Really Sally? Thats so nice of him! A Big THANK YOU TO MATT!! .. Now what does this do again? Haha.. Sally, you know im just dieing to know what the piano looks like, what was the scratch like that the dealer rejected it? Untelling, some people just seem to be picky..

THANKS EVERYONE!

Brad,

There was a scratch on the right side. The folks at Keyboard (Becky) fixed it (thanks to Theresa at Hailun) so you can't even see where it was.

The Piano Life Saver System is made by Damppchaser. It provides even humidity to the piano so that it stays in tune better. We figured that since you are oh... say, one light year from a tuner that this would help keep the piano in tune.

The piano is polished ebony. It is really beautiful. Ebony pianos like this just look great everywhere. I always think of them like a black tuxedo - you can't go wrong.

4 days and counting!!!!!

Sally

It sounds so dreamy!! That was very nice of them to fix the scratch, They didn't have to do that! But Thats really thoughtful and great of them. I cant wait!

4 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!!!!

You guys gotta get me a piano now. Or at least a tuning... I cut myself regularly on the keys...

Haha a very touching story...

Good work to all those who contributed! Can't wait to see the pics. =)

But on another topic, how about a pic of the upright you were gonna donate Pianobroker? Think maybe after seeing it, perhaps more people are willing to donate money to the future-aspiring pianist? =P

This is a great story, almost makes me envyous since I'v been pianoless for 8 months (AHHHH!!!) and im currently hoping this church will give me their piano soon.(It's been over a month since the pastor said he might have one for me...) This is the life of a highschool kid who is obsessed with Classical music I guess.

P.S. I guess this would be a better time then any. Does anyone have some sheetmusic they dont use anymore that they wouldnt mind giving to me? I'm looking for original classical piano pieces. Stuff that would be inspiring for a beginner to aspire to

At Chris:

Well it can't be that bad to be piano-less for 8 months. At least you had an actual piano to start with. I'm currently 18 years old, started piano on a little keyboard when I was 8yrs old (similar to the one BradKY showed before), and because I guess my parents didnt really know much, only upgraded to an electronic piano with 88 keys just before I started Grade 8. Never owned an acoustic

So basically I've only been able to practise on that little keyboard for 6-7yrs and still pass my grades (imagine doing scales and arpeggios on a piano with less than 4 octaves! Not even weighted too)

It does kinda suck being poor.

As for sheet music wise have you tried:

www.sheetmusicarchive.net.

The sheet music there is very old (and hence its free), but there's ALOT OF IT. Well worth a look.

As for beginner level... I'm not too sure. Someone else can recommend you the pieces. Best of luck!

Get the Alfred Classical books - nice arrangements of actual pieces. Book 4 has some beautiful pieces.

Chris, I would also suggest you look into an 88 key digital of some sort. You could buy a decent digital with weighted keys for what it would cost you to maintain an old piano in satisfactory condition for three years, and could take it to college or an apartment without paying for moving.

Might your pastor let you practice on the main piano from time to time?

I've just spent the morning doing barn chores and the "Annie" lyrics are swimming through my head.

Tomorrow..Tomorrow..delivery is Tomorrow. Tomorrow is only a day awaaaaayyyyy!!!

Brad, We'll call when we get close.

Sally

Was just wondering if there was going to be some local positive publicity for everyone involved, Piano World, dealers etc... I'll leave off the individuals for fear of leaving someone out.

Don't forget to post pics!

We are all going to be riveted to our computer tomorrow watching for posts!!!

BTW, what's with the low Rating. I just gave it a 5 star and it didn't budge. This is a WONDERFUL forum community thread. LL

Oooh, oooh, someone call the local newspaper quickly!

What a great human interest story! Please do see about publishing it. I do creative writing and publicity frequently, but this is such a big topic (6 pages) that it would be somewhat time consuming to go back and recall the "journey".

What do others think about these suggestions for follow - up to this wonderful story?

Can we do it?


Betty

There are a number of reasons for the poor thread rating, none of which would be productive to go into. Especially at this time.

To those who want to call the media, etc., I would just say -- please respect the privacy of the family and leave it to them to decide if they want that kind of local attention. It would be a bit unseemly, imo, for us to be calling attention to ourselves like that.

Just a thought....

Mark

Why not?
Have you rated this thread?
Have you contributed in any other way to this thread or stories result?

The only down side that I can see to this thread is that of precedent and assumed entitlement; "BradKY got a piano via Piano World - I should get one too!". We saw this just a few posts back. However I believe Brads case is deserving for the following reasons: First and foremost - Brad was in an earnest and ambitious search for a suitable piano evidenced by his many posts with pictures of what he considered likely canadates. As no pianos have ever been gifted before on this site there is no doubt that this "gift" was never expected. Whether or not Brad becomes any sort of pianist is inconsiquential. Even if Brad eventually stops playing (I hope not) the gifting of this piano should not be considered waste. Charitable actions do not require recompense.
As to setting any sort of precedent; Sure there are many aspiring pianist who need better pianos, and personally I believe that providing pianos to such kids would be a goal worthy of this forums consideration, but a gift is just that - a gift. No precedent has been set. No other pianos need to be given to any other players. This may well be a one time deal, lucky for Brad. That anyone would see this as a negative is, quite frankly, incredulous.
How we could go about finding pianos for other deserving and needing aspiring piano players now becomes the question. Can this be done again without being suckered? May we find out.

Instead of give the thread a bad rating why not just join in and give your opinion? Not just you Roger - any others who may have done the same.

Personally - I am proud to be part of it.

Mike

Hey Brad, We've seen pics of your new piano but none of you. Why don't you snap a couple of yourself and post them here so we can all see what you look like?

KM

Pictures tomorrow of me setting at the piano

OK I'm new, but I've read this thread from start to finish. I think you folks have done a wonderful thing for this young man! I got no hint or flavor of him asking for the gift in any way. Impulsive gifts from the heart are the very best thing.

I hadn't paid attention to the "ranking" of the thread. My husband & I have parrots, so I belong to several parrot forums. Talk about people wanting to glom on to something for nothing. Egad. This thread has none of that flavor. I'm as excited for Brad as I can possibly be and feel not one bit of envy or suspecion of the validity.

Congratulations to all of you, especially you Brad. Will be looking forward to seeing the photos tommorow!

This is a great thread and most interesting when PianoBroker was finding a piano and members were helping in delivering it. The idea began to develop when a manufacturer chipped in and the logical conclusion may be to have this be a repeatable event with a "PW scholarship" where manufacturers or dealers and members could donate and make arrangements. It could be interesting if we could find a way to contribute to the most worthy causes. Maybe the potential for a marketing turn or others potentially making veiled requests for pianos affected the initial total enthusiasm.

I agree, I saw this happening a couple of pages back and admittedly felt a pang of doubt myself. That said - I'm now really ready to see Brads pictures of his new piano!

I think that this may be the hard part. With the brains hanging out on this forum though I certainly believe that there would be a way to select (maybe once a year) a deserving pianist who could benifit from the good will of Piano World Forum members.

Mike

I've enjoyed following this thread over the past week and look forward to seeing photos tomorrow.

Anyone else that can't sleep along with me?? Haha

THANKS!

Well, I'm still up - and maybe the folks on the other side of the world who are just finishing dinner will check in

I'm really looking forward to the pictures -

Cathy

Ok it's "tomorrow" now....

Oh, wait. It's only 14 minutes after midnight.

Oh well... guess I'll have to wait until later this morning to see the IMAX-quality video of Brad playing Fantasie Impromptu on his new piano.

No pictures yet?!?!

Congrats once again Brad. Enjoy your new piano! And hopefully you don't let it go to waste! Learning the piano is one of the best things to ever happen to me

HELLO....anything yet?...lol ok it's only 8:15 am here in MI...to early?

It's the BIG day Brad!

I'll check in on this thread this evening when I get home from work.

Have FUN!!!!

MIke

Sally should be here around 2 or 3 PM today. We will probably have photos posted around 7 PM or such. YAY! It is the day!!! She said they was having trouble with the truck, Which it was fairly cold this morning so that could have been the problem for that.

THANKS Everyone!!!

Thanks!

Brad