Being able to learn a song by ear is a great skill to have - it means that, if you give yourself a bit of time, you can get your head and fingers around pretty much anything - but Toto’s Rosanna is a tricksier song than most.
So, when Clyde Lawrence of the band Lawrence was asked by Pianote to learn the 1982 hit as quickly as possible while being filmed, he had quite the challenge on his hands.
To begin with, Lawrence is played the song without being told what it is. Surprisingly, he doesn’t immediately recognise it: “I don’t know if I know this,” he muses, but the nod of recognition comes as the vocals kick in.
Sitting at the piano, Lawrence’s first task is to work out Rosanna’s starting key (G major) and the various modulations that follow. He then sets about creating a chord chart, and learns to appreciate some of the intricacies of the arrangement.
“I've definitely sang along to this chorus many times, but I've never really thought about the fact that there's a measure of two in there,” he says.
And then, of course, there’s that synth solo, a complex beast that was cooked up by Steve Porcaro and David Paich and features multiple parts. “This has a lot of really fun twists and turns,” says Lawrence as he attempts to learn it. “You picked a great one.”
Eventually, he’s ready to go for a take, and he gives what sounds like a pretty good performance - though not one that’s completely faithful to the original. But then there’s a twist: who should appear on FaceTime but keyboard legend and (until recently) Toto touring member Greg Phillinganes, who has some words of advice.
Well, we say advice, but Phillinganes is pretty dismissive of Lawrence’s chord chart: “The chart means nothing,” he says, bluntly. “It’s not the chords - it’s the movement in the chords.”
Phillinganes goes on to explain what he means, and the penny drops. “I wasn’t doing any of that - I was just doing my own thing,” says Lawrence. “I was just kind of like comping with the melody, but that’s way better.”
“That’s called the lazy musician’s way,” quips Phillinganes. “Well, you know me,” replies Lawrence.
Armed with his new information, the young padawan goes for another take, and there’s a striking difference. Phillinganes, meanwhile, appears to be backstage at a Toto show: “In about 45 minutes, I’m going to be doing it for real,” he says. Beat that.
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