Living the Dream/Sustain Pedal Lost & Found Jam Sessions

-Hey, guys.

-Today, we're doing a song called...

-Living The Dream.

We really like this one because we have definitely more of

a pop/indie feel with more of an alternative feel,

so it adds a little bit something different.

-And this one's for you guys.

-Yeah. Hope you like it.

-Yeah.

# I can give you what you want

# Even when it hurts

# I can sing another song

# I can find the words

# And it's true that I can be somebody

# But right now, I don't know who

# So when all the world's a stage

# And the curtain's drawn

# You gotta bear everything

# And come a little undone

# Cos it's true

# If you want to be somebody

# You better have nothing to lose

# How did it get to be so complicated?

# Sometimes it gets me down

# Sometimes I'm spinnin' round

# But I won't disappear

# You'll see me standing here

# Just holding down the dream

# So when all the lights go down

# And the music's done

# I am here and left without Everybody's gone

# And it's true that I can be somebody

# But right now, I don't know who

# How did I get to be

# So hard and jaded?

# Sometimes it gets me down

# Sometimes I'm spinnin' round

# But I won't disappear

# You'll see me standing here

# Just holding down the dream

-BOTH:

-# Holding down

# The dream. #

-Hey, guys, welcome to Lessons In The Lounge.

-Hey, hey.

Today, we're going to talk about our rendition of Living The Dream.

So what are we talking about exactly?

We're going to talk about how to use

a sustain pedal when you're playing the piano.

Now, that is the pedal that's on the ground underneath a piano,

and its purpose is to lengthen the sound of the notes you're

playing so that when you're switching between chords,

there's no awkward pauses in between,

-there's no silence, it just really...gives it a flow.

-Mm-hm.

So, I can take you over to the keyboard

and show you a little example.

-Fo' sho'!

-Fo' sho'!

-And this is the sustain pedal right here.

-Yes.

-If I was playing a little bit of our song from earlier...

-Mm-hm.

And I wasn't using the sustain pedal,

it would sound something like this.

And the musical term for how precise and how clean and knit and tight

that is is called staccato, which means it is very fast and very...

-Abrupt.

-It all closes and ends... Yes, abrupt.

-Yes.

-Abrupt is a very good word.

OK, so this time, I'm going to use the pedal,

-and it's going to sound a lot more flowy.

-Mm-hm.

Do you always keep your foot on the pedal or do you take it...?

Like, when do you take your foot off of the pedal?

-Usually, you hold it while you're playing the chord.

-Yep

And then you hold it through until you switch chords,

but once you hit that next chord,

you want to take your foot off and put it back on because

sometimes the first chord and the second chord can clash...

-Right.

-..and not sound too great together.

-And it's not very clean.

-Yeah.

So I like to take it off and put it back on every time I change chords.

-Yeah.

-So that's basically what a sustain pedal is.

-Yeah.

Awesome. We hope you guys learned a little thing or two from our lessons

today and join us next time.

-Yeah. See you guys.

-Take care.