As a pianist, its harder than a violinist
to always have your instrument along when traveling.
I spent a week in Corfu, Greece in l970 at
an old inn that had a piano in the parlor with
a pile of Strauss waltzes, and other great
sheet music. Its one of my favorite memories from
that trip..their willingness to let me use the piano.
What cool places have you used a piano when
traveling?

Yes, on a week-long trip to Florida for Spring Break, I was able to play on many pianos - the digital at my aunt's, a grand at an upscale restaurant in Fort Myers, a Steinway dealer in Miami, and a rehearsal hall for the Florida West Coast Symphony Orchestra. I only had to pay for the last one!

This is proof that it IS possible to keep up practise while on vacation, it just depends on the circumstances of where you're going and how much you can prepare ahead of time!

Yes, but then I never had any repertoire at the time learned and memorized well enough to dive in. In our pre-kid days, my husband and I used to go to Yellowstone National Park a lot where the Old Faithful Lodge had a grand sitting out. I'm not sure how it worked but I think one had to ask or sign up to play in the evenings for everyone milling around. When ever I have to pass up an opportunity because I don't have anything ready to play, I feel sick and it's given me the incentive that next time I make it to Yellowstone National Park, I'm going to be prepared. Of course, they might have more specific regulations on who they allow so one would have to check on it.

Yup. Every time I go on a cruise, I go to the piano bar during off-hours and the guy usually lets me play. Sometimes they ask me to play when they're on-shift, and of course, I try to oblige. It's fun playing drunk when the ship's already rocking on its own. All the keys move around...it's like a game of "tag". :p

I once played my compositions on the grand in the foyer of the Playboy Club of Manila at 2:00 a.m. Had I not had a few drinks I would have been too timid. Nobody else seemed inclined to do so, even though there were many hundreds of tourists there. I had an audience comprising, I think, "ladies of the night" and "gentlemen of leisure". I think they thought I was mad.

I also played on a piano in a flash restaurant in Dagupan at the request of the ladies I was with. Unfortunately I attracted attention. The local professional who played there didn't like it and I think I would have ended up in the Pantal River with cement boots had I done it too often.

I used to travel extensively and would try to stay in hotels that had a piano. Sometimes I got lucky and the piano was a well cared for grand in a nice setting. Sometimes, it was an old beat up console in a back hallway. I really didn't care as long as I got to play.

I agree with you Rick. Sometimes you just got swallow your pride and play on that old beat up yamaha that's probably 30 years old that is so out of tune it's hard to play on it.

-The T