Video – The Piano Guys original tune: All of Me

The video we watched an original tune by The Piano Guys: All of Me. Jon Schmidt (the pianist) wrote this song years ago and many people have performed it on YouTube. Finally, he recorded his version for YouTube.

Enjoy the video again.

Video — What Makes You Beautiful (The Piano Guys Cover of One Direction)

What Makes You Beautiful 
(The Piano Guys Cover of One Direction)

I wonder how much practice they must have done to make this video. Enjoy it again!

Video — Mary, Did You Know? (Petatonix)

Mary, Did You Know? is a Christmas song written in 1991. It has become a popular song for artists to cover. Maybe the best version so far is the one recorded this year by Pentatonix, a popular YouTube artist. Enjoy the video again. I have included the lyrics below the video.

Merry Christmas!

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would calm a storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.

The lame will leap, the mute will speak, the praises of the Lamb.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you're holding is the great I AM.

Video — Angels We Have Heard on High (The Piano Guys)

Angels We Have Heard on High
(The Piano Guys)

Now that Thanksgiving is finished, we can listen to Christmas music! This is a classic Christmas song with a twist by the Piano Guys. They use many GoPro cameras and a drone (indoors!).

Enjoy it again (except for the 3rd period class. We didn't have time during the class, so enjoy it for the first time!).

Video — Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Pentatonix)

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
(Pentatonix)

This Christmas tune is from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet. The story takes place on Christmas Eve. This performance is amazing. I wonder how many hours they must have practiced for this song.

Enjoy it again.

Video — Let It Go (Disney's "Frozen") Vivaldi's Winter — The Piano Guys

Let It Go (Disney's "Frozen") Vivaldi's Winter
(The Piano Guys)

Because it's getting colder, I wanted to share this with you.

Enjoy the video again.

Video — Indiana Jones Rocks Petra with this Arabian Classical Remix! - The Piano Guys (Wonder of the World 4 of 7)

Indiana Jones Rocks Petra with this Arabian Classical Remix!
(The Piano Guys Wonders of the World Series)

This is the fourth in the series where The Piano Guys go to one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  In this video, they go to Petra a city built into the rock in Jordan. The name Petra means rock.

Because Petra was a location in the 3rd Indian Jones movie, they use music from the soundtrack in this tune.

Enjoy the video again.


 





You can read more about the New 7 Wonders of the World in simple English here:
New 7 Wonders of the World 

Video — The Jungle Book / Sarabande (Mayan Style)

The Jungle Book / Sarabande (Mayan Style)
(The Piano Guys Wonders of the World Series)

This is the third in the series where The Piano Guys go to one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  In this video, they go to Chichén Itzá on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The most famous view is of El Castillo, a big Mayan pyramid.

The music is a medley of tunes from the soundtrack to Disney's The Jungle Book. Did you see the bear and the panther in the video? They are two main characters from the movie

Enjoy the video again.


 



You can read more about the New 7 Wonders of the World in simple English here:
New 7 Wonders of the World 

Video — The Mission / How Great Thou Art - The Piano Guys (Wonder of The World 2 of 7)

The Mission / How Great Thou Art 
(The Piano Guys Wonders of the World Series)

This is the second in the series where The Piano Guys go to one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  In this video, they go to the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). They also visit Iguazu Falls near the border of Argentina. 

The music is a mashup (mix) of two tunes. One is called Gabriel's Oboe. It is the most famous music from the soundtrack of the movie The Mission. The setting of the movie is at Iguazu Falls. It is a wonderful movie and I strongly recommend it. It has a beautiful theme about love (not romantic). I cry every time I see it. The other music is a Christian hymn called How Great Thou Art.

Enjoy the video again.


 

You can read more about the New 7 Wonders of the World in simple English here:
New 7 Wonders of the World 

Video — Kung Fu Piano: Cello Ascends (The Piano Guys – Wonders of the World Series)

Kung Fu Piano: Cello Ascends 
(The Piano Guys Wonders of the World Series)

This is the first in the series where The Piano Guys go to one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  In this video, they go to the Great Wall of China. Enjoy the video again.






You can read more about the New 7 Wonders of the World in simple English here:
New 7 Wonders of the World 

Video — Mission Impossible (The Piano Guys featuring Lindsey Stirling)

We watched the Piano Guys play Mission Impossible, a popular TV show turned into a movie series. This time they were joined by another YouTube star, Lindsey Stirling. She is known for playing violin while dancing. Enjoy it again below:

Video — Gangnam Style (Cover by Jayesslee on YouTube)

We watched Jayesslee's (Janice & Sonia Lee) cover of Psy's Gangnam Style. They are a talented pair of Korean-Australian women from Sydney. Enjoy it again below:

Video — Cello Wars (Star Wars parody by The Piano Guys on YouTube)

The Piano Guys are my favorite YouTube artists. They have great music AND great videos. This one is a parody of my favorite movie from my childhood, Star Wars. Now people call it Episode IV (4) or A New Hope, but it was Star Wars to us when it came out. It wasn't until the stupid prequels (Episodes I, II & III) years later that those names were used.

The ideas of lightsabers, fighting ships flying across the screen, laser guns and The Force were all new and very cool. Star Wars was the first real blockbuster movie. If you wanted to see it when it came out, you might have had to wait hours and there were no reserved seats back then. It stayed in the cinemas for over a year.

I have included a modern trailer of the movie below the Piano Guys video. The original trailer was not very good. Enjoy!

Video – Tom Sawyer by Rush

As I told you in my self-introduction, the Canadian rock trio, Rush, is my favorite band. Geddy Lee, the bass player, is also the singer and keyboardist; Alex Lifeson is the guitar player; Neil Peart is the drummer and lyricist (writer of the words).

Rush's best-known song is Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer is the name of a famous character is American literature. Mark Twain wrote a few novels with Tom as a character who observes human nature. Tom was a boy and had a friend named Huckleberry (Huck) Finn. Huck had his own novel in which he made a raft (small flat boat) and traveled down the Mississippi River with an escaped slave.

In the introduction part of the video there is an animation with characters from South Park (a popular TV show). The characters have their own rock group called Lil' Rush. They start to play Tom Sawyer, but stop to have an argument. It's because the singer confuses Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

In this song, Peart (the writer) thinks of himself as a "modern-day Tom Sawyer". So, this song is really about himself. I have included the lyrics (words) below the video if you would like to read them. Enjoy!






Tom Sawyer
Words: Peart    Music: Lee & Lifeson

A modern day warrior
Mean, mean stride
Today's Tom Sawyer
Mean, mean pride

Though his mind is not for rent
Don't put him down as arrogant
He reserves the quiet defense
Riding out the day's events
The river

What you say about his company
Is what you say about society
Catch the mist, catch the myth
Catch the mystery, catch the drift

The world is, the world is
Love and life are deep
Maybe as his skies are wide

Today's Tom Sawyer
He gets high on you
And the space he invades
He gets by on you

No, his mind is not for rent
To any God or government
Always hopeful yet discontent
He knows changes aren't permanent
But change is

What you say about his company
Is what you say about society
Catch the witness, catch the wit
Catch the spirit, catch the spit

The world is, the world is
Love and life are deep
Maybe as his eyes are wide

Exit the warrior
Today's Tom Sawyer
He gets by on you
And the energy you trade
He gets right on to the friction of the day