God bless you. I waited 50 years to learn this neat and sofisticated solo. Never late if there are angels like you. Thank you. And thank first of all to Richard and his sister.

Coming out of my haircut a few months back, ran smack into Richard Carpenter. Had to tell him what a wonderful influence he was in my life and how much I loved his music. I was a radio DJ in the 60s and have always loved the Carpenters. So great to meet him and he was very gracious. So sad to lose Karen.

My grandmother just passed away due to covid. My mother, understandably is the most devastated out of us all and I really wanted to learn 'This Masquerade' to make a recording for her. My ears aren't what they used to be, and I so have been desperately searching to find this perfect piano solo, and came across your video. Wow. Not only have you transcribed it, but broken it down so perfectly that helped me connect to the notes even more than I already did. I can't tell you what joy you have brought me with this tutorial. Thank you.

I totally agree with you. I have always been convinced that Richard composed and practiced that solo. It's too clean, too crisp, too perfect but man how sweet, how rich, how sublime. That song in my opinion is one of the standout songs of the twentieth century. The Carpenters were great stars and before their time. Today they would have been megastars.

This song and this solo is impregnated deep in my mind since my childhood. To play this solo was always a dream to me. Thank you so much! You're helping my dream come true!

Thanks a lot for shedding light on how cool this musical piece is because if you don't know how to play the piano, and when a great song sounds so smooth and easy to play, there'll never be a chance for people like me to know how elaborate it is. It was a lot of fun to watch you replay the tune. Saw Richard here in Japan last year, still kicking alive and we'll be seeing more music by him soon.

Oh My LORD!! God Bless you for covering this most extraordinary tune and Richard's solo!!! It's just a killer!!! Thank YOU!!!!!

I have played this solo by ear , just I discovered one note was wrong from my side , thank you so much for your useful class , you are really amazing !!!

I used to play this solo by ear but knew that I was missing out on some of the nuances. Thanks for breaking it down so well

Speaking of rich, beautiful voice, you sure have one, and some amazing musical talents !! Thank you for sharing it with the world !!!!!

This is exceptional. I have been mesmerised by this solo, amd here you explain it in glorious detail and logic. Thank you !

Very nice and complete structure. Thanks for demonstrating and devoting your time, Aimee. 🤓

Hi Rick, what a great story.... cool that you met Richard just like that! He was and is a brilliant musician! Unfortunately I was born in 1971 (which I really regret, because I was just too young to ever see the Carpenters live! And I would have really liked to do that.... I envy everyone who was lucky enough to see them live...) and I come from Germany, where the Carpenters were not as famous as they were in America. It just took the German audience a long time to realize how great the Carpenters are! For many it was considered uncool to listen to the Carpenters...and to like them. Rock was in back then... the louder the better. The songs were partly not sung, but rather shouted, the melodies were mostly rather hard... and unfortunately also often rather resembled noise. What a difference were the Carpenters! Finally harmonious beautiful melodic songs, wonderfully arranged with various musical instruments (what a great gift that Richard Carpenter shows here again and again!)... and then just incomparably good and interpreted with so much feeling by Karen... what a perfect duo! Fortunately, I grew up with Americans, which included Carpenter fans. They had a great influence on us, they were almost automatically part of our family. My older brother also listened to the Carpenters, he didn't care what others thought. So I listened to them at an early age. Thank God for that. I still love the Carpenters sound and also Richards solo projects. I dealt intensively with the Carpenters and their careers because it just really interested me. It's unbelievable how well the two complemented each other! I admire and adore them both very much for their musical talents and their great artistic work. They were really hardworking. What luck for us! So we can listen to many many songs by them now. Great that you told him how you feel, Rick! You are really blessed.

Thanks for featuring this solo, Aimee. I grew up listening to the Carpenters' beautifully crafted gems. I'll never forget the first time I heard this record on the radio and rushed to get a copy purely for the piano solo. By the way, I always assumed it was written - tight arrangements were their thing and it doesn't sound like something anyone would come up with in the moment. I'm sure he did work it out by improvising off line and taking some of the best bits. But I appreciate the solo as an extension of the overall arrangement.

I have learned a great deal from you in a relatively short space of time. Thank you so much.

I wish i saw this channel earlier, thank you Amy for your kindness. From Long Beach.

Human hands are just great aren't they ? Yours are quintessential (of course being piloted by your wonderful self) ! thanks for the insight ! Glad to see you get near some Leon. I saw him a few years back on the riverfront in Detroit, sadly he didn't even play 'masquerade', but he rocked it out to no end (after waddling out to his piano with a cane I remember, dressed all in white or at least a white hat with long gray hair and beard) tore it up with little richard's 'rip it up' right at the start, even went into 'papa was a rollin stone' later on, and stayed to sign autographs (not showing himself though) as long as there were people to get them. He was in his motorhome that elton john had given him and a runner would run posters and albums to him to sign(or in my case a lowly business card.

Genius teacher .. Why are her videos so much better than the others? Lighting is so good and she’s just a born imparter of knowledge. Really excellent musician as well .

I don't play piano AT ALL, but really enjoyed your video. You're a good teacher!

I was always a fan of the Carpenters, obvious reason being my love of the solo voice and the family tight choral harmonies. I loved Karen singing and drumming concurrently, a striking point of difference. But being a mainly classical pianist I found Richard's work like this fascinating and rewarding. A bridge to tge jazz world, so clean and accessible. This analysis unlocks many reasons why I loved this playing from the outset. Modified classical to the jazz idiom. Stunning.

wow I have always have enjoyed the Carpenter's... Thanks enjoyed

Very Nice! Good Work!

It's an incredibly guitar-y solo... I could picture Larry Carlton playing it! :) I'm a guitarist, still your channel is awesome. Keep it up!

Amazing!!! Your lesson about this solo.

Thanks Amy!! Been looking for a transcript of this solo for years.....

Thanks from México!

'This Masquerade' was Leon Russell's masterpiece, in my opinion. It seemingly took 'The Carpenters' and Georgie Benson to popularize it. Nice analysis!

OMG this channel is awesome. keep going.

lovely

It is a great musical solo, wasn't sure that he actually played it. tyvm :)

The great Russian composer Nikolai Girshevich Kapustin, writes all his improvisations out, so that's cool:) RC wanted to make sure his solo was perfect since he was recording in the studio. I admire his playing and arrangements. Great job transcribing this beautiful solo.

I love this channel.

Recently KVCR a public tv station in the Inland Empire did a pledge drive where you would get 4 cds and one dvd for the Carpenters for a donation. Karen did a duet with Ella Fitzgerald with this Masquerade. I recorded most of the pledge drive on my dvr. I only knew a couple of their songs. (Close to you, We've only just begun and sing) I was mesmerized by her singing and the arrangements. I could never sing on pitch but I was inspired. Played a "c" on my guitar and I could sing it! Went to my piano and started practicing other notes as well. I found This Masquerade in a vocal real book for low voice. It is in c minor. I love singing on pitch now while playing the song.

Richard was certainly a great improv pianist. But considering his audience he played the same thing every time. I agree with Aimee' s assessment that this simi was likely worked out/composed. For us old enough to remember, the Carpenter's recording of This Masquerade was a huge hit on pop radio. Thanks again Aimee, great video (Farley and Spade) hehe and a great analysis.

yes, you are right, its too perfect for an improvisation, i feel the same regarding to all of the impros Errol Garner made :-)

That's awesome. Love the carpenters, and im as metal as they come. Im a professional drummer, I played death, I've been influenced from all over the musical spectrum though.

i agree with you

Genial!!

This is fantastic... I believe the 1st beat of bar 11 would be 16th notes F# G E(natural) C. Aimee, your channel is superb... thank you!

Pounding that Like.

tnx for that Aimee, at least someone is brave enough to give the Carpenters credit they deserve, as little kid I thought some of their songs were cool of course I would not admit it. I like "Goodbye to Love" and that guitar solo over the top of that sweet orchestral melody best part of the song. Other guilty pleasure is everything Bacharach.......

Comfort food……………perfect!

Hmmm.. My shop-bought sheet music for "This Masquerade" is in 3 flats, C minor.

I loved the Carpenters, If you think that Karen could play the drums, her producers said, "wait till you hear her sing". So sad the loss of her great talent talent from anorexia . Very enjoyable, I learned a lot on this piece!

I can play the fantasie impromptu but I've only played classical piano, will this be hard?

my god, i am in love, finally

Amarzing. Do you have the score of flute solo part after the piano solo?

Great job, great video. If I had to explain jazz with one idea, I always ask, was what I just heard improvised or was it worked out? And the answer to both is, yes.

Aimee, can you transcribe the intro too? thanks.

Question: Does Richard Carpenter play the chords with his left hand WHILE playing the solo? Is that even possible?

I like measure 10 the best.

Aimee - this was a replay to MaxTooney. I thought you might get a kick out of the irony : RobbieUrban RobbieUrban 1 day ago MaxTooney I would like to add that The Carpenters recorded two other Leon Russell masterpieces. Masquerade is my favorite but he also wrote A Song For You (also done miraculously by Ray Charles ) and Superstar (the one Aimee showed a clip of in that Spade and Farley movie). Aimee, did you even know that was a Leon Russell tune?

I'm never a big fan of too many notes, too many 16ths here in this case. I would love to here this in block chord formation :-)

I play by ear and if I speed it up it loses its haunting quality. I'll take what I hear and see if I can incorporate into my playing.

How can I get this sheet music arrangement by him

Just do the roots with three fingers and keep it simple and play with the right hand melody including home made embellishment arpeggio stuff and you're a winner! Dean Jackson M.Ed Seattle

Aimee, I'm with you, I do NOT think he ad libbed this during the recording. It's just way too smooth and perfect IMHO. But then again Richard, who has perfect pitch, could play anything he was humming to himself ahead of time, albeit much too risky for a master recording. Wonder how many takes this tune took? Also another tune with an extraordinary solo, is on another Russell tune called "A Song For You"... believe this tenor sax solo was played by Bob Messinger, and it's in the same league as this one, much too perfect and smooth to be ad libbed on the spot. Thoughts? Also Richard shows his chops in another tune called "Flat Baroque". Check it out. He really burns! God Bless you for teaching this solo!!!

NBC ABC and CBS orchestrated shows and Musical pianist

Begin at 2:37. You're welcome

Jorge Dalto's piano solo on George Benson's version of "This Masquerade" is more funky, more soulful and more heartfelt. It has a true beginning, middle and end, and the solo develops as it progresses. To me, Jorge Dalto's solo was superior in every way.

Jazzish, not jazzy

Richard's solo is nothing special: Karen's voice and the flute separates this from the great George Benson's version; In either case, I much prefer the Csrpenters' version, even though I love George Benson.