Throughout the audio of this song, I found the audio soundscape very immersive and powerful. In the beginning, he played the piano and harmonica which led the audio to continue to get louder and stronger. When he started to sing he was more quiet and calm but as the piano got louder, his voice got louder and more powerful. He continued to switch from a quieter tone to a louder tone throughout this song not only in his voice but also in the instruments. Other instruments including bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, accordion, mandolin, and drums eventually came into play.
Through the use of these different instruments and the emotion he expresses, while singing, his voice almost seems as if it is amplified and echoed a little bit. It sounds as if his voice is dragged on a little bit but not enough to make it obvious. I feel like the way he is singing is very authentic and not edited and we are able to see this because of how much range he has in his voice. For this song, he played a Steinway piano and used a dynamic microphone. This is a condenser microphone that picks up on the sound of the piano and his voice. Even though this song was recorded originally in 1973, the production of this song was very well done. Billy Joel’s voice and the sound of each instrument in this song able to be heard clearly. His voice and the instruments don’t challenge one another. The audio levels for each remained consistent.
Throughout this song, we are also able to see how he repeats the chorus “La, la-la, di-di-da La-la di-di-da da-dum….. Sing us a song, you’re the piano man Sing us a song tonight Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody And you’ve got us feelin’ alright.” When he does this, the melody of the instruments is repeated as well.
I have always been a fan of Billy Joel because he is an amazing songwriter, singer, and pianist. I feel that his song “Piano Man” is a perfect representation of how skilled he is when it comes to singing and playing the piano.