Sing for Hope Pianos: Day 8

Hi, Happy Friday, and Happy 1st Day of Summer! Yes, it is June 21st, and I'm now reflecting on Day 8 of my Sing for Hope Pianos journey. I once again had the opportunity to write about some of my experiences as they were unfolding that day, as I did a LOT of traveling to play pianos outside the island of Manhattan. I think I'll be able to fill in the blanks just fine...

After completing the morning's Piano Buddy check, dropping off food scraps for composting at the farmers market, and cooking a delicious breakfast of tofu, mushroom, & kale scramble, I made my way out the door around 11:15 AM.

Piano #22: Governors Island. I reached the island at 12:35 PM. Who knew that the ferry ride from Manhattan to Governors Island is only 5 minutes long?!? I had no idea! I loved the quick trip on the water and reflected on the fact that it was World Oceans Day.

There was a pre-festival gathering on Governors Island. People were creatively dressed and seemed uninhibited. Everywhere I looked, something fun and colorful was going on. The walk to house #19 wasn't too long, but I didn't know exactly where the front porch was and ended up walking down to house #14 in case I was mistaken about the house number. I thought I spotted the piano with a different colored tarp. Two people beat me to it, and LOUD music started blaring from speakers. "What? This can't be right, I thought there was no amplification?" Well, when I got closer, I learned it wasn't the piano... It was a kissing booth. Haha! The music only started playing when people were standing/smooching at the table.

Just arrived at Governors Island.

Real-time Art Show.

Lots of interesting activities already going on during the pre-festival day at Governors Island.

So I headed back to house #19 and figured I better circle the entire house. I found a piano on the front porch, but it wasn't the one I was expecting! It was an old piano from 2011.  The keys were in poor condition, and I only played the chromatic scale to assess them.  A family approached the piano, and we briefly talked to each other about the 2013 piano that was supposed to be there and the 2011 piano that was there.  The mother in the family mentioned she's a piano teacher.  We parted ways when I said, "Well, on to the next one!"  And one of them replied, "That's the spirit!"

The 2011 Pop-Up Piano, formerly at Stone Street. It was like seeing an old friend.  

There was a sculpture exhibit, but I only saw this one.

There were activities set up for kids.

Governors Island is really charming!

The view of Manhattan from Fort Jay.

Bye bye, Governors Island.  Hope to visit you next year!

Piano #23: Old Stone House. After returning to Manhattan on that quick ferry ride, I immediately headed straight to the subway and went to Park Slope. I circled most of the perimeter of Old Stone House before finding the piano, and unbeknownst to me, there were lots of activities going on, including performances by a steel drum band to the right of the piano. I quickly made up my mind that I would play just one song, and the band was much louder than I was anyway. When I sat down at the piano, a man introduced himself to me and told me was taking pictures for Old Stone House.  (Last night [June 20th] I received those pictures via e-mail!)

The piano at Old Stone House.

The view from the piano.

Photo by Robert Levine. I love that he was able to capture the reflection in my sunglasses of my hands playing the keys!

After leaving the piano, it was time for a lunch break, and I already knew my destination: 'sNice.  It was less than half a block away, and it was also my first time visiting any of the 'sNice locations.  My friend Meghan had given me a vegan cupcake from 'sNice last year for my birthday.  I ordered the Philly-style seitan sandwich with Daiya cheese.  It was a little on the expensive side, considering the amount of food that I got.  I have tasted some really flavorful seitan, and this wasn't as flavorful as I expected it to be, but I did like the onions and peppers.  I devoured the plate and saved my cupcake for later.

Piano #24: Shore Road Park. After lunch, I walked several blocks to catch the subway. There was yet another festival of some sort where live music was being played. I made my way to Bay Ridge, which is a really nice neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Art is everywhere.

What kind of tree is this?  Leave a comment if you know!

The piano at Shore Road Park.

When I made my initial list of pianos to visit, this one wasn't on my list, but the designers, Kiik Create, tweeted me, so I promised that as long as the weather cooperated, I would visit and take pictures!

Several people enjoyed and played the piano while I was here.  After I played, I stayed for a while to listen to others.

More beautiful artwork in another subway station -- I don't remember which one, but  it was one where I had to transfer to make my way from Bay Ridge to Coney Island.  The couple on the right, especially the woman's face, caught my eye as I made my way up the stairs, and I had to take a picture.

Piano #25: Coney Island. Finally made it to Coney Island for the first time in my life! When I arrived at the boardwalk, no one was playing the piano, so I sat down to play my core trio.  As beautiful as the setting was, I was slightly disappointed that there was music blaring behind me.  When I finished playing, I stood by the railing to take more pictures, and a man sat down to play.  The sound was better for listeners than for players, but I didn't stay too long, as I still had plans to visit one more piano before sunset.

Luna Park

The beautiful piano on the boardwalk.

Gorgeous view from the piano.

Piano #26: Bensonhurst Park. The piano at Coney Island was supposed to be my 5th piano of the day, but when I was riding the subway, I got fascinated by one of the "Poetry in Motion" poems on the D train, and I missed the stop for Bensonhurst Park.  So, Bensonhurst Park turned out to be my 5th piano.  I had to wait to play, as kids were playing it when I arrived, and it is my policy that kids can play as much as they want. The piano finally cleared, so I took a quick video and then sat down to play, letting my Flip camera continue to record. (My digital camera had run out of battery at Coney Island.) As soon as I sat down and started playing Lullaby for Eliana, a whole bunch of kids ran to the piano and listened. Some of the kids touched the keys as I played, and I smiled at them. As soon as I finished, a boy asked if I was done, and I could tell he was eager to play. They all were. One of the older kids talked to me, as the younger kids explored the keys. While I had played, I had overheard one of them saying, "Put the bird on it." Were they talking about "Portlandia"? No! There was an actual bird, and they put it on the piano when I got up. The older girl explained to me that the young female bird was found by her cousin and wasn't ready to fly, so her cousin was taking care of the bird. I had never encountered a rescued bird before, and she was beautiful.  Really comfortable around humans.  A boy on a bike approached the piano and tried to convince the kids that the bird belonged to no one and should be set free. And one of the younger girls argued that the bird belonged to everyone. I could see both sides of the argument.  The kids spoke in English and another language that I didn't recognize. The boy on the bike tried to get the bird to fly away, but sure enough, she wasn't ready.   When the bird is ready, she will fly away... until then, she was in good hands with those caring kids.

The piano at Bensonhurst Park.

Piano #27: Lincoln Center - Grove. I enjoyed my cupcake while waiting for the D train, took a nap on the train back to Manhattan and got a second wind, so I decided to visit one last piano as the sun was setting. When I reached this piano, this talented boy was playing a classical piece and attracted quite a crowd. After he finished playing, many people left, and a family of boys and their parents played for a little bit. I played two songs from my core trio and received applause after completing the second song, so I decided to end on that note. I listened to two men play after me and then headed home.

All in all it was a good day. None of the pianos was in perfect condition, but it didn't matter. All the interactions that I had with fellow human beings and that rescued bird made the entire day worthwhile.

Stay tuned for Day 9...