Piano Guidance
Photo by Mikhail Nilov Pexels Logo Photo: Mikhail Nilov

Are Rod Stewart and Ronnie Woods still friends?

'” Ron's friendship with Rod dates from 1969 when the Faces formed after the Small Faces split. Their hell-raising antics on tour cemented their relationship and, despite the band splitting in 1975, they've stayed pals.

Can I buy a piano with ivory keys?
Can I buy a piano with ivory keys?

The short answer to this question is no, you can't buy new pianos with ivory keys anymore. They have been outlawed on new pianos since the 1970s in...

Read More »
What key is Daniel by Elton John in?
What key is Daniel by Elton John in?

C Major Daniel is written in the key of C Major.

Read More »
Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide
Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Pianoforall is one of the most popular online piano courses online and has helped over 450,000 students around the world achieve their dream of playing beautiful piano for over a decade.

Learn More »

EXCLUSIVE: The Rolling Stones legend has been friends with singer Rod for the last 50 years after they bonded on tour together Striding across a smoke-filled stage, Ronnie Wood flung an arm around Rod Stewart as the two men shared an emotional hug. It appeared a simple, friendly gesture but the embrace held a deeper meaning for both. Just moments earlier Rod had confessed he, like Ronnie, had endured a battle with cancer. “I join Ronnie now who’s had lung cancer,” Rod told the crowd. Ronnie added: “Someone up there likes us.” For the hundreds of people packed into Surrey’s Wentworth Golf club for a charity Faces reunion, 74-year-old Rod’s admission he’d had prostate cancer sparked headlines around the world. Ronnie, 72, was diagnosed with cancer in May 2017 and went public three months later. The Stones legend got the all-clear after a five-hour operation. Rod found out he had prostate cancer in February 2016 during a routine check-up and got the all-clear this year. It was a comfort for them to talk about it openly. They were shocked when Faces drummer Kenney Jones and Rod’s long-term guitarist Jim Cregan also said they had had prostate cancer. Rod had fretted shortly before the gig about going public about beating cancer. Ronnie says: “He was like, ‘Should I mention that I’ve had cancer?’ I said, ‘Rod, it’s personal, do whatever you want. If you want to tell them, tell them.’” Ron’s friendship with Rod dates from 1969 when the Faces formed after the Small Faces split. Their hell-raising antics on tour cemented their relationship and, despite the band splitting in 1975, they’ve stayed pals. Rod was Ronnie’s best man at his 2012 wedding to theatre producer Sally Humphreys. And Ron can sum up their long friendship: “Humour, and respect, for the same kind of musical tastes and similar lifestyles such as all the girls – we go right back to the council house, really. You can’t take that away.” Like Rod, Ron feels “blessed”. He says: “I was so lucky to have my cancer removed from my left lung and for it not to be anywhere else in my body. I had a check-up the other day; got the all-clear again. You have to keep checking. I have a scan every six months but it’s worth it.” Sitting in front of Ronnie in the presidential suite at a five-star London hotel, it’s clear his close brush with mortality has not slowed him down.

Does piano Change your hands?
Does piano Change your hands?

Playing the piano over time will not change your hand structure physically, but your fingers will become more agile, providing you with greater...

Read More »
What are the piano grade levels?
What are the piano grade levels?

Knowing your 'level' as a pianist For instance, Grade 1 and 2 I would consider late beginner level*. Grade 3 is early intermediate. Grade 4 and 5...

Read More »

Up close, he is an infectious bundle of energy, his attention fizzing from one subject to the next. There’s no doubt that Ronnie is on a hot professional streak at present away from the Stones. Sipping a Coca-Cola, “my only vice these days”, Ronnie enthuses about his new album – live covers of musical hero Chuck Berry, where he is joined by singer Imelda May. He’s got the backing of the Stones for the project, which will also see him go on tour. He says “Keith, Mick and Charlie told me to go out there and spread the word. They love that I did this live, and I’m keeping Chuck going.” It traces Ronnie’s life from his raucous upbringing in ­Hillingdon, Middlesex, where dad Arthur drank so much he would fall asleep in neighbour’s gardens on the way home from the pub. The guitarist and his two older brothers, Ted and Art, who affectionately called him Little Ronnie often woke to find “characters draped over the furniture” when Arthur did find his way back to their terraced home. Ronnie laughs: “Dad was hilarious, you’d never know whose garden he was going to wake up in next. “But my poor mum, it worried her sick. He was never there. When he was, the little bits of love that did get through, it he was wonderfully encouraging.” Ronnie was moved to see footage of his dad, who died in 1989. His mum died a decade later. His brothers have also since passed away. He says: “When we moved out of our cute little council house, it ­literally had a massive crack down the side because of all the parties. It was mad but Mum and Dad were so lovely, and encouraging with my art, and my music. They were so proud of me.” And they had every right to be as his career soon hit stratospheric levels when he replaced Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones, in 1975. Hailed as one of the greatest guitarists of all time – and with a £50million bank balance – Ronnie had it all. But life in the fast lane has not been without its troubles. At his worst he was downing two bottles of vodka a day – prompting several spells in rehab and contributing to the breakdown of his 30-year marriage to wife Jo as he took up with an 18-year-old Russian waitress.

What emotion is C minor?
What emotion is C minor?

According to Pauer, C minor is the key that is expressive of softness, longing, sadness, solemnity, dignified earnestness, and a passionate...

Read More »
Does playing the piano burn calories?
Does playing the piano burn calories?

Specifically, for a 170 pound individual, playing piano will apparently burn about 54 calories every 15 minutes (what piece(s) were being played to...

Read More »

Then there was his addiction to freebase in the 80s – a highly addictive form of cocaine mixed with baking soda and water and inhaled through a pipe. It was a drug not even Keith ­Richards would consider taking. Such was its hold over him, Ronnie even banned his kids from eating meringue in the house as he often confused the crumbs with rocks that he wanted to smoke. “Freebase took a long time to get off, it was really nasty,” Ronnie says. “But looking back, I still wouldn’t change a thing; it was a learning curve that I had to go through. Because while you’re actually using it, you don’t see you’re in that dark place. Only when you look back, you go, ‘f***ing hell, that was terrible.’ “The human animal can survive a lot of stuff. You only realise that when you’re lucky enough to pull out of it and look back. That’s what my life is; it was survival. I’m lucky to be here.” Now he is a man transformed, thanks largely to Sally, 41, and their twin girls Gracie and Alice, aged three. He’s quit fags, drink and prefers crime dramas on Netflix to wild nights. He says: “Sally was never bossy, and like, ‘You’ve got to stop’. She appreciated me both ways, but much more now I don’t smoke, drink and drug. “It’s a daily process staying sober. I have my meditation books, and start the day with a plan. One day at a time is fine.” He is clearly smitten with his twins and says he’s very “hands-on” but is glad they are out of nappies. And despite being an older dad, he is very much up to the task – and even hints that Sally may want more, although he seems a little undecided. “Every day, every hour, now, is like, “Yes!” You’ve got live life to the full.”

Can you get fired for missing a shift?
Can you get fired for missing a shift?

whether the employee's absence was intentional. One of the most common questions managers ask is whether an employee can be fired for a single...

Read More »
What is Ø in music?
What is Ø in music?

Half-diminished Chords However, it's more commonly known as a 'B half-diminished chord'. It's also commonly written using the ø-symbol, a circle...

Read More »
Can you learn piano on 25 keys?
Can you learn piano on 25 keys?

To learn piano with just 25 keys, buy a small electric piano or a MIDI keyboard and hook it up to a DAW. Learn the basics of the piano with simple...

Read More »
What songs use the devil's interval?
What songs use the devil's interval?

Heavy Metal is exactly where you'd expect to find “the devil's interval” – music intended to put you on edge. Marilyn Manson's “The Beautiful...

Read More »