Sing for Hope Pianos: Day 1

Hello!  Today is actually June 7th, but I am going to do my best to catch up on the first week of the 2013 Sing for Hope Pianos and am past-dating these blog entries -- otherwise it's going to be confusing. To tell you the truth, I thought I could get away with only posting photos & mini-stories to Facebook and Twitter, but I think I must document this experience on the blog because I'm going to forget the details, and one day, I am sure I will want to look back on all of this. I've already done that for 2010's Play Me... I'm Yours and 2011's Pop-Up Pianos.

First let me back track to January 21, 2013.  I happened to play my piano keyboard.  I happened to long for the street pianos' return.  Well... Tweet and you shall receive. (Also, keep this in mind when I get to Day 7.)

Please click on the picture to view a larger version of this screen grab.  I'm too lazy to crop the image and re-upload!  ;)

So after months of practice and anticipation, 88 Sing for Hope Pianos are in the five boroughs. And as is tradition, I want to visit at least one piano in each borough. I went into this hoping to establish a new personal record of unique pianos played, but so far rain and other commitments (I'm a Piano Buddy this year & I have other scheduled events to attend) may keep me from doing this. Also, this year, I am doing something different, and I can't tell you about it just yet, so that's also why a new personal record isn't top priority. You'll have to wait and see if I pull it off...

If you've seen some of my Facebook posts, you may recognize some of these photos and stories. However, I plan to fill in some details and add other photos & stories along the way. Without further ado...

Piano #1: Inwood Hill Park. The perks of being a Piano Buddy: You get to play the piano first at 6 o'clock in the morning when you unlock the piano.  There was no specific time to unlock the piano, but I couldn't wait.  The piano sounded slightly out of tune, probably due to the heat and humidity, but of course, I enjoyed playing it! The sound carries well in this location. (I learned today that I could hear it from way across the street in Isham Park!) When I finished, a man came up to me and asked, "Is that the only piano you're going to play?" Haha! I told him no. He said that his girlfriend played 50 pianos last year, but I'm sure he meant 2011 as there were no pianos in the city last year. ;)

In other news, it was already too hot to be wearing a hoodie.

Piano #2: New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. After resting at home for a little bit (I tried Yoga Nidra for the first time!), I headed down to this piano. A man was sitting down at the piano, but he wasn't playing. I didn't have to wait too long before he left. There were people sitting in nearby chairs and pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. I am not going to provide a setlist for every piano, but if it interests you at all, this year, I have a core trio of songs memorized and will play them all & more if able (i.e., if time allows and I feel comfortable doing so... I just go with the flow). During my final song, a man on the sidewalk, whom I noticed had stopped to listen, asked me about the pianos. It's always a pleasure telling people about the pianos. I am not a fan of small talk, but the topic of pianos is not small talk. It's specific and fascinating. It allows strangers to connect with each other. It's wonderful.

#2: Mosaic Piano

Though I brought my reusable water bottle with me, it wasn't enough. I had to take breaks and hydrate. And I've recently grown fond of Juice Generation and am visiting all their locations in the city and trying the different juices to find out which one is my favorite. They claim that if you visit often enough, the staff will know your favorite by heart. And as far as I'm concerned that's true. I visited the original Juice Generation, and while I was waiting for my order, a man came in and asked the guy behind the counter, "What's my favorite drink?" And the Juice Generation guy started to list a very specific order with add-ons. Then the customer turned to me and said, "I haven't been here in a year!" I was super impressed. Sorry, back to discussing the pianos!

First time trying Citrus Super C

Piano #3: Little Red Square. These pianos have a fun way of revealing talented people in New York City. I hadn't expected a jam session. When I approached the piano, a woman sitting near it asked me, "What are you going to play?" I answered her. And after I finished the song, she told me that she had just listened to a man play and she was eager to sing something. She requested Sara Bareilles, and unfortunately I don't have any Sara B memorized, but I own her songbooks! I just didn't have them with me. I asked if she knew Brooke Fraser or Missy Higgins. I invited her to play & sing something, and she started singing "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan but stopped and asked me if I could play the chords off her iPhone. I don't do well with chord names alone. I need to read notes. So we tried a little bit, and I was hoping I could harmonize with her, but all my concentration was devoted to playing the piano while squinting at the phone.

Then, she asked me if I knew "Shadowfeet" by Brooke Fraser.  Do I?!?  Oh, I was thrilled. THRILLED!  Of course I do!  I had the sheet music.  And it was magic.  She could sing.  If I could compare her to one artist, I would have to say Kelly Clarkson.  She has that mix of pop, soul, and riffing.  Oh the riffing.  I was honored to accompany her!

We finished up with "The Special Two" by Missy Higgins.  She said she'd heard it once before.  I sang lead vocals, and she harmonized with me.  It was cool.

#3: Puzzle motif piano

Piano #4: Chobani SoHo. I've had an internal debate on whether or not to count this piano, but yes, I've decided that I am.  Otherwise, it's too confusing.  See, before I left my apartment, I watched a bit of the livestream, and requested that Stanley play "Imagine" by John Lennon.  He didn't have that as part of his repertoire, so he played a little bit of "Hey Jude."  You see, Stanley is an interactive player piano.  So, while I didn't play this piano, I collaborated with him.  And visited him.  So he counts.

#4: @StanleyPiano

I had fun wandering around SoHo.  I usually like to know where I am at all times, but in this case, just walking the streets reminded of being in London.  And seeing this sign really reminded me of London and that connection to my beloved nephew. He's with me whenever I need him.

Love you and miss you, O. Always.

Piano #5: Washington Market Park. This turned out to be my last piano of the day.  I was worn out from the heat, but I had already posted the day before on Facebook that I'd visit this piano, and when I set something in motion, I like to see it through when I can.  Ha, I had hoped #6 would be South Street Seaport, so I could cross off lower Manhattan from my list of places to play a piano.  Well, South Street Seaport would have to wait, and as it turned out, it worked out perfectly.  Stay tuned... (Ha, get it?)

Fun, funky, and vibrant.

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!