Over the Rainbow/Simple Gifts (Piano/Cello Cover) - The Piano Guys

► Get our albums: ► WE’RE ON TOUR! ► TPG APPAREL: ► DOWNLOAD THIS SONG: ► GET THE SHEET MUSIC: ► SHOP OUR AMAZON STORE! ________________________ ► Apple Music/iTunes - ► Spotify - ► Amazon - ► Google Play - ________________________ ► SUBSCRIBE: ► FACEBOOK: ► INSTAGRAM: ► TWITTER: Story behind the song: Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson were booked for a Piano Guys show in Hawaii. How could we resist filming our next video in the land of Aloha -- beautiful beaches, green mountains, and fresh pineapple?? We went to our Founders and Facebook fans to ask what song they wanted us to play there. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow“ was the nearly-unanimous response. But you know how we are ... we couldn’t “just“ do this tune by in the studio we found a made-in-heaven matchup in the timeless melody from the Shaker Hymn “Simple Gifts“ written in the 1800’s (also used by Aaron Copland in his Ballet “Appalachian Spring“). We feel it’s an especially appropriate mash-up because of our profound love and respect for the Hawaiian culture -- a people who are so good at finding happiness in simplicity. As you probably could hear we borrowed a lot of ideas from Iz’s version which has become the stuff of legend. This arrangement is, in part, a tribute to him. Getting a piano onto a sandy beach and then onto a big hill in a famous ranch within the SAME day (we only had 8 hours to film) was no small feat. The only thing harder would be to be predict Hawaiian weather, which ended up being our biggest challenge. “We had a little extra help on this one. My mother, Lynne Sanders Nelson -- a main source of my inspiration for pursuing music -- passed away early in life from the effects of a brain tumor. She was an incredibly-gifted musician and taught me to play music passionately rather than just playing ’notes’ on a page. ’Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ was one of her favorite songs. We finished this arrangement on what would have been her 70th birthday. Somehow she helped. I miss her so very much, but when I play songs like this I feel like I get to be with her again. This song is dedicated to her.“ -Steven Sharp Nelson Thank you so much to the Kualoa Ranch who bent over backwards last-minute for us and provided us such a beautiful place to shoot. Visit their site at -- when you visit Hawaii be sure to stop by and take a tour -- its where dozens of huge blockbluster movies/tv shows have been filmed. This song is dedicated to Lynne Sanders Nelson, The Hill Family, J. Mueller, & the people of Hawaii Filming locations: Beach Scene: Pounders Beach, North Shore, Oahu Hawaii Finale: Kualoa Ranch, North Shore, Oahu Hawaii (This is the place to go for sightseeing on Oahu!) Toll Free: (800) 231-7321 Tour Desk: (808) 237-7321 MANY THANKS to Garrin Mascarenas and BRIO TECHNOLOGIES for helping out with this shoot and for running the sound at our live shows! - You are awesome! Credits: Over the Rainbow music written by Harold E. Arlen in 1939 for the movie “Wizard of Oz“ -- originally performed by Judy Garland Published by EMI Feist Catalog, Inc. Inspired, in part, by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s cover Simple Gifts written by Joseph Brackett in 1848 Arrangement produced by Al van der Beek & Steven Sharp Nelson Arrangement written by Jon Schmidt, Al van der Beek & Steven Sharp Nelson Video produced by Paul Anderson and Tel Stewart Piano: Jon Schmidt Electric/Acoustic Cellos: Steven Sharp Nelson Vocals: Al van der Beek Percussion: Steven Sharp Nelson & Al van der Beek Recorded, mixed & mastered by Al van der Beek at TPG Studio Check out our Top 10 videos! A Thousand Years - Christina Perri: Disney’s Let It Go / Vivaldi’s Winter: Beethoven’s 5 Secrets - OneRepublic: Titanium / Pavane David Guetta / Faure: What Makes You beautiful / One Direction: Peponi - Coldplay - Paradise: Cello Wars - Star Wars: Fight Song / Amazing Grace: Kung Fu Piano - Oogway Ascends: Story of My Life - One Direction: #thepianoguys #pianocello