Journal Entry: 3 January, 2007

I don't promise the playing is any good, but it will show what I've learned since all this began. I still need to get an instructor one day, but until then, this is probably as good as I'll get.

Journal Entry: 19 July, 2006

I am now reading Chopin's Funeral by Benita Eisler. So far, so good. More on that later.

Journal Entry: 20 May, 2006

Evening in the Palace of Reason. by James Gains
I love this book. this book gives you a portrait of J. S. Bach in an entirely unique perspective by contrasting the spiritual Bach against the cold and rational Frederick the Great. A must read!

The Great Pianists, by Harold Shonberg
A very gripping chronicle of piano performers from Mozart to modern times. I didn't want it to end.

Piano Notes, by Charles Rosen
An honest and sometimes self deprecating "essay" on the life of piano players from the Professor Emeritus of Music and Social Thought at the University of Chicago. Another must read.

With Your Own Two Hands, by Seymour Bernstein
All I can say is, what a lovely man Bernstein is! This is a book that inspires you to learn, and not put up with the arrogance that can sometimes surround classical piano culture. If you're learning, read it.

20 Lessons in Keyboard Choreography, by Seymour Bernstein
This is a workbook for use at the piano. I bought this because of my enthusiasm for Bernstein after reading the above book.

Music at your Fingertips, by Ruth Slenczynska
A very good book recommended to me by my friend George. Good insight on technique, though I found her position on octaves impossible for my hands. George later confirmed for me that particular finger position was not universally accepted.

The Classical Style, by Charles Rosen
A very academic book on the styles and forms of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn. This is advanced stuff.

The Romantic Generation, by Charles Rosen
Another of Rosen's very academic books focusing primarily on the early Romantics: Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Berlioz. Again, very advanced stuff.

Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and their 1,000 Greatest Works, by Phil Goulding
This is a wonderful sampler of all the most highly rated composers and their works with mini-biographies on each of the composers. This was very fun to read. Every classical enthusiast should have this book.

Somewhere in the middle of these books I also squeezed in the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger, and a couple of other piano books I can't remember. I am currently reading Seduced by Hitler, by LeBor and Boyes.

NOTE: Just in case you're wondering where I find the time for playing piano, reading these books and keeping my job, along with an active church life that includes choir -- I watch NO television!

I have finished reading The Piano Shop on the Left Bank. This was an awesome book for anyone who loves pianos. I'm thinking of starting a book review section on this site as well. I've bought two more books: Piano Technique by Walter Gieseking and Karl Leimer and Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing by Josef Lh-Evinne. I'll put reviews up as I read them.

Well, I did it. I bought a new piano! After looking high and low for a small grand that was in my budget it became more and more apparent it would be a mistake to do so. It came to a head when I went into Cooper Piano to look into a small Starr grand that had been recently traded. When I asked the sales agent about the piano he simply said, with a bit of a wink, "Well, it's a nice piece of furniture."

Naively, I walked into the show room and spotted the piano across the floor sitting next to a beautiful 7 foot Mason and Hamlin. There it sat in this room full of beautiful older pianos looking much like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree! I walked up to it with my son and looked down at it. The woodwork was beautiful, but it looked very tired. With a look of concern on my face I sat down and looked at the pedals. The sustain had a hole worn in it from years of playing. I then pressed the una corda pedal which not only shifted the hammers over, but the entire keyboard along with them! I was dispirited to say the least. To add to the moment I finally played a chord. It sounded like it was under water. My son let out a grimace. All of the Christmas lights from Snoopy's dog house would never be enough to save this piano! There would be no Linus's blanket to sooth it, and no choir to come in from screen left to sing out, "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!" and then launch into Hark the Herald Angels Sing. No, this piano had finished its journey as a musical instrument never to return. This story was, in the classical sense of the word, a tragedy. Roll credits.

At that moment it became clear to me what I had to do. For the money I was willing to pay for a small grand I could afford a very decent upright. After all, this entire adventure was about finding a piano I could continue to learn on that had better key action and a deeper sound and sustain than my very old, and very small spinet.

Even better was the trade-up policy at Cooper--25 years full value toward a new piano of twice or more the original cost. This meant I would be able to trade up to one of their grands in the future with no loss in my initial investment. Not only that, but every new piano comes with 5 years of free tuning (twice a year) as well as four free lessons if you want them. I must have been crazy not to consider this in the first place, but fortunately my senses kicked in.

The best sounding piano (to my ears at least) in the upright showroom was a beautiful 48" Petroff. It was more than I could afford, but I used it as the gold standard for the sound and touch I wanted to find. After playing every upright in my price range on the showroom floor I bought a 46" Nordiska. This extends my string length from my previous piano by as much as 10 inches! Although Nordiska pianos are now made in China they still have a very European sound to them. For now, its touch and sound are an enormous improvement over what I am used to. It is my intention to trade for a grand long before the free tunings are used up, so I am very happy at this point.

I plan on taking advantage of the free lessons in hopes it will kick-off my desire to get started for the long run. Meanwhile, I now await delivery.

I give up. I guess I'm never going to be able to get a new piano. My single income household just can't make it work right now.

Anyway, I'm still working on the Pathétique movement. It's coming slowly, but surely I suppose. I'm nearing the end of The Piano Shop on the Left Bank. This is a wonderful book. It's like drugs for any piano lover.

My frustration over needing a better piano is at an all time high. I've been reading The Piano Book by Larry Fine and for what I can afford in the form of a small grand piano it would be either a Samick or a Young & Chang. I'm leaning toward the Samick as I write this. As much as I would love a European piano it is simply cost prohibitive at this point. I want a small grand rather than an upright as well. The Piano Book is a very good resource for people shopping in my circumstance; meaning price ranges that put you in the Asian-made piano market. I was able to corroborate certain things that were told me by a salesperson as well.

I'm still wrestling with the middle section of the Pathétique movement. It will take a lot of practice to get the pulsating touch down. A difficulty which emphasizes even more how much I need both a teacher and a new piano. My friend George Mann has offered to give me lessons himself and I'm trying to decide what to do. I am far below the level of students he typically teaches. He is very expensive, but that is not this issue. I fear I will not be able to progress in a way that would honor his instruction appropriately. I still need time to think about this.

I've now started a new book. This time I am reading The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thad Carhart. I'm only a couple of chapters in, but it's looking pretty good. I can relate to Thad's desire in the book to buy a good piano and how much he procrastinates over price and size. I'm thinking of adding a book review section to this website.

There is a university sale this weekend on pianos at England Pianos and I may go by to check them out. I'm considering teaching evening classes at a school here in town to supplement my cost for a new piano. We'll see.

I'm now working on the section of the Pathétique sonata movement which involves the pulsating triplets in the right hand while the fifth and forth fingers carry the melody. It looked easier on paper is all I can say!

I just listened to Robert Henry play Mozart's Sonata No.4 in Eb, k282 this morning. I'm adding the adagio to my list of tunes I want to play. I may never be able to play highly complex or faster tunes, but I'll be happy if I can create a repertoire of adagios. I know there are real piano players out there who find Mozart a bore, but I thought the tune was beautiful.

I went to Cooper Piano yesterday and looked at pianos for nearly an hour. I played a good bit on a small Weber student model. It definitely played and sounded better than my current piano, but then I turned and played the Petroff that was directly behind me. The difference in sound was unbelievable! Of course the difference in price was equally vast. It convinced me however to aim a little higher than the piano I was playing, so I tested quite a few more. My goal is to find the tallest piano I can get in my price range that still has good touch in the keys. I still would much rather have a grand, but alas the price is just too prohibitive. Cooper Piano does have an awesome trade-up policy on all their pianos, so that may be my plan. Now to unload my bagpipes to come up with some money!

Well, I still don't have a teacher, but hopefully soon. As of last night I have finally grasped the turns and grace notes that begin in measure 20 in the second movement of Beethoven's "Pathétique" sonata . After playing the parts separate a million times and getting the timing ironed out I can now play through all three measures with both hands, but it will still take some time to smooth out the feel of the notes. Those three measures are arguably the most lovely part of the entire movement, so I want to express them perfectly.

I fear my piano may be inhibiting my ability to work out the more delicate sections of any piece. I desperately need a new piano.