Tote That Piano!

I've always thought that dragging a handtruck through the innards of a big hotel, loaded with digital keyboard and all the trimmings, was sort of a hassle.

And I've always thought I was fairly entrepreneurial.

But . . . pushing an acoustic piano (actually four pianos!) around the streets of New York City for busking? Now, that's a hard-working piano-player.

(But he made the New York Times . . . )

Mr Steinway Himself Came Down . . .

I played a Samick piano last night. Pretty and shiny, but nothing else to recommend it. The experience did, however, remind me of a favorite joke.

Bob Hope once said that when Phyllis Diller played, "Mr. Steinway himself came down from heaven and rubbed his name off the piano."

That would hurt! But . . . I was thinking . . . how much worse it would be if your playing caused Mr. Samick to come down and remove HIS name from the piano.

Ouch.

There's An Old Piano Next To The Haunted Jail Cell

Had a wonderful dinner last week in Dahlonega (GA) with Tom, who owns what must be one of the best used/rare bookstores in the world (Quigley's Rare Books and Antiques). The conversation turned to pianos, and our server, Maggie, said, "There's an old piano down in the basement, in the room with a creek running through it. Want to see it?"

Well, not having seen a creek running through many basements, we went down to have a look. Yes, this circa 1830s building does, indeed, have a nice stone arch with a creek running right into the room.

And, there's an old console piano there. Not really badly out of tune, but at least half the notes won't even sound. They don't feel mushy from humidity, though. They just won't play.

Maybe the piano has suffered from being across the old stone hallway from the haunted jail cell. Or maybe it's the river that runs through the room. Or maybe it was a wreck when it was moved into the basement decades ago.l

Either way, it was cool to see yet another piano popping up in an unexpected conversation, and in an unexpected place.

Superman Attacks Piano. Caterer Has Kryptonite

So . . . a while back I showed up to play a very nice house party. Got some coffee, talked to the hostess, and finally visited the piano. Oops...the keyboard cover would NOT open. Something was behind it, jammed in tight. The cover wouldn't budge at all.

To make it perfect, it wasn't a simple 'slide-out' cover, but was attached with many tiny, very decorative brass screws. Not only did I have no tools, I'd be afraid to attack this woman's beautiful piano with a screwdriver.

Astoundingly, one of the catering guys was a carpenter and had all his tools out in his truck. Fortunately he wasn't intimidated by the age and beauty of the instrument . . . and he'd already unloaded all the food so he had extra time before the guests arrived.

With some effort we removed the keyboard cover, and Shazam! It was an apparently sleeping superman, with his bed, no less. The grandchild had been playing . . . not practicing...around the piano.

(Reminds me of the time, obviously many years ago, when we took a non-working VCR to the shop. It came back with a tiny toy airplane taped to the unit, and a note, "Recorder will not work with airplane inside.")

And pianos won't work with superman resting on the keys.

In this case, the kryptonite was the catering guy's willingness to work on this beautiful piano, and the lucky chance that his tools were with him.

Ten years ago, I'd never arrive at a gig 45 minutes early. Now, I always do, just in case Superman is there somewhere.

Sharing Music Is More Fun Than Watching TV

Last night we had a piano-rama at church. Six members who play the piano shared about 7 minutes of music each with a mixed and receptive crowd. We had fun playing . . . and the audience loved it.

We'd suggested that everyone play something enjoyable, so one person played a couple of older standards and an original song, another played  Stardust (and lamented that her daughters don't know this fine tune). Another played wonderful, rich arrangements of old hymns with new and creative jazz harmonies. A special guest from Korea played energizing Gospel music, showing the international reach of this Southern tradition--and added a haunting Korean melody. Another played several settings of a hymn that he found particularly meaningful. I played Honeysuckle Rose and Linus and Lucy. Lots of variety.

There was a takeaway for me in this program. It is that people genuinely, truly enjoy being together when music is being made. No one was nervous--it wasn't a recital. It was fascinating to see the different approaches each person took to his or her 7 minutes . . . and to hear why each song was chosen. It's clear that lots of folks are doing music in their spare time. The audience truly enjoyed the program, too.

Of course, we could have watched a video of a world-class pianist, or invited in a top-level player for this program. But we just shared the music that we enjoy with people who enjoy being together. It was a lovely evening.

And it should happen more often--in homes as well as churches.

Every Working Pianist Will Relate to This . . .the Philippine Solution

So . . . in the Philippines it can be fatal to sing My Way badly. Fatal! Somehow, I think this will resonate with all working pianists.

Here's the story from no less than  The New York Times.

Or course there is a moral question: would this be a bad or good thing? Would exoneration of the murderer depend on how badly the song had been sung? Or perhaps the drunken adulation of Frank would be enough by itself, ipso facto? 

I played for a wedding years ago where the groom made his bride sit in the middle of the dance floor and listen to him sing (very badly) all the verses of My Way. I know that he'd expected her to gaze adoringly at him, but by the end of the song she was avidly watching the floor.

I'm pretty sure, too, that when the performance finally ended,  the bride (and everyone present) would have voted for the groom to be severely punished. At that time, we had not heard of the Philippine Solution.

But now it has a name.

An now, it's happening, apparently with some regularity. All is not lost.

Waiting for a meeting to begin at the Rialto Theater downtown. There's a piano sitting against the stairs, calling for a picture. But the picture is mediocre . . . until I fool with it a bit in Photoshop.

Then the colors and shapes emerge and it gets more interesting.

With luck, the same thing happens when you sit down at the piano and fool around. Sometimes the colors and shapes emerge, and something interesting will happen. Or maybe it stays mediocre and nothing good develops.

Either way, it's fun to do, just to see what happens. Half the fun is the process

Nothing Beats a Great Piano

Many years ago, the 'dean' of Atlanta's society piano players, Margaret Perrin, said to me, "Jimmy, there is nothing like a good, old Mason Hamlin." I've always remembered that, and my two favorite pianos now are both "big, old Mason Hamlins."

It wasn't just Margaret's opinion, or mine. The violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin, wrote,  “Among all pianos none compares with the Mason & Hamlin in beauty and grace of tone, or in mellowness and softness and yet in bigness, or in anything that a sensitive and, as it were, human piano should have.“ Menuhin had five Mason Hamlin pianos in his home.

The company was founded in 1854, but it fell on hard times following the crash in 1929, and had many owners. It now has new, committed management, and I (for one) hope that the new ones match the sheer wonderfulness of the old, scratched, but incredible instruments. Here's the history.

What the Little Camera Can Do

I love having a good camera in my pocket all the time--these days its a Panasonic Lumix.

It's small enough that, when you see an upright piano with the top open, you can just stick the camera down into the guts and get a new perspective--in this case, a nice view of the bass strings.

This piano is a Kawai in the fellowship hall of the Atlanta Unitarian-Universalist church. It sounded great, and the inside view reminds me of what wonderful creations these things really are--even the schoolhouse upright! Or maybe, especially the schoolhouse upright.

What Are These Churches Thinking?

Played for a going-away reception yesterday for two church musicians from one of Atlanta's largest churches---over 50 years' experience between them. Maybe 400 people, devastated, were at the reception, mourning the church's change in direction--mourning, in effect, a pastoral coup d'etat. But the 400 people present prove that strong music programs bring people to the church and get them committed and involved.

Seems to me that churches should be careful in destroying programs that have been built over many decades. First, music. Then, who knows?

Makes you wonder exactly what book the church leaders are using as a guide . . .