Hey all! I just joined this community for the sole purpose to get info about this community for my college writing class. I have four questions that would help furthur my research.

1) Why did you decide to join this community?

2) How has being part of this community helped you with your piano playing?

3) Has being part of this community inspired you to explore new music?

4) As your motto states, "Playing the Piano is Fun!... Pass it on." do you enjoy playing the piano?

Thanks,

Your answers are appreciated.

1) I wanted to become more of a serious pianist and musician. I think I have started on my long journey with music and look forward to years of enjoyment with music.

2) Lots of Study Groups, Practice Battles, and Online Recitals not only help you push yourself, you get support from those around you aswell.

3) I've started listening to jazz more and more lately partly due to some threads in the Non-Classical Forum.

4) I love the piano. I ENJOY it soo much!


Matt

Thanks a lot

crazypianolover :

I will say: Welcome! although yours is a strange introduction : Your "sole" purpose for being here is to report on us for your writing class! Given that fact, it might have been a courtesy on your part to give us some information about you - since you are asking information of us - and why you chose to write about this forum.

Has your writing instructor not taught you one of the very first rules of writing : Write about something you know?

What sort of "info" about this community do you hope to get? It seems to me that your questions aren't geared to reveal much to you - or to anyone else - about the nature of the Pianist Corner of Piano World, but rather about personal information and motivations about the individuals who post here. I don't think that that will necessarily give you an idea of what this community is all about.

I think anyone would have a much better idea of the makeup and the function(s) of the Pianist Corner community had he been here for a while and had been experiencing this community first hand. It seems to me to be skimpy research to drop in on a community and report on it when you yourself know only what those who are inclined to respond will respond. Individual responses will vary widely depending on individual circustamces. First-hand experience would be much more reliable in forming your impressions about this community than the responses you are likely to get.

I would bet that most of us - had we been asked - would not even have been aware of the "motto" - as you call it - of Piano World.

That's not to say that you won't get responses to your questions, but as any researcher knows responses to questions of the type you are asking may reveal more about the individuals responding than about the community of which they are a part.

Welcome! Enjoy your visit.

Good luck!

P.S. : Do you plan to share a copy of your report with this Forum when it is ready for submission?

Regards,

he knows that!

i didn't

I am a college student who has played piano for 9 almost 10 years. I enjoy playing the piano, which is why I chose to research this community. I agree with your statement about one of the first rules of writing is to write about something I know but, I was given this assignment to join an online community and learn about them, so that is what I did. You are right when you say that my questions are more personal and I guess I miscommunicated, but I guess I am just looking for basic information about how the forums and topics help the members. I wish I had more time to spend in this community for this project and to experience it firsthand but as part of my assignment I was asked to post questions. Yes I was planning on posting my research in this topic.

crazypianolover

apple,

what didn't you know?

crazypianolover:

Welcome to the forum. I would suggest that you read all of the current first page topics before you formulate the questions you want to ask.

After you read the topics, pick one you would like to read and respond to with an opinion. Then see what kind of responses you get. Are the people nice and considerate, snobby, opinionated, bad-tempered, well-informed, stupid?

Then, I would like to hear what you think of the forum as your first reaction.

It took me many months to really get an idea about what kind of resources are availble here. At first I was only interested in the "Pianist Corner" but then my interest began to widen. I found myself checking out the "Adult Beginners" and the "Piano Teachers" and finally the "Piano Tuners and Technicians" as well as the main topic "Pianos." I still haven't discovered everything here and I've already been a member for 9 months.

Some of us have the skills of being all that at one and the same time!

Cheers!

Thanks for the big chuckle, BruceD.

1) Somebody had a question about Alberti bass, and I thought I had an answer.

2) Actually, it's been a huge distraction. :p I've gotten some great advice here in response to my recordings that I've posted, and of course the discussions are always very interesting.

3) Yep. In what ways, exactly, I can't tell you, but I know that it has.

4) We have a motto? Well, yes, I do enjoy playing the piano.

Tenuto, be careful of what you post. Some might draw the unpleasant conclusion that you are a demeanorist*. These days, it's dangerous not to let relativism and subjectivism prescribe and proscribe our behaviour in all areas of life.

* Demeanorist = a person who judges people based on how they look and behave.

Antonius:

Goodness gracious, Antonius, now you have sent me to the dictionary feeling downright stupid.

It takes skill to invent a word that actually sounds plausible (in a weird sort of a way).

Now you see what we can learn on this forum?

:rolleyes:

the piano world motto. i had no idea

Actually, while inventing the word I searched Google, and noticed that someone had already used it, so I can't take full credit for coining it. Besides which, it's now only a matter of time before you can find it in Oxford's Holy Unabridged, but I doubt it will ever become popular enough for other dictionaries.

1) it was great to find out that I was not alone in my piano obsession and that there were even others out there worse than me :p
2) yes and no. I've learned so much but it has taken lots of time that I could have been playing!
3) yes, definitely
4) absolutely, otherwise why bother?

The best thing about this place is that it is full of people who share the same degree of passion for the piano that I have so it feels like a true community. Plus there are lots of very nice and smart folks around here who are fun to hang out with!
Sophia

1. Joined because of a common interest in the piano! But after I joined, realized that this community was similar to High School. There's the smart but not too social group (Pianist Corner) group who dislikes the fun group (Non-Classical). Classical and Non-Classical don't always see eye to eye because we are fun, and they are not! :p Like right now, I'm in the Pianist Corner and they see Jazz/Blues and don't like that class of music much!

Then you have the high school teachers (Piano Teacher forum) who are very serious! Then you have the technical people (Tuners/Technicians) who talk about every thing that breaks and then how to fix it. Then the product seller for High Schools (Piano Forum), who review and compete to get their product into the school (piano dealers, owners, and such). They can fight like cats and dogs! Oh, and then you have the Grade 9's (Adult beginners) who are having too much fun! Talking about all they are learning! Fun group there! But still Grade 9's!

Finally, this place is very addictive! But Music is our drug of choice!

Hope that answers all those questions. Just my take! Now I'll get out of the Pianist Corner before they realize I was here!

I'm in a benevolent mood, so I'll hide your tracks...

Hi crazypl,

Here's a recent thread you might take a look at.

Thanks to those of you who have responded. Your replies have helped me a lot.

Tenuto,

I will take your suggestion to participate in other topics.


crazypianolover

Good luck crazypl; looking forward to reading your topic of choice.

crazypianolover :

You might also take into account in your research not only the number of members who have responded to your questions but their "longevity" on this forum which, in turn, speaks to their experience here and their perception of these groups. If their member number doesn't give you an idea of when they joined, their profile will.

Keep in mind that Piano World has over 26,000 registered members, many, many of whom no longer post, many of whom are new here and many who have been around for years. Depending on what kind of report you eventually write, those factors may contribute to the slant taken by your report.

Regards,

BruceD,

That is good advice and I have noticed that. I will look more at the length of membership also. I will most likely write about that in my paper.

Thanks,

crazypianolover

1. I joined it originally because I wanted advice on buying a new piano, but to the dismay of others, i stuck around afterwards.

2. It's intoduced me to more obscure pieces and performers that I would otherwise not be aware of.

3. Yes.

4. Yes.

1) One of the friendliest communities discussing pianos and piano playing

2) I have received a lot of great advice

3) Oh most definitely

4) True (or I wouldn't have been here in the first place )

Here is my report. It is long, so you don't have to read it all. But I said I would post it. So here it is.

Thanks,

crazypianolover


“What is the best piano to buy? What is your favorite Beethoven Sonata? Anyone else play [J-pop and video game music]? What is playing scales hands together doing for me?” These questions and many more can be found on The Piano World online community. This community is a place for people to come and talk, in a safe, family friendly environment, about all aspects of the piano and music in general. It uses forums as a place to pose questions about the piano, how to play a certain piece, technical aspects of playing the piano and how to buy a piano. The Piano World community is a place that allows people to pass on the enjoyment of playing the piano.
The Piano World community feels like a real community even though it only exists in cyberspace. It is a virtual community, one that does not exist in the real world. The Piano World community exhibits signs of a true virtual community. This is seen mostly in the membership of the community.
The membership of the community seems to be mostly non-ephemeral. Many of the members stay around for a long time. Looking at some recent posts there are members that have posted who have been members since 2001, the beginning of this community. In contrast to long lasting membership, there are also many people becoming members every hour. On October 23 at 5:38 pm there were 26,224 members, while at 6:11 pm on the same day there were 26,228 members.
Technically anybody can be a member of this community, however, practically it is an exclusive community. Most of the topics and posts, especially in the Pianist Corner Forum, ask questions that are about a specific piece of music. If you do not know the piece of music then you cannot give feedback. In order to post in the Non-Classical Pianist Corner you need to have some background information about music but not necessarily the piano. The Piano Forum is one of the only forums that you do not have to have background information about the piano to post things.
I chose to study this community because I have some background in piano. I have played piano for almost ten years. Having this background knowledge helps me to understand more about this community, how they interact, what they are talking about, etc. While interacting with them, I, for the most part, felt safe.
In order to post in the forums on this community you have to become a member. To become a member you have to enter in your birthday to make sure you are old enough to join. Then you need to create a login name and a publicly displayed name. If you do not provide a publicly displayed name then your login name will be the name that is displayed when you post. You also need to provide an e-mail. There are other questions that are optional to answer that you can add to your profile, such as your location, occupation, interests, types of pianos, etc. Once you register you receive an e-mail giving you your password, which you can later change by going to your profile. Once you go through this process you cannot post until you have been approved as a member by the board. However, once you are an approved member you can post as much as you want.
While doing this research I began by reading through some of the topics in each forum, so I could get a feel for the community. I did not participate in these forums until I asked the interview questions. This was mostly due to the fact that I did not understand most of the topics. I do not have enough music background. I posted for the first time when I posted my interview questions. I posted these questions in the Pianist Corner Forum, because I found that that forum has the second highest amount of topics and posts. I introduced myself as a college student who was researching their community for my writing class. I never used my real name. I referred to myself as my publicly displayed name, crazypianolover. I asked the following interview questions:
1) Why did you decide to join this community?
2) How has being part of this community helped you with your piano playing?
3) Has being part of this community inspired you to explore new music?
4) As your motto states, “Playing the Piano is Fun!... Pass it on.” do you enjoy
playing the piano?
These questions were asked to the whole community, even though it was posted in a certain forum since anybody can go into this forum.
However, not everybody that responded to my questions appreciated the fact that I was doing this research. “It seems to me to be skimpy research to drop in on a community and report on it when you yourself know only what those who are inclined to respond will respond.” I also got a couple responses from members that stated that they did not know that their community had a motto. Even though they did not know that they had a motto, they still follow it. “ We have a motto? Well, yes, I do enjoy playing the piano.”
Out of these questions also came some good information about how the forums help the members of this community. Some of the members that responded said that the forums are a distraction, that they take up time that could have been used for practice or that they are addictive, while others said that they have been informed about more obscure pieces and performers and that they have received good advice.
The Piano World community benefits from its values. This community is a safe place because the members believe in their values and they follow their rules. Their main rule is to keep the posts clean and family friendly. “You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this BB to post any material which is knowingly false and or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person’s privacy or otherwise violative of any law.” While looking through the posts I found that none of the members disregarded the rules that they have to agree to when they become a member.
Members of this community come from all backgrounds. Their ages range from approximately 13 to 50. Since it is a wide age range it makes sense to implement the rule of no offensive language or sexually oriented posts. Most of the members are serious about music and the piano. They want to be in the community because they enjoy giving and giving information about music. Some responses to the fourth interview questions were: “I love the piano. I ENJOY it soo much,” “True (or I wouldn’t have been here in the first place).” Some of the posts are purely for performance reasons. There are questions that deal with how to perform a piece or a recital that went well, etc. However, other posts are purely academic. The person that posted wants to know how to play a scale better or a section of a song better so they can play it for their teacher. This community is mainly individual. The community as a whole is not trying to accomplish something. The individuals are trying to get information for themselves about the pieces they are playing or looking into.
Researching this community was a good experience for me. I felt safe the entire time I was in the community, mostly because they follow their main value. “We are a family-oriented web site. Please be careful what you post. Keep it clean, refrain from vulgarity, or slander.” Even though I was only there for a small amount of time I felt part of this community. People responded to the questions willingly, even though some did not believe that I should be asking questions, but they were open and honest with me about how they felt. The Piano World online community is a true virtual community because the topics and posts benefit from the members following the values of this community, and the members are open and honest with each other.

Thanks, crazypianolover, for posting your report, as you had promised. I think you painted a pretty acurate portrait of what goes on in here. May I make a suggestion, if you haven't already handed it in to your teacher?

Try to write in paragraphs. It will look better and make more sense. Good luck with your studies.

Tenuto,

Thanks, I am glad I described this community well. The paper is in paragraphs but for some reason when I copyed and pasted it the paragraphs disappeared.

cpl

The paragraphs are there in the version I read on screen; there is simply no double-spacing between paragraphs.

From a student assignment point of view - and this is a writing assignment, after all - I would be more concerned about the lack of structure and cohesion of the report. Many paragraphs don't have topic sentences and seem to deal with several disparate ideas at once. The report seems to sum up certain aspects of Piano World fairly accurately, although there are some details that don't seem to reflect the reality of the Forums; they probably won't be an issue with the instructor.

Some might also question the implication of the thoroughness of the research techniques that produced this report.

Regards,