How “Whisperings” Solo Piano Music Makes a Difference

You’re an indie solo piano music player and you want to promote your music but there are no radio stations close by that play your style. That puts you in a bit of a jam. So what’s the answer? How about starting your own radio station—online—and reach out to the world.

Enter David Nevue, solo piano music player and composer. He had that problem, but no longer. He launched “Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio” in August of 2003 as a means to promote his own flavor of piano music. And the rest, as they say, is history.

At the outset, Nevue extended invitations to a few of his piano buddies to be part of his online broadcast. Next up, he turned to other pianists in his genre on sites such as CD Baby. In a short time his efforts had created a music snowball, if you will. CD submissions solo piano music artists for the “Whisperings” broadcast began rolling in from around the world.

The broadcast is going into its sixth year this August, 2009, and the future looks brighter than ever. “Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio” pianists now number over 150 talented solo piano music artists. It’s the number one broadcast on Live 365.com and has been for four years running. The program is also available on iTunes, TiVi, and the Windows Media Tuner, and reaches out to almost a million fans from throughout the world, monthly.

When questioned about the program’s success, Nevue was quick to comment, "I always believed the market for solo piano music had never been fully realized. The thing about solo piano music is, almost everyone appreciates it, regardless of age or culture. Everyone loves a good melody, and no instrument inspires quite as much emotion as the piano does when played with skill and grace."

The truth of the matter is, regardless of the skills of the thousands of solo piano music players out there, achieving a professional career in the music industry is just not in the cards for the vast majority of musicians. It’s very much like the odds of a really good college athlete making it in the pros. Just not gonna happen. Nevue’s online radio broadcast, on the other hand, gives many musicians a forum that they might otherwise not have.

Nevue goes on to say, "The attitude of the music industry toward solo piano music is that there's no worthwhile market for it. In an industry where anything less than a million units sold is considered an utter failure, piano artists can't compete. Ask any pianist trying to make a living from his or her artistry and they will tell you - it's nearly impossible to 'break out' beyond doing the local gig."

It doesn’t take long for one to realize that Nevue has a point. With the exception of musicians like George Winston, Jim Brickman, David Lanz and Yanni, how many contemporary pianists can you name? Yet, arguably, there are more solo piano music players out there than practically any other instrument.

These observations are the driving force behind the success of the “Whisperings” project. Neuve had a vision and now he has the momentum to reach out to touch those illusive stars in the sky.

Neuve sees “Whisperings” as an opportunity for reinserting solo piano music back into pop culture—something that can really be hastened considering the vast numbers of people that listen to music at their jobs, from their homes…wherever they travel…via portable devices like the iPhone.

The plan from the start was to be more than an online radio station. Neuve wants to create an interactive community of participating solo piano music artists who pool resources, advice and performance opportunities. And these goals are being achieved for those solo piano music players who submit their work.

Today there are more than a dozen “Whisperings” live concerts performed annually throughout the U.S. where three or four solo piano music artists come together and play before eager audiences. Neuve’s hope is that one day “Whisperings” will become a household name and events will be standing room only.