About The Pebble Project

Like many kids, I had a few piano lessons when I was young and I quickly picked up the ability to read the dots and play by ear. Up until the age of 12, I could play most things I heard but I was completely stumped after encountering Keith Emerson's playing on the ELP album, Welcome Back My friends. There was no available sheet music back then and so I spent the next few years totally immersed in ELP recordings. In hindsight, I'm thankful to Keith Emerson not just for introducing me to a whole world of music I might not have found otherwise, but for making it necessary for me to learn how to transcribe things off records. It's perhaps the most important skill a musician can ever learn.

This blog is all about sharing what I know about Keith Emerson's piano playing and improvisation techniques. The particular focus is on all the various piano improvisations Keith has played over the years as part of Take A Pebble, but other significant piano solos will also be closely looked at. Hope you enjoy!