealous is an ugly thing. we all lose because of it.

PeteSilas said:

cal, didn't read your full post, my point is, the objective that prince had was different, if he wanted to devote all his time to piano playing he would have. None of us would have heard of him though.

.

Pete, the highlighted part is as far as I got in yours.

CAL3 said:

PeteSilas said:

cal, didn't read your full post, my point is, the objective that prince had was different, if he wanted to devote all his time to piano playing he would have. None of us would have heard of him though.

.

Pete, the highlighted part is as far as I got in yours.

cool, did you get that far?

CAL3 said:

PeteSilas said:

cal, didn't read your full post, my point is, the objective that prince had was different, if he wanted to devote all his time to piano playing he would have. None of us would have heard of him though.

.

Pete, the highlighted part is as far as I got in yours.

Post of the day, made me laugh out loud!

LMAO this site is funny some of the ego's on here.

lonelyalien said:

laytonian said:

.

The New Yorker's classical music critic Alex Ross was stunned by his abilities.

"He described it as “one of the most staggering live performances I’ve ever seen.” He went on to say that the featured artist was “a profoundly musical being whose startling displays of virtuosity never lost sight of the fundamental harmonic landscape…”

The artist in question? Yo-Yo? Placido? Renee?

It was Prince."

http://wnpr.org/post/prin...-world-too

Thanks for the link.

SO Alex Ross,

who makes a Living critiquing Classical Music,

describes Princes musical abilities as

Stunning Staggering and Virtuostic!!!

Richard Ross a Professor of Music declares that Prince should be

considered as a Classical Musician !!!!!!!

Evidence...so much of it

The way he tinkles away on Arboretum, sparsely decorated yet haunting,

he doesnt need to overpaly and bang on the bIG notes..

He makes Love to the Keys as he did to the Guitar strings

or

Listen to the way he Plays "Summertime"

a tune I could very well relegate to my "i dont ever need to hear that again" list becasue its been done done done..But Prince gives it new life with some serious Piano Chops.

He added his own notes and changed tempo all the while chewing gum

and totally OWNING the tune, casually

coaching his band, while his fingers danced across the keys...

but NO here on the ORG....

Prince is technically average

Unbelievable

"Technically how good a pianist was Prince?" - the question sounded a bit odd to me because with composers like Prince, I don't think his skills should be measured by how good he would've been at playing someone else's piece - like Chopin's Nocturnes for example - which is usually how you determine someone's "techinical" piano playing ability. Anyways,

I've seen him playing the piano many times. As someone who's been practicing the piano since 7 through lessons I gotta say the way he plays the instrument blew me away for many different reasons. He doesn't seem like someone who's had traditional/technical basic piano lessons (this I don't know for sure) but somehow he makes it look so effortless. In terms of the basics - sense of rhythm, pressing the right keys, where to sustain, etc. - clearly he's mastered all that. But this is something almost anyone can learn/teach/practice in other words "techinical skills". What seperates a great/gifted pianist from a good piano player - is having skills that can't be taught.

For instance he seemed to be very good at playing songs on the piano by ear. From concert rehearsal footages I've seen him do that many times. Often at live shows and interviews, he also played one song in different keys & styles or twist the chorus part on the piano as if he was improvising that bit on spot. It's not as easy as it looks...improvising even a simple melody on the piano and to have it sound like "it makes sense" to everyone is almost an impossible task for people like me - who were taught how to play the piano in a "traditional" way. I have "techinical skills" but that's it.
Personally I think as far as popular music artists are concerned, Prince was among the best at the piano. And that's the reason I was drawn to him in the first place.

[Edited 3/20/18 21:14pm]

Lovejunky said:

lonelyalien said:

Thanks for the link.

SO Alex Ross,

who makes a Living critiquing Classical Music,

describes Princes musical abilities as

Stunning Staggering and Virtuostic!!!

Richard Ross a Professor of Music declares that Prince should be

considered as a Classical Musician !!!!!!!

Evidence...so much of it

The way he tinkles away on Arboretum, sparsely decorated yet haunting,

he doesnt need to overpaly and bang on the bIG notes..

He makes Love to the Keys as he did to the Guitar strings

or

Listen to the way he Plays "Summertime"

a tune I could very well relegate to my "i dont ever need to hear that again" list becasue its been done done done..But Prince gives it new life with some serious Piano Chops.

He added his own notes and changed tempo all the while chewing gum

and totally OWNING the tune, casually

coaching his band, while his fingers danced across the keys...

but NO here on the ORG....

Prince is technically average

Unbelievable

check out this sycophant, he's gonna start a thread on how well Prince chewed gum while playing piano and declare that only P could chew like that! For f...'s sake! Many of you folks need hobbies... or help...

stpaisios said:

Musician9 said:

yes, you should continue, and also read the OP which talks about technical ability. The songs you listed are like nursery rhymes, Anna Stesia? Come on, you're joking, maybe not. But again, it's your opinion, like I have my opinion, but you attack me revealing that you're not a musician in the process. P has 2 types of fans, musicians and non-musicians, sorry if us musicians don't adhere to your pre-conceived notions of what is good or complex, or anything at all. And like all non-musician orgers you spew up the same ole responses like, you're a troll, why aren't you famous, he was the best ever, he's not a virtuoso because he did so many other things. I don't give a shit. IMO he was just a hard-working musician who deserves multiple kudos but mastered nothing, and why do you care so much? Is he your God, your father, your son, your family, your sugar daddy? I can't believe how offended you bunch feel when someone offers a different critique than yours for someone you'll never meet, know or care for you, strange. And to answer another schmuck on this thread, I can't trade licks with him, cos HE'S DEAD...

You took Prince trying to expose your thought on mastery, technical ability etc.

Well, you took a wrong guy. For example, one can say that John Zorn is a hard-working musican who deserves multiple kudos but mastered nothing cuz you cant make sense with none of his work. Prince on the other hand mastered the art of writing pop/funk/jazz-rock songs.

Take your seat and listen 'Dance 4 Me', 'Call My Name', '3121', 'Everlasting Now', 'Supercute'... then we can talk.

[Edited 3/20/18 3:39am]

I took Prince? Umkay, I'm glad to see you're aware of Zorn, he's on another level, as for the rest, I used to be a massive P fan but frankly after the 90's I got bored and IMO he never really progressed, still writing pop/funk songs that bored me to tears, so if he was so greta IMO he should've delved into far more styles than he did and really tried something daring, I've sold off half my collection cos I've arrived at the place where I just don't care, he's just another artist among hundreds I find talented and worthy of my time. Still love the 80's stuff but the rest actually bugs me, though I did keep TGE, his last good one all around IMO, notice I wrote IMO, he's not the best, no one is the best, it's all good and meaningful...

[Edited 3/20/18 21:50pm]

Musician9 said:

Lovejunky said:

SO Alex Ross,

who makes a Living critiquing Classical Music,

describes Princes musical abilities as

Stunning Staggering and Virtuostic!!!

Richard Ross a Professor of Music declares that Prince should be

considered as a Classical Musician !!!!!!!

Evidence...so much of it

The way he tinkles away on Arboretum, sparsely decorated yet haunting,

he doesnt need to overpaly and bang on the bIG notes..

He makes Love to the Keys as he did to the Guitar strings

or

Listen to the way he Plays "Summertime"

a tune I could very well relegate to my "i dont ever need to hear that again" list becasue its been done done done..But Prince gives it new life with some serious Piano Chops.

He added his own notes and changed tempo all the while chewing gum

and totally OWNING the tune, casually

coaching his band, while his fingers danced across the keys...

but NO here on the ORG....

Prince is technically average

Unbelievable

check out this sycophant, he's gonna start a thread on how well Prince chewed gum while playing piano and declare that only P could chew like that! For f...'s sake! Many of you folks need hobbies... or help...