Piano students are of course welcome, as are teachers, parents, and friends! There is no minimum age or skill requirement, though it will be of most help to students who play at Level 3 or above – I discuss chords and scales and then show how to write a song with that understanding.

The workshop is free, but pre-registration is requested, by calling (801) 266-3537, or by visiting this link.

Also, for those of you who hadn’t seen my pictures with my lovely fiancee (now wife!) I’ve added it on this post :)

First off, I’ve re-embedded the video of my January 2010 performance on the Ellen Degeneres show. You can access it from Media -> Video clips in the above menu.

Secondly, I’ve finally added the ability to purchase my sheet music book to my website! Previously, you could download the sheet music in PDF form, but you can now order the book (personalized if you wish!) through the website. I’m excited to be making it more widely available, and I appreciate the folks at Day Murray Music who have helped me make this book possible.

Finally, I’m making moves toward performing a lot more for piano students. I’m in the process of getting sheet music made for my popular parodies, which will be at an easier playing level than “Another Point of View” (which is for late intermediate or advanced students), and I’m scheduling more performances for music teacher events. If you’re interested in having me perform for an education-related event, I have very affordable rates available so give me a call!

I’m excited to be back in business! Look for more great updates soon!

-Jason

So I met my fiancee Allison as a result of a wedding, of a friend, that I was asked to play the piano at. Well, to condense the history and make a long story short, the time passed and we realized that we wanted to plan a wedding…for us!

OK so that’s the most creative way that I can think of to announce the fact that I’m getting married :) But yes, the unthinkable for Jason has happened! *fake studio laughter* I’m so excited about this, and I know that those of you who have the great privilege of knowing Allison are very excited as well. For those of you who don’t know her, I hope you’ll get the chance!

Now in the meantime, does it make a little sense why I might have been behind on my podcast? *more fake studio laughter* I hope you’ll forgive me for having been a little involved in some other priorities recently ;) But I’m excited to announce that the podcast is back up and running. I posted episode #002 last week, and appreciated the feedback on that, and episode #003 just went up tonight.

In addition, I’m planning to make this blog a little bit more of a personal blog, which I hope you’ll enjoy. It will allow you to get to know me a little better, and will give me a way to try to make sure that I update it more often! If I only wait to make big musical announcements, I won’t be as good at updating it. So here’s to a slightly-more-personal-but-more-updated blog.

As for the realm of music, I recently had the chance to participate in a few musical events that were fun. Neither has led to instant stardom, but both are providing me with a better realization of what I really want to accomplish with my music. I really just want to be able to share this with people–both to entertain and uplift, through this gift I’ve been given. So, I may have a few new ideas in the coming year that will enable me to reach that goal. Stay tuned, and I’ll do my best to stay in-tune so that there’s something here at the site when you come back!

NEW SITE
Enjoy the new website! I’m excited about the new look, and I hope you find it to be both more enjoyable and also easier to use.  I want to thank the Piano Gallery of Orem for letting me take the new pictures there.

SHEET MUSIC BOOK
I am just inches away from being done with the published version of “Another Point of View”!   The books should be available within two weeks.  You can buy the book on my website, but I’m even more excited that it will be a featured product at Day Murray Music in Murray, Utah!

SALT LAKE SHOW JUNE 11
I’m also very excited  for my concert on June 11 that I’m doing in downtown Salt Lake City. This concert will be held at the Masonic Temple and is for the Academy for Creating Enterprise. I’m excited to play some new songs for everyone that I’ve written recently! Tickets are available at creatingenterprise.org.

CURRENT BOOKING
I’m excited about some other upcoming gigs, including the Best of State awards gala later this month, a high school reunion after that, and some other great shows. All of my booking information (contact info and show descriptions) is available at the top of this page.

Until next time!
-Jason

I had a GREAT Halloween gig last week – I had the opportunity to perform as the Phantom of the Opera for a masquerade ball up in Salt Lake. It was a blast! The show went great, and I really enjoyed getting to know the host/hostess and their guests. I performed in an underground Parisian theater they had created, and it set the stage perfectly!

For the show, I had put together my own arrangements of all of the songs from Phantom of the Opera, based on the theater recording. Once I can secure the appropriate copyright permissions, I hope to do some Phantom recordings, so sign up for my mailing list and stay tuned.

Then, last night, I had a great show in Pleasant Grove, Utah for an elementary/junior high-school family audience. I played a number of original songs,  did the backwards piano, and hosted a GREAT game of Name that Tune! The kids absolutely loved it. A HUGE thank you goes out to everyone who made that night possible – my friends did a phenomenal job putting together sound, lights, staging, sales, filming, and logistics. Thanks to all of you, and thanks to those who helped with sound, costuming, makeup, and logistics from the Phantom shows.

If you’re wondering why you personally didn’t hear about these recent shows, it’s because they’ve been private gigs. But don’t worry–I’m currently working on booking public shows for 2010. However, these will most likely be in the summer, so if you’d like to see a show before then, let’s talk! Send me an email (jlb (at) jasonlyleblack.com) and let’s see what we can do in terms of setting up a private show!

In the meantime, please help me get the word out by sending my music videos and page to your friends on Facebook! Thanks!