Just curious, really.

First, there's the piano sitting there.

Then I have a tiny round table to the right of the piano bench to hold stuff, which you have to negotiate to get to the bench. The stuff includes my trusty metronome and a digital clock for timing myself. There are several pencils. There's a coaster on it because my husband has to have a hot beverage while he plays, which never made sense to me but there you go.

On the other side near the wall is a cheap magazine rack from Crate and Barrel, which is expected to hold way too much music. Very unsightly. There are books of music and lesson sheets on the floor. There are two piano bags for toting music to lessons, unless I remember to hide them behind a nearby club chair.

There's a clip-on light, which provides plenty of light for practice because there's not enough light in the room and a gotta have light. It prevents me from closing the piano completely, though, which is causing way too much dust to get inside the piano.

The piano itself is always dusty. The fall board is usually up because no one remember to close it. There is always music on the desk -- whatever the last person was working on. There's a baseball under the piano for some reason; I'll crawl under there and pick it up tonight, I swear.

The piano area is a mess! It has to be. Otherwise it would stand out compared to the rest of the house.

picture please....just send one to Gryph if you can't do it yourself.

Thats what happens when you give the maid a two week vacation.

OK, I gotta take one. After I learn how to work this digital camera. Then I gotta upload it.

This could take *months!*

Cindy -- who thinks this whole cleanliness thing is overrated, but who can only speculate because her house has never once been completely clean

Mine used to look like this, only now there are blinds on the windows to prevent the sunlight from beating down on the piano, the folding screen is gone, as is the vase of fake cherry blossoms. (Hey, it was a staged photo!)

ain't that the truth.

Matt, that's a lovely, serene looking place. It's also disgustingly clean. You should be shot for that.

First, there's a piano there.

We live in a modest house. No foyer or entryway. The front door opens into the living room. Directly across the room from the front door is the piano. It's also in the corner that has the hallway to the bedrooms. Around the corner is the dining room and farther, the kitchen.

So the piano, is pretty much right in the middle of traffic.

Being an upright, it is also the second most popular place to put stuff. The dining room table is at the top of the list. But when I need to put something somewhere where I'll find it again, it lands on top of the piano.

There's a CD rack in back of the corner of the piano, but other than the piano bench, there's no other furniture adjacent. So the piano itself also collects the music books, pencils, metronome, and other paraphernalia of playing. I have an elbow lamp on top of the piano for lighting the music on the rack.

The music rack is sacred. Only current pieces go there.

This is what it looked like when the Winter spinet was sitting there:


This is what the area looked like the day the Knabe arrived:


I'll try to get a larger-area picture in the future.

My Samick is in the entrance to the living room from the dining room against the wall. On the left music desk I have a black flourescent desk lamp that I'm using as a piano lamp. I'll get some tut-tuts and tisk-tisks for this, but I usually set my hot beverage on the lamp stand . Like Cindy's hubby, I like to sip something while I'm practicing. One of these days I'll install a bookshelf on the left to hold piano books and the hot beverage. Behind the lamp is a small fan for use in the summer months.

The last think I practiced on is usually on the music stand. The music sits on a piece I cut off of a black rubber shelf liner so it doesn't slump. To the right of the music is a pencil and some black jelly beans. I like to snack while I'm playing as well as drink.

On the right music desk sets the seldom used metronome and behind it on the folded front lid sets the books I'm using, but not currently playing

I leave the front lid open all the time. It was just too much trouble moving the lamp every time I wanted to close up and open up shop.

The observant among you will notice the cat on the bench. The very observant will notice that the bench is not centered. That's because while I'm practicing the cat sometimes likes to sit beside me. (She's the only one of six cats that likes to do that.) We're boarding her and her partner while their National Guard owners are over in Iraq.

The rolled up carpet underneath the piano is one I picked up while I was in Turkey. It's waiting there until I have time to rearrange the living room.

Here's the requisite photo (click the link for the full sized version):

Full size photo (1.1MB)

Oh, my gosh! I almost missed the cat on the bench. I'm glad you mentioned it, or I might have sat on the poor thing!

My cats are funny. Even when there are no obstacles in the living room (which is rare), when the cats come down the hallway, they will jog to the right, and walk under the piano bench, and between the leg and body of the piano.

The Lester, the Kawai, and the Winter all had a pretty wide gap between the leg and the body. The gap on the Knabe is much narrower, but the cats still insist on walking through the gap.

Very beautiful Knabe juggler! It'll be interesting to see it in situ. Try and catch a cat mid-gap.

Bob, that is some metronome you've got there!

Cindy -- who has a thing for guys with big metronomes

Beautiful Knabe!

Essential things to have next to me are a pencil, eraser, metronome, and a coaster for the occasional tea/coffee/soda. And the dog likes to sit beneath and chew his bones.

I also have in my study area, a Yamaha digital Grantouch, which has a grand piano case, but is only 3-feet deep. The top of that one is doubling as a temporary place to rest huge piles of magazines and books until I can find time/space to put them away.

As soon as my new baby comes I'll send pix. Meanwhile my piano area is a MESS because we are in the middle of remodeling. I just came home from picking up one of my dogs from the vet and the gold ornate mirror that hangs above my piano is on the floor. Oh well. Things have to get worse before they get better.

Cindy - I REALLY want to see a picture of your piano!

Alex says he expects mine to arrive in Seattle later this week.

http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/1/6718/2.html

1/2way down the page That's the old piano.. The new one is somewhere - that photo might be lost.

OK, OK. DH was too tired to do it last night, but I'll ask again tonight. And I'll ask him to teach me how to do this.

This is the 5'4" Boston I owned for five years and kept tucked in a corner of my family room:



In the lower right corner you can see the piles of scores that I kept on a table with a bottom shelf. On top of that table was where I set drinks and my metronome. You can also see the cord to the Dampp Chaser I'd had installed, and a humidty gauge on top of the piano. The gooseneck lamp provided light. The ball under the piano belongs to Felix the Cat. Mr. Plays' 12 string guitar, in it's case, rests next to the piano.

In 2002 I traded the Boston for a Steinway L, seen here in the same corner, but because it's larger, I had to place it differently.




what you can't see is the small music cabinet in the corner and the pole lamp that provides my light. On that small music cabinet rests scores, my metronome, that humidity gauge and occasionally a drink. On the piano I keep a small clock, a pencil, eraser and whatever music I'm working on at the moment. Also, I usually have the lid open on the short stick, but put it all the way up for this picture.

Nice setup Plays. I bet you're glad you don't have to keep moving all those picture frames just to dust the piano. Where did the left stereo speaker end up... in the fireplace?

Bob, those speakers are now resting peacefully in a landfill.

You're supposed to dust the piano?

It's here guys! I just talked to Alex and it has arrived. Will fly over to see it either next week or week after! He says it is gorgeous and sound that way too.

**Squeeee!**

Man, I feel like I'm getting the piano, Teachum!

You already did, Cindy!!! But thanks for the excitement! Alex said Steven played it and said it was really marvelous! He should know, the way HE plays!

Here is my setup. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to use the lamp so I could open the top for more sound.
Jon

All your set ups look so nice and tidy. MattG yours looks like a picture from a magazine! Plays, our pianos could be old relatives! I like the set up you have now with the piano turned the other way, very nice.

This picture has been done before in the Meetings area, but it is recent. (That is JeanneW at my piano)



I bought a cheap unfinished three cube storage unit and painted it black. It holds the usual along with a basket for pencils which never seem to be there when I need them! I keep those great Post It note Arrows there, too, to mark pages or passages without marring the books. Also my trusty dictionary and the latest, the Circle of Fifths clock from Frank's Pianosupplies.com. (I need constant reminders of my theory lessons..)

There is a drawer unit across the room for the library, about the size of a lingerie cabinet. Each draw for a catagory like Masters, Contemporary etc. The folding screen is needed at certain times of the year to block the sun coming from a foyer window.

As for lighting I tried everything and in the end Mr. BeeLady installed a track light on the beam above. It is perfect and not a second thought is needed to see what I am playing, well, except maybe that I need glasses... :rolleyes:

My piano is in the living room. A few pictures here: Piano World Members Gallery

Hi, Plays - I see that one (or more) of the piano legs is not on the carpet. Did you do anything special to keep the piano level?

I'm going to have the same problem with a carpet and bare floor... I'm thinking that I'd have to cut out some similar thickness of carpet to put under the caster cup that's on the bare floor to try and make it the same height as the caster that's in the carpet...

btw - beautiful piano...

BeeLady - When you gonna get those glasses?

Ah, you guys all have such nice roomy areas for your pianos. Mine is a little Gulbransen spinet in the corner in the den. I have to move the love seat over to pull out the bench. LOL!! On top of the piano are CD's and my metronome and a lamp. On the the right end are 2 stuffed toys. They were "Rally Monkeys" when the Angels won the World Series, now they're my practice monkeys. BTW, Bernard, I was looking at the gallery pics. When was the SoCal get together? I'm in SoCal and I missed it.

pdolce

very nice pictures Bernard - I dont remember seeing them in the picture gallery... I'm sure we'd be the best of friends if we just knew each other.

(I sure would like a glimpse of pique.) Sure wish she would post a picture of her piano with the owner playing it.