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Now that's a PIANO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good to hear good things, Pieter.

Sharon

Well it's my turn on the podium. I'm 44 going on 45. I may as well say I'm 45 because my birthday is in a month and a smidge. I'm happily single, although I almost got married twice in my life I backed out once and so did the wife-not-to-be another time. I've grown up in the lower Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts my whole life, living in Haverhill twice, Merrimac, and Andover in between.

Anyway. I started my love affair with music when I was a kid. I could never participate in sports because I was born with a clubbed foot that kept me from running quickly. Therefore, my skills were focused on the arts and sciences. My uncles studied piano, and when I would visit them at my grandmother's house, they would be playing the piano. Instead of me going off to play with my two cousins, I'd hang out with my older uncles watching them play the piano and absorbing what they were doing.

In 1966, my grandparents moved and gave us the old Wurlizter spinet. My dad showed me the lines and spaces, and a year later I started offical lessons. I studied straight through high school, and thought of going into music, but due to circumstances and beaten down self esteem, I ended up in electronics and computers instead. Over the years, I've studied off and on so I didn't lose my skills completely. The music was too much part of me to die off completely.

The electronics industry proved to be profitable, and I worked as a hardware technician and got a trip to Taiwan out of it. After that job ended, I worked as a typesetter for my family. When the family business went sour during the early 1990s, I worked at night as a computer operator and remained in computer operations since.

Right now I work for Latran Technologies. ( www.latran.com ) This is the former Graphics Imaging Division of Polaroid or Polaroid Graphics Imaging (PGI). The company is going through tough times due to changes in the printing industry and I've been given many jobs to do in addition to Information Technology. I can say that this keeps me pretty busy during the day jumping from Customer Service Representative to Network Adminstrator back to Shipping Clerk.

Anyway, nothing has been a complete bed of roses either. During these years, I ended up with a mild stroke in 2002. This didn't paralyze me, but left the right side of my face premanently numb (feels like a novacane). During this time I couldn't play cross-handed as in putting the left hand over the right or vice versa for example. Things have gotten better since then, but it took along time.

To add insult to injury, I had the wits scared out of me. During and ultrasound for the stroke, they discovered a cyst on my thyroid. This was only 3mm (or pea sized, but it hurt when pressed). No big deal they said, just get it checked. Well... When getting it checked, they discovered that the cyst was actually 3.8 cm in size (the size of a grape). I had more tests that showed pre-cancerous cells, and in May 2003, they removed the left side of my thyroid with little effects afterwards.

Recently, after many other problems, such as muscle weakness, tremors and spasms, I've been diagnosed with early onset PD. This came about while checking me for the side-effects of Lipitor, which caused some enzyme levels to change. The initial diagnosis was bilateral focal dystonia, but that was changed recently to PD after a trial of some Sinemet reduced the symptoms nearly 90% There maybe a link between the Lipitor and the PD, but the government and drug industry refuses to admit it.

Anyway, I've learned to stay positive through this with many thanks to the forum members here. They have all kept up my enthusiasm for my first love of music and pianos.

John

That's enough for a lifetime John! You sound very positive indeed for someone who has been through so much... good on you, I hope things will settle in the future and will allow you to enjoy life and your music even more!

I'm feeling a bit ashamed as I just realised I'm probably the only one who got away posting here without mentionning who many years he's already served on this planet! So to put me on an even footing with you lot, I've done 38 so far!

sleeping cats - wonderful to see you back around!! Glad to hear things are getting better, there's nothing like a newly tuned piano to call you back to playing

CathyS

yes, I thought the same when I saw sleeping cats post. Nice to see you, SC!! I'll never forget the transformation of your pool room to piano room. You should post those pics again sometime! (that was you, right??)


Pleasure to see you too, cathys!! Nice to know you are enjoying a variety of musical moments!

This was a good post idea Mr.S-H. I've enjoyed reading the responses and learning more about the posters. I don't post very much because I don't have alot of time, but I love to read the threads and I'll take the oppurtnunity now to throw mine in.

Ok, can someone pass the mic? Ahhhumm... testing 1,2,3.

Alright, I'm 20 years old and live in the North Eastern United States in New Hampshire. I'm only a couple of miles away from the Atlantic from where you can often smell the salty ocean air on summer nights.

During the day, I work full time for a security company down in Massachusetts where I apprenticed for 6 months and have been working for the past 4 years, I've been doing electrical and mechanical engineering work. I love the work, and it has turned into an obvious career. I love what I do, but it also pays the bills, and allows me to stay out of debt while going to school. My big plan is to purchase my first home in 2-3 years.

At nights, I commute up to a school from where I'm working on a bachelors in Electrical Engineering from UNH. I've almost completed enough of the program to claim an Associate degree in the field, but I will complete the bachelors in about another 3 more years.

If you haven't gathered, I'm a big geek and a major perfectionist. I taught myself to type when I was 9 and since then have had a love affair with computers and anything technical. It's ok, I've learned to embrace my techno lust and geek status. I particularly love graphic design and programming.

My family and I are very religious and for related reasons I was homeschooled through a "mail-in" remote school since the 3rd grade. About that time my mother bought me a basic "learn to read music" book to satisfy my remote school's music requirements. From that book, I taught myself to read music at about 8 yo and toyed around on a old 46key keyboard for about a year. I started taking lessons from a family friend from my church when I was 9, and I didn't take it seriously for the first 3 years, but I did take lessons for about 7 years. After that, I've been self-taught and awfully busy, but I take almost every spare moment of rec time to sit down and play. I get maybe 3 to 4 hours of practice in a week during school, and 12-15 in during non busy or school breaks. I want to take lessons again as soon as I earn my degree and get a little more time.

Alright, enough about me. Someone else talk about me... just kidding

Hopefully I won't have anymore to deal with. Staying positive is the best thing for anyone. There's the ups and downs, but staying focused on the things we love really helps.

I'll tell you what. We'll wait until you catch up to us.

John

I can understand exactly what you mean. When I started playing the piano, my teacher told me I was too precise about timing and too mechanical. It took me a little while, but I learned to play expressively, and the results were dramatic!

I think there are definitely people who have an engineer's mind and find it hard to switch their minds from technical to artistic. The piano is a great way to teach that to such people.

Now, your going to tell me I sound like Wilson from the old TV show Home Improvement, but....

I think it was the anthropologist Loren Eiseley that believed looking at the sciences with a cold mechanical view is worthless. He stated we need to look at science with a admiration and amazement--a wow factor essential to be a good scientist or engineer or whatever have you. The only way to do this is learn to embrace an artistic and emotional side. Music is one great way to accomplish that!

I'm afraid that's not gonna work John, you'll be in for a long wait. I'm waiting for the likes of Andrew at 20 to catch up with me, I'm going nowhere unti then!

At 63 years old it seems like I'm one of the oldest people here but for some reason I never feel old.

I took classical piano lessons for a few years from about 10 years old on an old upright I had in my bedroom, it was in my bedroom because one weekend I painted it pink and my Mom would not let it remain in the living room any more. I actually don't remember why I did but it was not a popular decision. I quit after a few years.

I spent 5 years in the Navy on a Destroyer and actually met my wife while on liberty in New York at the Worlds Fair (a long story).

When I got out I went to work for IBM in New Jersey as a Customer Engineer eventually ending up in Michigan where we still live. While still in New Jersey we bought a Yamaha G7 and have had it ever since. It got played a lot but not by me. My wife and kids played it.

In the early 90's I got 'Downsized' by IBM and started a little network support company to support K12 schools but decided I did not like running a company, even a tiny one. My son took it over and is doing well at it. I took a job as a Tech Director at a small local school district where I still am. Maybe the fact that I'm around kids all day keeps me feeling young. They're great.

About 4 or 5 years ago I decided to try to make the Yamaha work for me again and I started playing again. Someone introduced me to chords and that's what I mostly play. I still dig out the old classics I used to play and try a new one now and then but mostly I play for fun with Fake books.

Thinking of retiring in a couple years but I'm having fun most of time at work so I'm not sure yet.

Hi, everyone,

This seems like a good place for my first post. I've been staying up late reading your posts for several nights now and.....wow, what a great place!

I started taking piano lessons at age 39. That was 4.5 years ago and life hasn't been the same since. It's the first thing I want to do in the morning and the last thing I want to do before I go to bed. None of my friends play or share the same enthusiasm for learning about music, so this forum is great.

Can anyone tell me...when do you stop feeling like a beginner. "Clair de Lune" was my recital piece last year and was good enough to bring tears to a man's eyes, yet I still feel like a novice.....especially when shopping for a new piano, but that's for another topic.

I'm 53, not an adult beginner, but I like it here anyway. I work in two hospitals as a cytotechnologist, which is a person trained to prescreen microscopic preparations for a pathologist for malignant cells. I've been doing that for 25 years. Before that I taught school.

I'm been happily married for the past 22 years and have a 21 years old daughter.

I began taking piano lessons at five after a friend of my mother's persuaded her that I needed lessons. I'd been caught picking out tunes on her piano. I studied with one indifferent, one terrible, and one excellent teacher until I was 17. After that, from simple lack of access, the piano slipped out of my life. During that time I learned to play the bagpipes. That in turn slipped out of my life due to lack of a place to practice after a move, and worsening asthma. A few years ago my mother finally turned loose of my childhood piano in the hopes that my daughter would take lessons. She didn't but I went back to it with a vengance. I'm now practicing about three hours a day and occassionally wishing I could turn back the clock. My favorite composers are Chopin and Bach. Last year I bought an 1887 Mathushek square grand.

My other hobbies are reading and writing, sometimes gardening, and antique photography, they are all running very poor seconds to the piano. I sometimes sell stereoviews on ebay under the name of "Tinker."

I currently have four cats, three dogs, a ferret and a parrot.

Hello and Welcome to the forums Lynn!

Yes, PWF's are a great place especially to keep your knowledge and interest in piano alive. You've obviously begun your inevitable addiction to the forums. . The first step is always sacrificing sleep. Watch though, it may lead to increased practicing too...

I don't know when you stop feeling like a beginner. I've been playing for 10 years and I still feel like one (and sound like it too), so you're not alone.

If you were referring to not knowing what to play while shopping for a new piano, that's a topic that was brought up somewhat recently. You might be interested to read it in this thread. Fun Song Suggestions

Frycek,

What kind of parrot do you have? I have a Hahn's Macaw and an Amazon. This is Barney and Julia my two feathered children. Barney talks and sings and Julia talks and whistles when she feels like it. They are around 14 and 20 years old.

I also have a bunch of cats and a dog named Boone.

John

When you are qualified to go to an international piano competition. You are really not alone here.

Welcome on board!

Hope it's not to late to jump in here. I'm 52 years old, married and the mom of two teenage girls, ages 17 and 14. I work at an executive search firm doing research. I have lived my entire life in California. I had piano lessons from ages 6 to 14. After a few false starts as an adult I started taking lessons again in May of 2003. I lost a lot of time there in-between (like 35 years!) I really have no hobbies other than piano, including PW. There's no time for anything else with the kids, housework & job!

Octavia

Lynn510..."Can anyone tell me...when do you stop feeling like a beginner. "Clair de Lune" was my recital piece last year and was good enough to bring tears to a man's eyes, yet I still feel like a novice.....especially when shopping for a new piano, but that's for another topic."

Lynn,

You never stop feeling like a beginner when it comes to music. There's so much to learn and so little time to do it in. I've been studying music officially since I was 8 years old, and I haven't stopped learning since.

John

I am very, very late to this one! Actually, I haven't been around here at all in quite a while. What a nice idea, mr super-hunky!

It's probably been two months since I have posted anything at all on this forum, and that's primarily because work has kept me very busy. The only reason I am posting now is because I am at my husband's art studio and semi-gallery because we have a show tonight, but it has been pretty slow (probably because it's been raining all night!). Anyway, I work full-time as an assistant professor and career development counselor at a college here in "sunny" Southern California. I usually teach one class per semester, meet with students on an individual basis, and do too much work on the too many committees I am on. I spend quite a bit of time in my car commuting to and from work, though, by Los Angeles standards, it's really not that bad (40-60 minutes going to work, 60+ going home if before 7:00 pm, but only 30 if going home after 7:00!) In addition to my full-time job, I have a part-time position at another college, which is very close to home!

I'll be 33 in June. My husband and I have been married for almost 3 years. We have a dog (husky mix) named Kimi, who is rambunctious and adorable. As a kid, I moved around quite a bit, as my father worked for the Army Corps of Engineers, and we always had to live near some sort of military base. I've mostly lived in different parts of California, but also lived in Madison, Wisconsin and Stuttgart, Germany.

I took piano lessons off and on over a period of about 8-9 years, and started again after a 13-year hiatus almost 2 years ago. It has been great to have piano in my life again!

As far as hobbies, mostly I spend time running errands, doing housework, and taking the dog on long walks/jogs. After getting home from work, I am too tired to think, so I find myself vegging out in front of the TV. As a result, I have gotten hooked on the shows "Lost," "The Amazing Race," and "Project Runway" (which just ended). I do love to read, but haven't done much lately. Also, I am fortunate enough to have all of my immediate family members close by, so my husband and I do spend quite a bit of time with them.

It is starting to pick up a bit, so this is it for me for now--I have to go be at least a little social! Ugh!

John, I have a double yellow headed Amazon named Sweetpea, who is, I think female. She knew about five phrases when I got her but hasn't learned anything since. She does imitate sounds. I've had her 14 years and I think she's about 18. She lives in a macaw cage in our dining room and on the (enclosed) front porch during the warm months. William can't stand her, and to parapharase Elmer Fudd, goes around singing "Kill the parrot! Kill the parrot!" I'm the only person she likes.

I just turned 50 and have been taking lessons for 3 years.

All I knew before taking lessons was that pianos were heavy. The only thing I ever wondered about was, why are some keys black and some white? In fact, I bet I've thought more about what a chair would look like if our knees bent the other way? Basically, I never thought I'd play the piano nor did I have any intentions or aspirations to.

As fate would have it, my wife bid on music lessons in a fund raising silent auction. (She was the only one to bid). She tried to sell them but on the weekend before they expired, she said I should go. She said, they were already paid for and reminded me that a few years prior, I had learned 'Joy to the World' on this little credit card sized toy piano. I reminder her that the toy had 8 buttons and I had learned the 1st 8 notes.

Well now I'm hooked on piano and ignore my wife. Sometimes she comes over to the piano to see how I'm doing and bring me things. Last week she brought me a gallon on paint and a brush. She was talking about the bathroom, but it was hard to hear her through the headphones... At times, both kids are happy with me playing. I don't bug them to do things and they leave me alone.

I used to golf and garden a lot more and will get back to them one day. I am waiting for either the novelty of piano to were off or I get 'retired' (let go) from my computer related job of 28 years.

I don't regret not taking to the piano sooner. I regret picking such a stupid name for this forum. You see on the day I was registering for this forum I was wondering around the house looking for ideas. When I passed thought the kitchen I saw the kids had not cleaned up from lunch. I looked at the ketchup and jam and thought, it is sort of like my piano career, if I keep it up, maybe, one day, I will 'catch and jam' with others...
(I just wish people would put things away around here. Yesterday I hurt my toe on a full gallon of paint. It was right in the middle of the bathroom floor)!