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Remember the articles (and posts) about the pianos in the streets of London, placed outside where anyone could play them?
And later, a similar project in Brazil?
Well now the concept has come to America.
Ybor City (pronounced E-bor) Florida (Tampa area) to be exact.
My friend Kathy pointed out an article in the St. Petersburg (FL) Times about 10 pianos placed around the city, OUTSIDE where everyone and anyone can play them.
That was all we needed to hear, the quest was on!
Today (Sat. Nov. 14, 2009) we paid a visit to Ybor City and tracked down all 10 pianos. I played every one of them (well, 9 were playable, 1 was beyond bad).
Each piano was decorated by a different artist. Some were in pretty reasonable musical condition, others not so much. But that didn't matter, half the fun was in tracking them down and playing them, kind of like a musical treasure hunt, and seeing what the artists concept was. We had our little map, and found out quickly that the folks in Ybor are very friendly.
The whole thing is actually pretty clever. It's exposure for the artists and a fun way to get familiar with the area, discovering shops, restaurants, theatres, etc. along the way. It was interesting to see the different artists interpretations, and to "test" each piano we discovered.
Following are some pictures, and even a little video clip (yes, I'm the chubby guy in the pictures with the typical Florida outfit on). The displays will be in place through Jan. 9, drop by and play them if you get anywhere near the area.
The first piano we found, in front of the theater...
The second piano, note the art work (the Play Me was part of the artwork, even though it looks like someone wrote it in the dust)...
And a size view of the same piano...
Piano number 3 was in front of a sports bar, second level of the Ybor Centro ...
Another View...
Centro (Central) Ybor where 3 of the pianos are located (some great old buildings converted for modern use in this area)...
Spotted another piano, this time it was near Gameworks (I believe)...
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Sami plays the Muvico Piano (pianist we met, plays great, has a Bluthner at home)
Piano number 8, the Libarace Piano at Streetcar Charlies...
Playing the Libarace Piano
Piano number 9, the restroom piano. Yes, this piano is right outside the door to a public restoom. Appropriate, considering it's the only one you couldn't play. It was so bad musically, it belongs in a toilet. Unfortunate because the art is cool.
Number 10... The HCC piano, quite the contraption, but the piano itself was actually pretty good. It even has a built in video camera and small monitor, so you can watch yourself play :-)
The back of the HCC piano...
And a short video of me playing Kathy's song (I wrote for her) on the HCC piano... (Yes, I made some mistakes, but it's also partly the pianos fault :-) And believe it or not, the keys were actually hot (from the sun).
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
That's so cool! Thanks for sharing the pics, Frank I wish they did that too here, but any piano left outside would probably hauled away by some enterprising folk in no time flat!!
Working on: Schumann Album for the Young, Clementi Op 36 No. 1 (all movements), Various Bach, Czerny 599 + CASIO PX-720 and PX-730 +
A reporter for the St. Petersburg Times caught us while I was playing piano #2 (I didn't know she was a reporter, just thought it was someone being nice who kindly clapped when I finished playing).
She asked some questions, then asked if she could join us on the hunt. She stayed with us for about 20 minutes and two or three pianos. I kept mentioning Piano World, but she still managed to leave PW out of her article (but she did talk about Kathy and me)...
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Send the reporter this link to Piano World by email Frank!
What you were saying was "conversation" and she may not have gotten the idea that YOU are the "someone" behind this great website and what it means to so many people who are keyboard players. She was meeting the "head honcho" and didn't realize it, I think.
I love this mainstream piano idea and congratulate whoever in the Tampa area came up with this!
Puyallup, where I live, has a lot of art around town and I am getting "the willies" just thinking about the possibilities of "pianos" around town! (Indoors in public places because we have so much rain here!)
I'm delighted to see the pictures and I certainly understand that you would run right down and put your hands on the keys and test them out. I'd do the same!
Send the reporter this link to Piano World by email Frank!
What you were saying was "conversation" and she may not have gotten the idea that YOU are the "someone" behind this great website and what it means to so many people who are keyboard players. She was meeting the "head honcho" and didn't realize it, I think.
I love this mainstream piano idea and congratulate whoever in the Tampa area came up with this!
Puyallup, where I live, has a lot of art around town and I am getting "the willies" just thinking about the possibilities of "pianos" around town! (Indoors in public places because we have so much rain here!)
I'm delighted to see the pictures and I certainly understand that you would run right down and put your hands on the keys and test them out. I'd do the same!
Betty
I sent the reporter an email, and posted a comment on the Article Online .
Rain can be a problem here too. It may not be as frequent as where you are, but when we get a "tropical downpour" it's like someone poured a giant bucket of water. I've seen it rain so hard you literally could not see the end of the hood of your car, with the wipers on full speed (and driving 5 miles an hour).
It will be interesting to see what they look like in a month or so.
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
I think the concern is... the piano is in front of some college buildings. It's rumored that college kids + drinking = pranks, which could include trying to move the piano into a dorm room or something :-)
I hope the pianos survive being outside and available to the public 24/7 for the next couple of months. It really is fun chasing them all down and playing them (as well as seeing the art work they've become).
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...