Dueling pianos have been a part of the entertainment landscape since at least the late nineteenth century. In the Victorian era, patrons would watch to see which of two piano players could play not only better, but also more quickly, than the other.
Nowadays, the field has changed. Instead of battling, the two musicians are more likely to work with each other in a collaborative spirit as they try to engage and amuse the audience, sometimes even inviting the crowd to sing with them in order to create a lively feeling for the performance. There are now clubs and bars that specialize in this kind of entertainment.
The style of playing in a dueling situation is very showy, with more flourishes than you'd see in a traditional recital. The performers will sometimes throw in impromptu banter, prepared jokes or funny lyrics. Sometimes the performers will work in regular teams, like a comedy duo, and other times they will be strangers or nearly strangers and will figure out their act on the fly, based on whatever their chemistry turns out to be like.
Most bars that offer this kind of entertainment allow patrons to request songs from the popular musical canon. In addition to old favorites, the musicians must be ready to play a wide range of hits from the contemporary rock and pop charts. This means a repertoire that is too varied and wide for the musicians to have memorized every single song, but they must still be ready to try and please an audience by fulfilling a request.
In order to be able to fulfill these requests, pianists who work in this line of entertainment usually bring a songbook with them to a performance. It contains sheet music for songs that may be requested, and which the artists has played before and knows but may not have learned completely by heart.
There are different ways that bars allow patrons to request songs, from signing up on a list to simply calling out a song title, or passing a napkin to the performers with the song's title written on it. Whether it is a casual or formal atmosphere, and regardless of the specific request procedure, it is expected that audience members who make a request will tip the musicians out of gratitude. There will almost always be an obvious receptacle for leaving a cash tip.
A dueling piano performance lets pianists from a variety of backgrounds, whether classical or rock and roll, use their skills to entertain patrons in a lively setting, and provide a fun night for the crowd. With more than a hundred years of history, it's not likely that this kind of performance will vanish in the near future.
dueling pianos
Nowadays, the field has changed. Instead of battling, the two musicians are more likely to work with each other in a collaborative spirit as they try to engage and amuse the audience, sometimes even inviting the crowd to sing with them in order to create a lively feeling for the performance. There are now clubs and bars that specialize in this kind of entertainment.
The style of playing in a dueling situation is very showy, with more flourishes than you'd see in a traditional recital. The performers will sometimes throw in impromptu banter, prepared jokes or funny lyrics. Sometimes the performers will work in regular teams, like a comedy duo, and other times they will be strangers or nearly strangers and will figure out their act on the fly, based on whatever their chemistry turns out to be like.
Most bars that offer this kind of entertainment allow patrons to request songs from the popular musical canon. In addition to old favorites, the musicians must be ready to play a wide range of hits from the contemporary rock and pop charts. This means a repertoire that is too varied and wide for the musicians to have memorized every single song, but they must still be ready to try and please an audience by fulfilling a request.
In order to be able to fulfill these requests, pianists who work in this line of entertainment usually bring a songbook with them to a performance. It contains sheet music for songs that may be requested, and which the artists has played before and knows but may not have learned completely by heart.
There are different ways that bars allow patrons to request songs, from signing up on a list to simply calling out a song title, or passing a napkin to the performers with the song's title written on it. Whether it is a casual or formal atmosphere, and regardless of the specific request procedure, it is expected that audience members who make a request will tip the musicians out of gratitude. There will almost always be an obvious receptacle for leaving a cash tip.
A dueling piano performance lets pianists from a variety of backgrounds, whether classical or rock and roll, use their skills to entertain patrons in a lively setting, and provide a fun night for the crowd. With more than a hundred years of history, it's not likely that this kind of performance will vanish in the near future.
dueling pianos
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