Learn to Play “La Valse d’Amelie” by Yan Tiersen
You can now learn to play “La Valse d’Amelie” from the 2001 award winning French film Amelie! The song is now available in the Piano Maestro Library in four versions: simplified, accompaniment, melody and the full version. Read the post below to find out more about the movie, song and composer. Need to download Piano Maestro? Click here.
The Movie: Amelie
Audrey Tautou, the star of the movie Amelie
The movie tells the story a young French woman who moves from her small town to Paris. In the bustling city she works as a waitress and devotes her life to those around her until she realizes that she is disregarding her own needs. She then learns to take hold of her life and go after what she really wants: love.
The Song: La Valse d’Amelie
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of Amelie, happened upon Tiersen’s music during a car ride. Although Jeunet already had ideas for the movie’s soundtrack, he changed his mind and asked Tiersen to compose the entire score. In just two short weeks Tiersen composed 19 pieces of music including “La Valse d’Amelie”.
Tiersen was the recipient of several prestigious awards for his musical score including the Cesar Award for Best Music Written for a Film and the World Soundtrack Academy award. Additionally, the movie’s soundtrack topped many charts worldwide.
The Artist: Yan Tiersen
“Let’s play with sound, forget all knowledge and instrumental skills, and just use instinct – the same way punk did.”
Born in 1970 in France, Tiersen started learning piano at the age of four. He had classical training at several prestigious musical academies before beginning to experiment with other instruments . In his late teens he traded in classical instruments and started to record his own music using a sampler, synthesizer and drum machine. Since then he has become a musical master of many instruments including the violin, guitar, xylophone, toy piano and, most strangely, the typewriter.
Tiersen released his 17 track debut album in 1995, with many of the songs specifically written for theatrical adaptations but it wasn’t until his 3rd studio album that he became well-known in France. However, after the success of Amelie’s soundtrack, Tiersen was in high demand. He continues to write movie scores, record albums and tour the world.
