One day, pianist Jon Schmidt walked into a piano shop in St. George, Utah and asked the owner, Paul Anderson if he could practice in this shop for his upcoming concert. Anderson, of course let the guy practice and in exchange witnessed Schmidt's captivating talent with the piano. With that both of them started experimenting with audio and video recordings.
A little while later, Schmidt introduced cellist Steven Sharp Nelson to Anderson, Nelson is like a magician with the cello and had been performing with Schmidt for years. Anderson was overwhelmed by the duo's infinite talent and together they starting working on creating professional videos of their music.
Before, I tell you the rest of the story, you guys must watch this Beethoven's 5 Secrets - One Republic video by the Piano guys.
The group then started uploading a video on YouTube every week and like I said, true talent always receives its spotlight; within no time, their videos received millions of views. In June last year, they received maximum number of votes in a poll conducted by YouTube, for which they were on the homepage spotlight for an entire day. They received so much of appreciation and love from all over the world, that by March 18, 2012, The Piano Guys YouTube channel became the top 300 channel world-wide. Their first album (both digital and CD) was released in December 2011 and they call it YouTube Hits Vol 1.
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John Schmidt |
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Steven Sharp Nelson |
Here's what Paul Anderson has to say about their journey so far:
"We're a just couple of guys with a camera, a computer and some really talented friends. We are passionate about showcasing artists that are not big yet, but we know will be someday, and would love nothing more than to be a part of someone’s "Big Break." It's a joy to bring exciting music to life through video, and we can truly say we love what we do. Thanks to our loyal subscribers we are having the time of our lives and who knows, maybe someday we will be able to do this full-time!"What makes their music so mesmerizing is the interesting spin that they take on classical and modern music. "We like to put a new spin on classic stuff and a classic spin on new stuff." they say. Check out these two videos where they've taken two new songs and brought in their signature classical touch to it - Paradise by Coldplay and Rolling in the deep by Adele.
In order to raise some money to fund their albums, production and travel costs, they've come up with an interesting project where they are inviting their fans to be a founder of The Piano Guys.
"OK, so we've hit a bit of a snag. Throughout the last six months our channel has been growing rapidly but we have still been working our day jobs. We are using income from our jobs to fund our music and video. While our families sleep, we write music. While the lights are out at our day jobs, we film. We love what we're doing and want to continue at our current pace, but to do that we need your help. We want to be able to take what we've been doing locally on a more global level -- playing concerts, holding workshops, and speaking to young people to encourage them to pursue life to its fullest and to make good music an integral part of their lives."Check out this video where The Piano Guys share their vision:
Other than their amazing music (I am already a huge fan) what I find inspiring is their passion for what they do and their impeccable professionalism. There is no denying that YouTube has played a major role in bringing their music to the world, and has brought them where they are today. This should be a perfect example for any musician out there, that if you have talent, and are willing to work hard towards it, this digital era will bring you plenty of opportunities, you just have to play your cards right.
I hope you enjoy their music as much as I do, and would love to hear your views in the comment section below.
www.thepianoguys.com
www.youtube.com/thepianoguys
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Wow! Now, I'm inspired!
:) Other than their music, their story is equally inspiring.
captivating talent with the piano. With that both of them started experimenting with audio and video recordings.
beautiful music