Pop-Up Pianos: Day 6

Well, well! Since I have a three-day weekend ahead of me, tonight I'm doing a proper blog write-up, as opposed to using and abusing the caption feature. After having no desire to leaving my office building during the work day because of the rain, I perked up when I saw a Facebook update from Sing for Hope that the rain had stopped (yeah, I couldn't just look outside the window?) and that it was the perfect time to play.

Not really sure of where I wanted to play (I haven't been to the obvious places like Times Square yet), I browsed the Pop-Up Pianos website and formed a plan that I would eventually need to end up at a non-piano place, Cocoa V, to use my Groupon, which expires on Saturday. So I chose Little Red Square, which is located at Sixth Avenue and Bleecker Street. They had a piano there last year, so I knew where to go. The blue tarp was covering the piano when I arrived, but luckily I uncovered an unlocked piano. Phew! I started off with "Arithmetic" and then took out my songbook for Missy Higgins' The Sound of White, but when I started to play "Nightminds," the wind kept blowing the pages, so I had to stop and dig out more books to hold it down.  I was interrupted by a guy who asked about the pianos, and I told him it was open to the public and that I was just playing until it started raining again (the clouds looked ominous at the time).  He asked if his friend could play for a couple minutes while he took pictures.  I said sure and let them do their thing, and then they were on their way.

Songbook secured by two others, I played "Nightminds" without a hitch.  In my peripheral vision, I noticed that a woman with a stroller was standing and possibly listening to me.  And another woman in my line of vision straight ahead was standing several feet away, also possibly listening to me.  Or, she could have been observing a one-sided argument from a man and a woman sitting on a bench.  The woman was doing all the shouting.  While I was playing, I was thinking, "Do they have to do that here?"  Anyway... she eventually stopped shouting.  Or maybe it wasn't a one-sided argument... she could have been venting frustrations.  It was weird but very New York-y.

Next up, I played "The Sound of White," and finally, I played a song that I have been wanting to cover (as in, record myself playing on a video) for months.  I gave up on that because every single time I try to do the recording in one take, I manage to mess up something.  That song is "Shadowfeet" by Brooke Fraser.  I haven't been practicing it lately but decided to just go for it. Had a blast in all my imperfection.  After I finished, I stood up and smiled at the woman with the stroller.  Her two little ones were standing around and playing.  I asked the younger daughter if she wanted to play, but she wasn't interested, so I covered up the piano.  The woman said she enjoyed listening to me, and I thanked her.  Yay, Little Red Square!

Piano #15: Little Red Square

I love the smiley-faced notes.

As I was walking north on Sixth Avenue, I was thinking of heading straight to Cocoa V. After all, I had a long day at work, I was carrying a way-too-heavy tote bag, and I was getting hungry. By the time I reached West 4th, I put all that aside and thought to myself, "I could walk to Astor Place." And when I reached West 8th, I thought, "Yeah, I'm definitely not walking. But I could take the bus!" Five short minutes later, that's exactly what I did!

When I reached Astor Place, however, the tarp-covered piano was LOCKED! I was so disappointed. However, the social media team at Sing for Hope is amazing, and they let me know that if I ever came across a locked piano that they could help me out. So I tweeted them, and they did not let me down! I unlocked the piano and was thrilled to play. After "Arithmetic," there was no doubt in my mind what my next song would be. This was the site last year where I got a specific request to play "The Special Two," so I gave a repeat performance to no one in particular, but it turned out that people must've liked it because they gave me money! That was not expected. Seriously. My tote bag is for carrying my sheet music, but one man and one woman slipped money into my tote bag!  I am an unofficial busker. (Hehehe, using the word "busker" makes me want to watch the movie Once.) My final song at Astor Place was "The Sound of White" -- I probably shouldn't have played it because a crucial G key was not working, but people stuck around to listen. They helped me cover the piano back up after I finished. :)

Piano #16: Astor Place

Musically satisfied for the night, I made my way to Cocoa V and got some delicious vegan cupcakes. So good!