WTF-Beta

Way back, I was got tested to see if I might have leukemia. I got a message on my answering machine at 4:56 on Friday with the message being to contact the doctors off "as soon as possible." I joked with my spouse - "that's what they always say when it's good news." A friend of mine was awaiting biopsy results - the doctor asked a nurse to get a chair for my friend while she waited for the doctor in the exam room - and a few moments later the nurse came back and put a box of Kleenex next to my friend - which took her to DEFCON 1 level of anxiety - and it was ultimately good news. Point is - don't get ahead of your skis.

Just came today. I'll start reading tonight.

The concept reminded me a bit of a book from a long while back that was titled something like the Inner Game of Music. The author of that book was modeling on a bestseller that called the Inner Game of Tennis. The author noted his deep fear of playing the viola in front of audiences. He described in some detail his nervousness and how it was especially bad when being graded on performance at Indiana University. My favorite remembrance from the book was when he described having the good fortune of having a guest juror on the jury reviewing his performance. The "guest" who would be sitting in was William Primrose. For those of you who don't know, some folks have expressed the opinion that William Primrose is the greatest violist...of ALL TIME - like being asked to be critiqued by Franz Liszt for the piano, Segovia for the classical guitar or Paganini for violin. Not a happy moment for the author.

And right by the shower nozzle!!

Doug - that's a great eggs sample of your humor. We visit in Carol's sister's for eve - and spend X-day in seclusion. The authorities prefer it that way. Spouse is in cookie baking mode at the moment.

Steve - they have your piano in Green - Free to good home.

Great story, Steve. Those old uprights had some character to them - even a kind of smell of old felt. It's a treasure that you found someone who cherished pianos and was willing to help you out. I don't think I've encountered too many orange pianos.

I started with a drop action Wurlitzer - with plastic components that broke with some frequency.

Stupid is a good explanation. The pardons provide cover for Trump. Whatever Trump does with pardons can now be partially justified by Biden's actions. It will be interesting to read some of tell-all stories that come out after Biden leaves office. Both parties need a new generation of leaders - maybe even skip a generation.

Also, if you're going to keep the wallet on you, at least once a year take a couple of minutes to photocopy everything you have in there - as in all likelihood you'll forget some things.

Ditto - for your house - not a bad idea to take the iphone and walk through the house recording everything. One of my nieces just had a home burglary. She kept all of her jewelry in two convenient to steal jewelry boxes - things from her grandmother and parents - irreplaceable. She also happened to have a more cash than one would normally have at home because she'd taken it on a trip. I won't say how much except that I have never carried that much cash on any trip. Of course, they took Coach purses and other high end portable items. Two weeks before a tree collapsed on her car - so she's on a roll for bad luck.

I would have hoped that he didn't do what we all knew he would do. I'm also wondering why now and not closer to leaving office.

Ok - yes, it's an ebony Steinway. I almost bought a walnut instrument that I loved playing - but that would have contrasted a bit too much with other finishes in our house. Ebony offends no one - hopefully.

As for the Roland, it's an HP704. Guitar Center and other stores sell them. It's got a pretty decent action - but it's built-in sounds are...meh. Pianoteq software is pretty inexpensive - and utilizing that - one can choose between Steingraeber, Hamburg Steinway, Grotrian, Bosendorfer, etc. - concert grands. There's a lot of flexibility in choice of tonality, room acoustics etc - for each instrument. It's fun to work out on the digital. I considered buying a top of the line Yamaha N1X which has grand piano hammers - while being a true digital instrument. It was nice - and more than twice the price - but the Roland does everything I need. Roland also comes with a 10 year in-home warranty - which meant that if I beat the thing to death - they'd cover it. Considering what one pays for tunings 2x a year - the digital piano is free. BUT, as I noted, I would not want to limit myself by not playing an acoustic instrument frequently.

Still have my Steinway B - now about a dozen years. It is holding up well - though winter is always a challenge. The piano sounds differently in the winter - partly because the hammers have less humidity - partly because I think the acoustics of the room change a bit as well. A couple of years ago, I had the people who originally rebuild it come out and spend a day working on the action and tone.

I also have a digital instrument - a Roland that I enjoy as well since I use it with PIanoteq software - that allows me to practice late at night w/o disturbing the world at large. Right now, the Roland is set up with a Bosendorfer 280VC - nice instrument. While I enjoy the beautiful sounds of the digital instrument, I try and play the real piano as much as is feasible since the digital piano artificially makes me sound better than I really am. Producing a beautiful tone - not that I can - does take some technique and sensitivity to the instrument. The digital piano skips some of those steps - so it is easier to sound better than one really should.

Yeah, it is funny how we need to have our brain in a particular place when we play in public - and the brain doesn't always listen. We overfocus on something we don't need to focus on - and blam, we're in trouble. I remember Arthur Rubinstein talking about playing in public as a student. He got lost at one point - and made up a bit of music to fill in - and then finished. He expected his teacher to criticize him. Instead, his teacher smiled and said something like, " that was wonderful, I don't know that I could have done that better myself." His teacher understood that memory slips are part of playing - and getting past them is part of performing. I also remember attending a recital by a famous pianist. He was performing something I was planning to work on. I had the score in front of me as he was playing. After the concert, I went back stage - and he saw that I had the music. He was sure I must have noticed that he slipped up on something - but I didn't notice anything out of place - just assumed it was as it was meant to be.

I remember my brother giving me a book when I was in 2nd grade - Toby Tyler. I was disappointed when i saw the book as I was hoping for a toy - but then I read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Books became friends. I remember reading a study where reading to children is one of the most important things a parent can do for a child. It's good that your teacher got you hooked.