Making Music

That sounds cool.

I'm still on old-fashioned sheet music, lots of it!




Fortunately I can get four pages of music on the music stand of my Tyros.



The sort of stuff I play rarely has more pages than that as there's a lot of repetition in popular music, even classic standards.




As well as Fishmongers disappearing, as has been mentioned, (although in our two nearest towns there's still onein each and have been for some time), it's jewellery stores that seem to be closing down lately. Our nearest town now has none and the nex, t one, but they don't do watches. I've half-way decent Rotary watch (which I bought a year ago, new on E-Bay at a really good price) that needed a new battery, so last week, I had to go to Timpsons to get it done.

 

I keep much of my paperwork in binders too. Today I added the receipt for the battery to the binder that is for that vehicle...

Now, @Doghouse Riley would you please switch the red binders so they are alphabetically in order? Oh oh,,,, showing my personality quirk here...

 

@Doghouse Riley nice set up! Your piano certainly looks more modern than mine! I’ve got an electric black gloss yamaha clavinova. I absolutely love it. Sounds just like a piano without the need for tuning.

My favourites are classical pieces-beethoven and mozart being my favs. Last couple of years I’ve been trying to play more modern stuff-when theyre in books they are so thick and its so annoying when the book flaps closed for you. Unfortunately my pianos music shelf isnt that wide so hard to put 4 pages up.

 

I've tried breaking the backs of these books only to have them flapping at me like a middle finger. In frustration, I resorted to laundry supplies. Clothes pins are your friend.


Forgot to add that my listeners need extra pins to hold their nose whilst covering their ears

 

Oh so annoying...tried breaking the backs too and then the pages are everywhere. Ha ha at least i can plug headphones into mine...but I choose not to...piano practice makes good payback for when Dave is on his computer games.

 

Yup, mine is an electric piano and I like to play the first few bars of Toccata and Fugue... in D minor whenever somebody needs a warning to play nice! My grandkids all know that signal

 

Lori that’s so funny

 

Just ordered the books for 2 granddaughters birthdays. They were 1/2 the price of instore. Same company...

And I got an email from a company thanking me for my custom but I'll be darned if I can remember what I bought from them... guess I'll check their website in the a.m. to see if it rings any bells!

 

I try to get even when I can. Our hospital parking has meters that print out without requiring a plate number. You pay up front on this type and leave the slip on the dashboard. There are times,I paid the max daily charge and was leaving with several hours left valid on it. So I wait a few minutes to see if someone else comes to park there and I hand the ticket with the leftover time to them. I paid for x number of hours and as long as only one vehicle is occupying a space, then I feel it should be mine to pass on.

 

I'm not a proper pianist. I just muddle through. Just chords and right hand I busk a lot and I can't be bothered to play over the top of a first recorded track. What I play is what you get.

Here's a couple I taught myself recently, just because I'd heard them on the radio.


Box

Box

I like vintage pop stuff, here I'm copying (eventually) Neil Sedaka's slow version of one of his old hits.

Box

But my first love is jazz standards. This piano will play three different voices at the same time with the right hand and harmonise with the chords you play. I substitute a lot of jazz chords for those actually written which enhanses the harmonisation.

Box

I subscribe to a Yamaha keyboard users message board. We share our recordings which we upload to "Box." I've about 200 recordings on there, this is the one I uploaded today.

Box

There's some much better players on that message board. Trouble is some of them try to sing too. Never heard one yet where the singing is anywhere near as good as the playing. I can't sing well, so don't even try.

I've several large music books and you're right it's hard to keep them open. So I photocopy the pages that I use most so I don't have to use the books so often.

As well as the vintage Leak tuner/amp I've similar vintage turntable and cassette recorder/player and Goodmans speakers..




And of course my jukebox wall boxes I use to select mp3s via an adapter, some iPods and the Leak



All this stuff is in the same room as my piano and my big Stressless recliner, that's why my two full size jukeboxes have to live in the tea-house.



Files? Someone mention files?

Here in my "office"... alright then, our box bedroom, I've two drawers full of suspended files all neatly labelled.





Also more on these shelves above. The keen eye of Lori who noticed two of my music binders in the wrong order, may notice that my "filed" bank stements go back to 2009!

 

Great piece of music. Strange how some folk consider you to be churchy at times, but Toccata is fantastic when played on a pipe organ.

 

@Doghouse Riley hee hee just been listening to your box tunes. You are brilliant How many years have you been playing? Are you self taught or had lessons?

Sounds odd but I’ve never learned to play chords on my left hand. My old piano teacher was very much ABRSM trained. Oh I loved her so much-she was so kind. I started playing from 5-13yrs then stopped as I was a teenager and didnt want to do exams anymore (big mistake). I started playing again after I passed my final accountancy exams a few years ago and treated myself to my piano. I was terrible to begin with again but getting better now....not had any more lessons mind.

I love playing though. Can easily waste a few hours playing. Its the same kind of therapy as gardening for me...a huge stress reliever and stops my mind wandering into stupid thoughts.

Sorry just realised I’m hijacking the shopping thread with piano stuff!