Greg Barnett took piano lessons very young for a few years then taught himself guitar when The Beatles stormed the scene. He’s had an off/on relationship with piano and guitar over the decades but they each brought different gifts when he started songwriting late, at age 50. The digital piano became particularly important when he started home-studio production in his mid 60’s.
Greg explains his musical journey and what he found to be special or unique about each instrument, illustrating many of the points with audio examples.
He references his only three songs specifically written on piano. Available on all streaming platforms, the music videos are here:
Oy Veh, Maria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txPASNujhHk
Home is Where the Heart is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6wAmpmuuSI
Let Go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0BGRDBBDK0
Also, his cover of Hard To Say I’m Sorry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKdLEr0TJZA
Other extracts/snippets:
- Bluegrass guitar covers by Greg: these were unreleased and their titles long forgotten.
- The Beatles: “She Loves You” (1963 – UK)
- Joni Mitchell: “Rainy Night House” (Ladies Of The Canyon, 1970)
- James Taylor: “Fire and Rain” (Sweet Baby James, 1970)
- Chicago: “Introduction” (Chicago Transit Authority, 1969)
- Tina S - Moonlight Sonata, 3rd Movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6rBK0BqL2w
Greg’s own music page:http://www.clancys.com.au/music/
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PS. The image used for this episode was AI-generated. AI is getting better with human anatomy, though often makes mistakes, particularly with hands. Ditto for musical instruments. You’ll notice the piano has a weird layout. The guitar has six tuning pegs, seven strings, and even more bridge pins. But I was happy with the overall image composition. I was quite taken with the ‘hair’ ... about as much as I’ve now lost from my own head!! 😊
