Yoko's piano skills

I have read that Yoko studied the piano as young, and I have even read

BlackMonk...

Yes. Do some research.

that she was an aspiring concert pianist.

BlackMonk...

Both true.

John said that Because was inspired by hearing Yoko - "a trained
classical piano player" - playing Beethoven's Moonlight Senata backwards ...

BlackMonk...

Moonlight Sonata isn't all that difficult to play. She had some piano
training and has played on recordings, but no one has ever claimed she was a
concert level pianist.

Brian Wilson also "plays" an unplugged piano in concert. Does that mean he
can't play the piano either?

BlackMonk...

Paul McCartney wasn't even there.

fattuchus...

True, but I think it should be pretty clear to see if her keyboard was
plugged in or not. Plus, Paul is a pro. He can watch the same DVD I
have, listen to the music and see if she is really playing or not. It
is on film.

BlackMonk...

Close-ups of her hands during the entire concert? That must be a different
film than the one I saw.

How would he know whether her keyboard wasn't plugged in or if it was buried
in the mix?

BlackMonk...

Yes, later. This was the first time she played a full concert. Spending half
of it in a bag doesn't count.

fattuchus...

Well, I agree with you on that last point.

Again, you've shown that you can't be objective about this.

If she was a trained piano player - why didn't she play the piano or
keyboards on for instance the Plastic Ono Band records, or on her later
records?

Are there any evidence whatsoever demonstrating Yoko's skills as a piano

fattuchus...

Yes. On one of her albums (I forget which one) she has a demo of Yoko
singing I'm Moving On, and it sounds as if she is playing piano to
accompany herself, but it is not good. But yes, she can pick out notes.
Like a child.

fattuchus...

I'm not sure what your point is. Yoko sure did fool a lot of people at
Madison Square Garden. I mean, she was sitting there banging away at a
piano during John's performances. Many people in the audience are not
professional musicians and the seats are so far away, we can't see
exactly what keys she was playing. Most people would assume she was
playing.

I was surprised to read later that she was faking it.

player?

Runnnerr...

Oh my goodness!!! Haven't you seen the "Live In New York City" video?
That video really demonstrates the Yoke's prowess at pounding the
keyboards at the piano. What a performance. She's got rock and roll in
her blood!

(Sarcasm meter all the way in the red zone here for all you folks who
take everything oh-so-seriously)

fattuchus...

ROTFLMAO!

However in fairness, I have seen photos of the Yoke at the piano. I
don't know what it sounded like.

BlackMonk...

From the recordings I've heard, she's a competent pianist and can accompany
herself. I haven't heard anything to indicate she's a concert level
classical pianist, but no one ever claimed she was. The Moonlight Sonata
isn't all that hard to play.

It is my understanding that the Yoke's father told her she could never
be a professional piano player because her hands were too small.

F Parella...

Her first husband was a very competent piano player, interestingly.
Unfortunately, his abilities didn't rub off on Yoko. She may have been
too busy with other guys.

Some members of John and Yoko's inner circle have mentioned hearing
Yoko plonk away on pianos. One of Yoko's tarot card readers (John
Green) wrote about how she would preview her DF songs for him. I don't
think he enjoyed the experience...

dahldude...

I asked Fred Seaman this very question back in 2000. He heard nothing.
Some apologists who normally demand corroborating proof were (not
surprisingly) all-too-eager to cut the artist slack and assume she
could kick out the jams. Start at about post number 20:

My thoughts were based on the fact that Yoko has never been shy about
sharing her musical talents. If she was competent even to a John Lennon
level of broken triad accompaniment on the keys, one would think we
would have had at least one instance to witness that...

fattuchus...

Thanks for the link. That was an interesting discussion about the Live
Peace in Toronto show. I have that on film somewhere.

As far as Yoko sharing her "musical talents" you raise a good point.
However, we can't forget, she is a "concept artist." One of her common
ploys is to pull out an unfinished or half finished piece (like a
canvas) and then tell the audience to fill in the blanks. In other
words, one could argue her music is "concept music." (imagine the
sound of one hand clapping type stuff)

So it is not really necessary for Yoko to play anything. She can sit at
a piano, pretend to play, or play one or two notes, and then ask the
audience to "imagine a classical song." Then Yoko takes credit for it!
See? Simple.

Yoko herself said that she created "music for the mind."

F Parella...

The Yoke has indeed claimed to create "music of the mind." She has
elaborated that this is music that possesses "no sound." So yes, maybe
that's what she was doing by pounding away at the unplugged piano at
the Concert for NYC. It was not a pretty sight, and no audible notes
of the keyboard were generated, but maybe in the minds of her fans, it
inspired wonderful symphonies (all that classical training) and so on.

fattuchus...

LOL! I think Yoko's first husband, Toshi something, is still regarded
as a famous musician.

Irrelevant...

Was this the concert where Yoko's electric piano wasn't actually plugged
in and a member of the Elephant's Memory was playing piano parts or was
that another concert?

Runnnerr...

Yes it was. I believe Elephant's Memory's keyboard player was playing
off-stage. I also believed that there was later a law suit about this
issue after the video came out.

fattuchus...

Exactly. And on the credits it says that Yoko played piano or
keyboards. So she not only fooled two Madison Square Garden audiences,
she had it printed on the DVD or CD.

Sounds very Milli Vanilli - ish to me.

fattuchus...

I have heard Yoko's "piano skills" on one of her records . . . . I
can't recall which CD it was, but it was a very rough demo of "I'm
Moving On."

I am not a professional musician, but IMHO I bnelieve she was/is able
to play piano to find a sound and compose. However I can't see her
contributing much in concert or in a studio setting.

F Parella...

Someone else mentioned the "Live in New York City" concert, which
became available as a video in the 80s. You can see Yoko pounding away
at the keyboard in that! She's going nuts on the thing! Some would
probably say it's art!

BlackMonk...

I ask you again. Have you ever written a song? We're talking about her
songwriting demos. When a person is writing a song, the playing on them
isn't going to be polished in the early stages.

I don't have that song, but on the demos I've heard, she doesn't "pick out
notes" to accompany herself, she plays a chordal accompaniment. Nothing too
impressive, but there's a difference between chords in rhythm and picking
out notes like a child.

Only problem is, if you watch closely, you'll see she's hammering away
completely out of time and sync with everything else that's going on in
the concert. Stranger still, you can't hear a note of what she's
"playing"!

Her keyboard, it turns out, was not even plugged it.