On my random wanderings throughout downtown Lancaster, I often come across folks who are obviously attracted to those fonky pianos around town.

Being a Blues musician, I find myself encouraging them to “Go ‘head, play it.” All too often the response is, “I don’t know how to play the piano.” To which I respond, “That’s crazy! Everyone can play the piano.”

You may disagree, but it’s true. And I am going to tell how.

There is a strong church and gospel influence in the Blues. The Devil has a bit of influence on the Blues, as well. It’s the friction between the sacred and the profane that fuels the intensity of the genre as there’s not much distance between the sins of Saturday night and the sacraments of Sunday morning. But that’s another story for another time. One of the staples of gospel music that has found its way into the heart of the Blues is the “call and response”. The preacher, or bandleader, calls or sings a line and the congregation, or crowd, responds. Like a preacher encouraging a few “Amens” from the congregation, Blues performers are doing the same with their “congregations”. “Got My Mojo Workin’”, “Mustang Sally”, and “Wang Dang Doodle” are only a few of the hundreds of Blues songs employing the “call and response” technique.

Yeah, I hear ya. Shouting a response in a packed, booze-laden bar is not the same as sitting down and actually playing a piano in public at the Central Market or the Prince Street garage. Particularly when people are strolling by, looking and listening. Well, actually, it sorta is. Because Keys for the City is about everyone playing, regardless of training or ability.

In other words, that tired old excuse about “not being able to play piano” just doesn’t apply in this case. Because a fundamental tenet of Keys for the City is that everyone can and everyone should play the piano. It doesn’t matter how you play it as long as you play it. But I hear ya again. “I’d at least like to sound decent”, you are thinking, “and that’s just not possible because I know nothing about playing piano”. Read on, because that’s going to change. You can sound not only decent, but pretty darn good by doing no more than reading the next few paragraphs.

Here’s how you do it in two easy steps. 1. Play the black keys only. That’s right. If you only play black keys you can never play a bad note. Something about some fonky scale (pentatonic) that all the black keys are a part of. It’s beautiful! Just play the black keys and you can’t go wrong. You will never hit a wrong or a sour note. You can put those black key notes together any way you like and it’ll sound like you know what you are doing. and, 2. Work the Sustain Pedal. Between your feet, you will find three pedals. Step on the pedal furthest to the right. It’s the sustain pedal. And as the word suggests, holding it down will allow the notes or notes you are playing to sustain their sound. I can’t say I know the physics behind it, but using the sustain pedal, in combination with the black keys only, makes you musically indestructible. Anything you play will sound good.

As you become more comfortable, you can release or pump the pedal. Do with it what you want, it won’t mind. Now that you no longer have to think about whether any of the keys you hit may be a bad note, you are free to bang away in any way you like. Play slowly or speed it up. Add some upper body movement, maybe close your eyes for a bit and produce a slight grimace. In short, put a little feeling into it. And, sure enough, you have got yourself a song that will be guaranteed to draw some attention.

And when someone asks, “That was beautiful. Who wrote that song?” You can respond, “I did.” And it’d be the truth. Oh, and one more thing. Have a stage name at the ready. Everyone can use a stage name. There are a million of them – Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Pinetop Perkins, and Blind Lemon Jefferson among them. No reason why you shouldn’t have one too. Because after they hear you play, they’re gonna want to know your name.

Play on, Lancaster,

Willie Marble