An Introduction To Dueling Pianos
Since the late 1890s, dueling pianos have been a source of entertainment. When this trend first started, it was essentially a race for the two performing artists, who would try to play faster than each other to win the duel.
Today’s performances are substantially different than their ancestral concerts from the 1890s. The modern version of this form of entertainment is much more collaborative, as the two players help each other boost the crowd’s spirits, and create a lively and upbeat mood. They not only work together, they even sometimes invite the audience to join them by singing along.
In addition to a playing style that includes a lot of showy gestures and flourishes, there is often verbal banter as well. The musicians will tell jokes, sing humorous lyrics to the tunes of the songs they are playing, or have funny improvised exchanges. Some pairs of pianists will work together frequently, like a comedy duo, whereas other times two solo artists will be put together onstage in a random pairing and will have to create their act in the heat of the moment, discovering their unique chemistry in front of a live audience.
Most of the songs are familiar popular numbers, and in the majority of dueling piano bars the audience can request their favorite hits. The players must be ready to perform a wide variety of contemporary pop and rock music songs, depending on what the patrons request. The repertoire of songs that people may want to hear is too large for most pianists to have learned completely by heart.
Many players will carry a book of sheet music which includes a lot of the songs they may be expected to be able to play. The performers will have practiced these songs in order to be able to play them, but they will not have necessarily memorized them all before a show, which is why the sheet music is helpful.
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.
After more than a century in the public eye, dueling pianos aren’t likely to disappear any time soon. This kind of show allows piano players to show their skills to an appreciative audience in a lively setting. Whether the pianist’s background includes classical training, or just experience in a rock and roll band, the point of this kind of playing is to help patrons have a great night out on the town.
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