Classical bar piano is hardly to be found today. There are no helping electronics and no rhythm device that carries you, behind which you could hide. No synthesiser or sequencer that does the main work, mostly unrecognised. You are alone with the instrument in front of the audience. In principle, an honest discipline. Typically, the foundation of a bar pianist are songs from the "American Songbook". Classics like "The girl from Ipanema", "One Note Samba", "New York New York". A good pianist will play these songs in his own interpretations and possibly also enliven them with improvisations. Since it is no longer allowed to smoke cigars in such places, typically grand hotels, in most countries, this is unfortunately not quite as wonderful as it used to be. At least a few hotels have a cigar lounge attached to the piano bar.  

Should you ever see me at the piano in such a place, please be gracious. I am a hobby player and to be really good at this discipline, you must rather think in decades and not do much else on the side.

 

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"Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself."

- Miles Davis -

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