Secrets of Playing Piano Bars
by Alex SuskindFor pianists, covering your favorite songs in the comfort of your home can elicit the inner dreams of stardom that you had as a child. Even amateurs want to live out their dreams of playing songs while an audience sings along. Piano bars allow pianists to showcase their talents in front of music lovers.
Piano bars come in many different forms. Arguably, the one that is most enjoyable for musician and audience is a sing-along bar where the crowd makes requests and participates. However, playing like that requires a lot of stamina from a pianist, who works hard to keep the audience entertained and interested for the duration of the night.
“It takes a lot of energy and you have to be up and into it,” says Eric Stang, who plays at several piano bars in the Chicago area. “The whole time you are rocking all the songs out as hard as you can and getting the audience into it. It’s demanding for a performer.”
Stang plays at Howl at the Moon in Chicago, where songs are requested by the audience. To take requests, it is essential for the piano player to know as many songs as possible from different eras and genres. And, of course, there is a list of songs that you can assume will be requested almost every night—“Piano Man” by Billy Joel, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, and “American Pie” by Don McLean, for example.
However, not every piano bar has an outgoing crowd every night, making requests from the outset. In this case, Stang says it is still important to get the audience involved, informing them that, if they don’t request anything, the pianists are going to play what they want.
"A lot of times we’ll throw in a joke song, like a song that isn’t that good or kind of annoying, or something kind of cheesy that pushes the audience to start requesting songs they like,” Stang says. “That way, we don’t get stuck having to think of songs we want to play. We just get to play the songs the audience wants to hear.”
Yet, there are times where even an experienced piano bar player might not know the words or melody to a requested song. Most pianists bring a variety of books filled with popular songs to the bar for just that purpose.
"If someone makes a request for a song, even though it is not something I know, I can often find the words in the book,” says Doug Saleeby, who played at Pat O’Briens in Memphis for six years until it closed earlier this year. “The audience kind of gets a kick out of seeing me struggle through songs I don’t know that well.”
For pianists who have little experience playing in front of an audience, the prospect of entertaining a full crowd at a bar might sound daunting. However, it may help to share the spotlight with another piano player. At a dueling piano bar, two players keep the crowd entertained with songs. Some piano bars even have a full backing band.
"There are two pianists on piano facing each other who sing and basically go back and forth playing requests and doing stuff like getting the audience up on stage,” says Stang, who plays with a full backing band at Howl at the Moon. “Mainly you just create the party around you.”
It was a similar scene at Pat O’Briens, where Saleeby played with fellow musician Chris Hudson. The pair has been playing
together for more than two decades and keeping the audience involved is their main focus. Saleeby stressed the importance of making the crowd feel like they are in control of the show. Although making tips is important, the pair does not want to make the audience feel like it is the priority.
"Our whole thing is to try to get them to make requests and give us tips. But we don’t really hold the money up and say, ‘If you don’t give us a tip we are not going to do your song.’ We don’t take that particular avenue. We try and make it fun for everybody,” Saleeby says.
There are several things pianists should focus on if they are interested in playing at a piano bar, or even recreating the same atmosphere in their home. Veteran bar pianist Jarett Izzo stresses that the connection with the audience is key.
"The number one thing is charisma. You have to believe in your playing. If you believe in the mood and are committed to it, people will recognize that sincerity,” Izzo says. “If you’re playing ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ you have got to believe that it is the greatest song ever played and written for those three minutes you play it. You have to show your emotions through your playing and your performance.”
Izzo also stressed the importance of a pianist’s listening skills. Listen to the audience to make sure they are involved in the show. Also, if you are sharing the stage with other musicians, listen carefully to make sure you do not overstep each other’s playing.
So, do you think you have what it takes? Chances are you will never have the desire or opportunity to play in an actual piano bar, but the next time you are at home entertaining guests, you could get behind the piano and try to recreate that same sing along piano bar atmosphere.
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