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I'm hoping to get some feedback from those of you who listen to modern country music. Those of you who know me, are aware of my dreadful hearing loss. Even with Hearing Aids it often makes listening to radio music difficult when it comes to picking out the instruments used in the productions. So I need to ask all you "good ears" out there - Does Piano have any relevance these days in modern, and I stress "Modern", country music productions. Appreciate your being my ears on this - thanks - Ian 
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ian, i listen to "modern country" all day every day on pandora and, quite frankly, i seldom hear piano in it. garth brooks uses it sparingly (long outro on "the dance" etc.) but, in thinking about it, i don't recall hearing a lot of piano in today's country music. i will pay special attention throughout today and post back if i hear anything to the contrary. then again, we may have different ideas as to the term "modern country" so will you name a specific artist or group and i'll listen to them for you today.
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Hello Don
Guess by modern country I'm thinking about their top 20 whatever.
Classic/Traditional country has a place for the piano still, but the Alan Jackson's,
Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Randy Travis, George Strait - those are what I
mean by modern country.
Back when I started to use BIAB many of their country styles had piano as a main rhythm instrument.
Now that RTs are here, I'm thinking that maybe some of my older BIAB productions should be
"modernized" by reducing the piano role.
Whatever info you can provide based on your impression, would be gratefully received.
Thanks for answering the call. Ian
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ian, those are the artists/groups i listen to, plus zac brown;lady antebellum;kasey chambers; and dixie chicks...a good representative sampling. as an experiment, i previewed roughly 40 songs while listening specifically for piano. i heard only one, an intro to a lady antebellum song (forgot title), if that gives you any idea. i don't think pandora is available in canada or i would email the "station" to you.
such things as sans piano seem to be cyclical and very temporary phenomena. it will probably come back with a vengeance in whatever incarnation of country music comes next.
Last edited by Don Gaynor; 09/03/11 02:47 PM.
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Ian I'm still wondering about the hearing aids thing.
I feel better without them, and in many settings they are not really a feasible option for me.
In the spectrum of over 2000hz exists every turning tire, fan, beeping deep fryers, the fan for the a/c in the car, it just amplifies those things to the point of pain. Even then it's pitch shifting and messing with the actual sound.
However I just put on a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones at Best Buy.
They tell me I have recruitment, and that causes a lot of sounds to be too loud despite the fact I only hear vowels from women and get the rest by guess and lip reading.
But those headphones left me with almost zero background noise and it was like I went into a soundless tomb. It was damn eerie to say the least.
I'm gonna start a new thread on somewhat the same thing, different day.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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ian and john, after 6 solid hours of listening, i heard a grand total of 4 songs with piano (in the specified genre) and 2 of those were actually electric organ. my conclusion is: piano (keyboard instruments) is/are not being used in "modern country." i'm sure someone will point out exceptions but that is my opinion.
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Bless your good heart Don!  Probably uptempo tunes I'm guessing; but still that's quite a detail you've uncovered for country music. Maybe piano's for the Adult Alternative or Adult Contemporary market. I guess in my song demos I should be leaning toward guitar backing tracks and pedal steel. Mind you, I understand synths are making their presence known in country. Thanks for undertaking this Don. Stay well - Ian
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Quote:
I'm gonna start a new thread on somewhat the same thing, different day.
I'll be watching for it John. Have you contacted Marshall Chasin in Toronto, yet?
web page
Cheers - Ian
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Quote:
Maybe piano's for the Adult Alternative or Adult Contemporary market.
It looks like this is where all the country keyboard players went. Those styles have plenty of piano.
Interesting question, I don't follow modern country but I used to be in a country band in a previous life and played lots of piano then.
Bob
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Speaking of styles, Bob, I am going through EVERY piano on this thing and can't find a suitable piano for the old country standards I Fall To Pieces and I Cant't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You. I have run into this several times where RB is lacking "rhythm" piano. Any particular Real Tracks you recommend for such a background?
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Might as well get my oar in here seeing as I play a lot of country music. Modern bands seldom use piano, and tend to stick with rhythm guitars. Not like the old days where a good pianist could give some rare licks to a good tune, whether it be a waltz or an up tempo honkytonk toe tapper. I honestly feel musicians of the ' golden' age took more pride in their music. They relied more upon ability rather than software. The twin fiddles of a Bob Wills track were sumptious. I'm not implying that modern musicians aren't good, far from it, it's just that far too much of tadays country is aimed at the teenie boppers. Call me an old Fa fa fa but there's definately something missing from todays modern country music. Loads of great tradtional country STILL being produced of course but you need to know where to listen as it's mostly the smaller indie artists who won't bow to the pressure of the major companies. I'm hoping music's like fashion and the pure country music will make a comeback ?
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I hear lots of Hammond organ use in modern country, also the Wurlitzer electric piano has made something of a comeback there. Not in every song, mind you, but there are enough.
The modern country coming out of Nashville is sounding more and more like the older Rock and R & B stuff, which is fine with me.
--Mac
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Hey Eddie - are you talking about the RT Styles? The midi styles seem to have plenty of piano. On the other hand the RT Piano has not reached that level yet. If you're looking for piano soloists go look at BIAB's midi style melodists and soloists. Ian
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Furry - there seemed to be some pianists in the Urban Cowboy years - Rich, Gilley
As a matter of fact I turned to country music of the 80s after the 70s country/folk
bands disappeared from Pop music. The 80s movement in country offered a ton of good country stuff/styles - not only new country. It was a great decade which carried over into the 90s. Loved the Outlaw movement.
Ian
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Quote:
Hey Eddie - are you talking about the RT Styles? The midi styles seem to have plenty of piano.
On the other hand the RT Piano has not reached that level yet.
If you're looking for piano soloists go look at BIAB's midi style melodists and soloists.
I am looking more for background piano than soloists Ian. I must have tried 2 dozen piano Real Tracks and none of them were what the song needed. Too jazzy, too ethereal, too wide, too narrow..... I just need rhythm piano and have not had much luck yet. Sunday is a new day though and I will keep peeking.
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Mac - from what I read, the main demographic targeted by Nashville is the ladies - and we know they love to dance! Hence Rock and R & B leanings.
Or if you want to be cynical, what ever style keeps the "drive time crowd" awake between the Coke and the McDonald's commercials.
Guess maybe the piano doesn't have the edge for today's country rock. Whereas I can hear where the Hammond might - edginess, power.
Ian
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I think some of us would dearly love to have some real old time honkytonkin piano backing with a good variety of fill ins, intros & endings. Not too much to ask for.
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Back when Hank Sr and Patsy Cline and George Jones and Ray Price and Kitty Wells and..... the REAL classic country artists played.... lots of the ol' piani then!!
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Eddie - I wasn't talking just about soloists.
I was talking about looking through the NON-RT styles - the styles that use only MIDI - there's lots of rhythm piano in there.
Might be easier to do your searching in BIAB if you're not.
Ian
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I'm agreeing with you, Graham.
Off to the wishlist with you, mate.
Ian
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