Over the past few years, I’ve received countless emails from pianists asking for transcriptions of the piano parts to some of my more popular videos. Since most of what I play is improvised in the moment, this had been a somewhat difficult request to honor.
Instead, I decided to spend the last several months designing an instructional piano course that specifically detailed my approach for turning songs into ragtime and stride piano, so that others could learn the way I learned when I began teaching myself at 12 years old. I also wanted to create an educational program that was different than most of the dry, boring piano courses that I encountered as a kid – one that encourages the reader to experiment at the piano and make their own discoveries.
This e-book- called Ragtimify, of course- teaches all the fundamentals of ragtime piano and takes the reader through all the necessary steps to turn a song into ragtime. There are also chapters devoted to practice tips, ear training, beginning improvisation, and much more.
And of course, there are also excerpts from a whole bunch of my own pop song transformations – including the Postmodern Jukebox versions of “Thrift Shop” and “Call Me Maybe,” as well as from my solo piano pieces, including “Levels of Tetris” and “Hello, My Ragtime 80’s.”
Although the course can be used by pianists at various skill levels, you should have basic piano skills (2+ years of piano experience) before attempting this.
I hope this helps all of you! Feel free to contact me on my Facebook with questions/ comments: http://www.facebook.com/scottbradleemusic
-Scott