He is so humble. If you listen to his early stuff or seen him play, you would know he is an excellent piano player. He doesn’t give himself enough credit. But that’s what makes him likable to me. He’s real.

The way he speaks about Beethoven and the way he felt his music was perfect and wondered how he made is perfectly is the way I think about him and his music.. Amazing!!

_'To hell with it. If I'm not going to Columbia University, I'm going to Columbia Records ...'_ Billy Joel

Although Billy once promoted Baldwin pianos and played them live, I can tell you from personal knowledge that he always played a Steinway in the recording studio.

I love this man ❤️

He mentions This Night containing the Pathétique, but the intro to Souvenir also has elements of Chopin, and he's a big fan of Debussy too. Billy's so humble and unassuming about his talent, and also about himself. He knows that nobody ever fully masters music, that there is always room for it (and those who create it) to learn and evolve.

Keep playing the Steinway or the old upright you found on the side of the road, Billy! You and your band members are so very talented that I am constantly amazed when I watch videos of your concerts. How do you write music if you cannot read music? Of course, I had the traditional piano lessons shoved on me from age 6, but no emphasis on chords or keys, "Just read the damn music and practice your scales!" was my teacher's method. And to think, I begged for a piano and lessons. I learned more when I took up the clarinet in the school orchestra, but as I told my mother when she complained about the sound when I practiced that, "I sound really good when the entire orchestra is playing along with me". I was 1st chair in a matter of months, but it was still 7th grade jr. high... I continued to play piano for my own amusement & taught myself chords until my husband joined the US Coast Guard in 1975. The USCG wouldn't pay to move my old upright from place to place and who knew the size of our next home. I purchased an electronic piano after his retirement and we purchased our own home 28 years later. I had great headphones so I didn't annoy him or embarrass myself:) I was beyond "rusty" after all those years, but I could still read music. It was my fingers that did the forgetting. I just wish I had memorized all of your sheet music, Billy, before a small stroke took away my entire left field of vision (no other symptoms - I'm fortunate). I have to say NONE of my sheet music sounds very good when I mistakenly miss the first couple measures on the left. Books or magazines aren't very good either when I miss the first part of each line on the left. It definitely doesn't feel very good when I whack my left elbow into the left side of door frames either. It didn't take long to understand why my neuro-ophthalmologist said I could no longer drive - like the first 2 hours of the morning after the stroke hit while sleeping. LOL! Hopefully everyone is laughing that reads this - I certainly am, the alternative sucks. I love your instrumental music, in my mind classical piano, that I've heard to date and was pleased you opened your concert in Sunrise, FL 1/11/2014 with a piece that segued into "Piano Man". Since my husband of 45 years passed away in July 2019, your music has been a constant companion for a good part everyday. We got married in 1974 at age 18, so you really did provide us with a soundtrack of our lives together. He & I both agreed that concert in our box seats for two in the "VIP Club" of the BB&T Center was better than our trip to the Galapagos Islands 2 years later! Thank you for a great memory and I thank him for a fantastic surprise birthday present. I just treated myself to a new soundbar with a sub-woofer for streaming TV, but still find your CDs sound much better on my little stereo. By the way, my next best companion is the dog I adopted 1/25/2020. He's a large Am-Eng Coonhound/Catahoula Leopard Dog named BANJO (perfect for a southern hunting dog, so I didn't even try to change it). I just had to tell you about him because he LOVES to dance to your up-tempo pieces and early Beatles tunes. He faces me and duplicates my moves to the best of his ability, like a mirror image. However, I learned the hard way not to play any rockabilly or southern blues rock - he starts bouncing off the furniture and me especially when it involves the fast-picking acoustic & electric guitars (thanks, Tommy Byrnes & his off-time fun that I found on KZfaq). The dog weighs 80lbs and I'm only 120 - it isn't a pretty picture especially when he approaches from my blind side. LMAO! Keep uploading those hidden or suddenly discovered old recordings. I love them all! P.S. BTW, my husband enjoyed learning about your love of the sea, boats, and navigation. He served 28 years in the US Coast Guard. I had to sign the papers for him to enlist because we were already married. Our 1st anniversary he was in boot camp. Our 25th anniversary he was the sailing master/1st lieutenant of the USCG Barque Eagle and I flew to San Francisco to sail with them for a few weeks after the captain invited me! I came aboard the day before our anniversary, we led the tall ship parade into San Francisco Bay and into San Diego 2 weeks later (lots of sailing around to train cadets). Speaking of great memories... Too bad we had to deal with 30' swells & very cold temperatures in early July, but having lived at a lighthouse in northern California 15 years earlier, I had packed my heavy jacket & winter gloves. After getting thrown out of my rack once, I figured out how to stay in the bed for the rest of the trip. Your music entertained me in my state room when it was too rough to do anything else. Thanks again for that! We also loved hearing you name Cape Ann when talking about about the plights of commercial fisherman and our oceans when introducing "The Downeaster Alexa". These two Tampa kids, Rick & I, were stationed in Gloucester, MA his first 5 years in the USCG and our son was born there!

Love the way Billy explains it all

I could listen to him talk about the piano all day. I find his insights and interpretations fascinating.

Summer Highland Falls sounds like a symphony , and not only the music but his voice sounds like a violin . Its a stunning song as well as VIENNA.....also his lyrics this guy is s triple threat...what a genius someday I will go to his concert, and sit near the front wearing an uptown girl hat and dress and he will pull me on stage for the number ….love me some Billy Joel hes just genius.

I would swear that “Billy The Kid” was written by Aaron Copeland! Billy masterfully incorporated his western “Americana” into the music as if Copeland penned the instrumental breaks! Billy is a genius!

Such an amazing human being.

I like country western but classical music touches my soul.

I still have Mr.Joels Classical CD. Does that make me..🤔🤔 Hmm..Loved.. Yes it does

Whenever I heard Billy's music I always wanted to play like him with that energy he puts into it so now I'm learning music theory😅 its damn great thing though it is heard it's like maths thanks Billy to inspiring me.

Such virtuosity. God bless his parents for nurturing his talent. He and his music have had such an impact on my life. I, too, love classical music as well. What a treat to have this interview. ✨Thank you!✨

Il migliore ... Il più brillante duttile versatile .... Talento .... Per lui la musica un gioco facile Piano Man

steinway is billy joel's favourite brand of pianos

Great comments below. I love Beethoven. Billy Joel has brought me much more joy and inspiration.

I like this

Gosh I love that guy. I love how human yet extraordinary he is. (As a side note, He’s got a smokin wife too. Good golly. Every single one of them were ridiculous. Christie Brinkley in her PRIME, and this new one. GEEZ

Well Billy you know what they say, ‘ average talent borrows while genius steals.’

woah hold the phone did he just say hes not a very good piano player jesus billy your like god in my eyes at piano

My family has the 1909 Steinway grand model B Grand piano that was in the WALDORF ASTORIA delivered Nov.22 1909, would Billy be interested in it?

Humble man

Love that at one point, he does not want to analyze it anymore. Let it be magical. There is so much surrender in creating... vs control. You gotto have that faith, Take a knee every time you create.

Italian American hat, love it

When Billy says in this interview "'I still don't read music"...it's perplexing, cause I've read in many articles/books/...that while he was studying the classics with his piano teacher (s)...he said he could sight read just about anything!....so maybe he was trying to infer.....I don't read music now, but at one time I read very well..?....any info much appreciated!!..thanks Bruce Towell

Let's ALL simply FACE the FACTS.....BILLY JOEL is HEAD & SHOULDERS above the REST.....PERIOD. [a CONTEMPORARY GENIUS].

L Bernstein says the same thing about Beethoven’s ‘the right note’ it is rather strange that someone could do that, but even as a young man, I thought the same thing.

happy 500 like that one was me

:)

“ I’m not a good piano player “ yeah ok Billy 😅

I'm not a very good piano player.🧐🤔🙄 Well, we can't tell Billy... Maybe that's your critical Beethoven speaking, but the rest of us just say 🤯👏🏽👏🏾👏🏿👂🏻👂🏼👂🏽👂🏾👂🏿❣️