Man Cuts Off Girls Playing Tunes On Classical Piano – He Stuns The Crowd

Dec 14, 2020 by apost team

Brendan Kavanagh, also known as Dr. K Boogie Woogie, has made a name for himself on the heels of his impromptu musical performances. The man from London delights in traveling to pianos located in public areas and treating unsuspecting onlookers to his amazing musical talents. Kavanagh did exactly that back in this video from 2018.

The person who first has the idea to put pianos in public places must have been a genius. Having a piano in a public place that is open for anyone to play on gives the environment its in so much more life and vibrancy. It makes people stop to play it or stop to listen. Or both. It brings strangers together and fosters an appreciation for music. It is even more amazing when two strangers come together for a duet on the piano. Many public piano performances have made it to the Internet where it is further enjoyed and appreciated by people all around the world. It is amazing how music can bring all different kinds of people together as one.

Brendan Kavanagh is a pianist from London, England. He specializes in performing songs from the boogie-woogie genre, and often promotes the genre on his social media. Kavanagh also goes by the name of Dr. K and has already become an internet sensation because of his reputation for surprise performances. He has more than 1.35 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.

One of Dr. K's distinguishing elements is that he often shows up dressed in disguises. This makes it more interesting when he is able to bang out a spectacular performance wearing a police officer outfit or some other type of costume.

In this particular video clip, Dr. K introduces a young woman to the boogie-woogie style. This style of music is definitely one of Dr. K's favorites, making it easy for him to share his enthusiasm about it with others.

The woman was playing traditional classical music on the piano when Dr. K approached her wearing a black jacket with a hood and dark sunglasses. After asking the woman if she knew boogie-woogie, he opens her eyes to this distinct style of music. It does not take long for the woman to connect with this soul-lifting type of music.

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Dr. K has been known to dress up in various costumes when he is making a video for his piano playing in public. As seen on his YouTube channel, he has dressed up as a medical doctor, a construction worker, a police officer, a security guard, a fire-fighter, and even as a strict piano teacher. In a lot of his videos, he is seen hijacking the performances of people who were at the pianos before him. He would go up to them and introduce himself and ask if they know what boogie-woogie is before he gives them a taste of his musicality.

What is boogie-woogie?

Boogie-woogie is not a genre of music one would typically hear on the radio. Although the genre originally developed in African-American communities in the 1870s, it did not become universally popular until the 1920s. Some popular boogie-woogie musicians include Jools Holland, Big Joe Turner, James Booker, Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, Dorothy Donegan, Big Joe Duskin, and of course, Dr. K. According to allmusic.com, boogie-woogie, also known as “barrelhouse” is a piano style. It is related to the blues genre. To play the piano boogie-woogie style, the player will have to use their right hand to play the accompaniment of the music. It would resemble a strummed rhythm like what is normally heard playing from a guitar or a banjo in rural blues dances. The approach in which it is played varies from pianist to pianist. But allmusic.com says,  “This could be expressed as a walking octave, an open-fifth pounded out with a blue third thrown in, or even a simple figure such as a falling triad.”

As Dr. K reaches the conclusion of his boogie-woogie performance, he effortlessly switches to classical music. This performance has already been viewed close to 21 million times. Now is your chance to watch it for yourself. 

“An English guy playing American piano music for a Chinese girl. Our world's alright sometimes," wrote one viewer named Sam. With over 2,300 likes, it would be safe to say that his comment seems to have resonated with a lot of people.

We may not all speak the same languages but if there is one thing we can all connect to, it is music. Music truly is a universal language and it can bring people together from all over the world, something that we especially need more of in these difficult times. 

The people at www.worldpianos.org have created a list of 6,113 public pianos worldwide and their website tells you where you can find a public piano in various cities. How cool is that? They even have a section where they give details on upcoming events. One such event happening from December 1st-31st is for Sing For Hope, a non-profit organization in New York City that “mobilizes thousands of artists in creative service to give back to communities across the US and around the world.” 

The event showcases seven public pianos and one baby grand piano throughout the shops at Hudson Yards. The event has a lineup of performances by Broadway musicians and students from The Juilliard School namely Christopher Spinelli, Danielle Chery, Imani Shanklin Roberts, Gilly Gil Lugo, Irina Sheynfeld, Nick Stavrides, Richela Fabian Morgan (Baby Grand) Annica Lydenberg who will perform to bring festive cheer for all visitors of Hudson Yards.

In addition, each piano has been decorated by artists. You can see all the vibrant designs on Sing For Hope’s website! When the pianos are not in use by the scheduled performers, visitors are free to take to the ivories and bang out their own tunes. According to the Sing For Hope website, those interested can schedule a timed performance as with COVID-19 regulations, the pianos need to be sanitized and wiped down regularly.

After you have taken a look, be sure to spread the boogie-woogie magic to everyone else that you know. And let us know, did you know about Dr. K before watching this video?