Sing for Hope Pianos: Day 2

Hello again, I'm writing this entry on June 10th. I admit, I am now overwhelmed by the idea of recapping everything on the blog. Every day, more experiences happen that I have to document. It is just so blissful to be in the present moment and enjoy things as they happen. As it's a rainy night, however, I'm using this opportunity to preserve some more of these memories.

Piano #6: Van Cortlandt House Museum. Hopped on the 1 train to the last stop in the Bronx. Google Maps made it seem like the Van Cortlandt House would be a bit of a walk from the station; however, I was pleasantly surprised that the distance was much shorter than I had anticipated. The piano was situated on the porch, and I had it all to myself.

An early favorite for 2013 because of its design and sound.

Here's a video of me randomly playing the sheet music on the piano. Yay sight reading!

I was here.

Van Cortlandt House Museum.

Piano #7: Highbridge Park - Wallenberg Playground. It's a good thing I have these pictures and a running list of songs I played to help jog my memory.  It was a hot day (not as hot as the day before, but it took a lot of energy to walk from the subway station (191st Street).  Granted, I walked the wrong direction without realizing it, and had to backtrack.  A few kids were playing the piano when I arrived, so I rested at a bench covered by shade from a tree.  (Thank you, tree.)  I admit though, that the sun got the best of me, so I didn't play for very long.

Piano #8: Mitchel Square Park.  It's interesting that I've been to this area of Manhattan (168th Street) several times when the A train stops running for repair work and shuttle buses are made available.  But I had never paid attention to this park and the memorial.  I read online that this park is named after a former mayor of New York who was killed during World War I.

As I waited for the girl to finish playing, I sat on a bench in the lovely park area, and this leaf fell into my open palm as I was reviewing sheet music.

Piano #9: Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum. I took the subway one stop to 163rd and visited an area of Manhattan I'd never been to before.  To get to the mansion (which was George Washington's headquarters in the fall of 1776), I had to walk down a charming little street (see below).  The piano was covered by the tarp, as rain was in the forecast.  I took it off while I played but covered it back up again before leaving.

View from the piano.  It was visually peaceful, that's for sure.  There was traffic noise, and people  were chatting loudly  in the grassy area to my left, but it was otherwise a good location for the piano.

I really like the artwork on this piano: places that no longer exist in Albany, New York.  

Such a charming street.  This picture doesn't quite capture what it's like to see it in person.  I wonder what it must be like to live on this street.

Piano #10: Fort Tryon Park. Wanting to make sure I got back to my neighborhood before the rain arrived, I headed back uptown and stopped by the piano at Fort Tryon Park.

There are lots of great advertisements for the pianos this year!  I see them everywhere.

Another early favorite because of all those vibrant faces.

The piano already had a stuck key, so it made it difficult to play my songs, but again, I enjoyed this piano for its art.

Pop-Up Pianos: Day 8 in Pictures

Piano #19: Van Cortlandt Park.  Decorated by BD Wong.

Another shot of Piano #19.  I took this picture while I was waiting to play.  The keys were a bit challenging to press on this piano.

Piano #20: Highbridge Park!  This time, the piano was unlocked!  The sun was out in full force, so I only played two songs here, "Arithmetic" and "Awake."

Ray Charles

Piano #21: St. Nicholas Park.

Piano #22: Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  The highlight was playing "Gravity" for a few cyclists who stopped to listen while I played and sang.  I was so happy with my performance that I decided not to play any more songs at this piano after "Gravity."

Piano #23: Central Park - Bandshell.  After stopping at the Dana Discovery Center  (only to discover that the piano had been taken away without warning last night supposedly for repair), I made my way down to this piano.  There was an event going on, so there were lots of people, and there was even a band playing, but that didn't stop people from playing the pop-up piano!

Pink gorilla!  This piano had a beautiful sound.  Despite the background noise of the event, I could still tell.  If I have time, I'll try to return to this piano.

Piano #24: Riverside Park.  Last year, there were two pianos here and people took turns playing the pianos.  This year, even with only one piano, the tradition of turn-taking held up!  This woman played and sang an awesome medley!

This girl played "Here Comes the Sun."

On the way to Roosevelt Island for the first time!

Piano #25: Roosevelt Island.  This man let me play right after he finished up his  song -- I'm not sure how long he'd been there before I got there, but he could sense that I was ready to play.  When I played, a black and orange butterfly landed on the piano, and that made me very happy.  After I finished playing, this man and I compared notes on our piano experiences.  He had played 20 pianos and told me which pianos were a little funky or great in Staten Island and Brooklyn, and I told him my appreciation for the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center.  We both raved about the baby grand at Rubenstein Atrium!

Piano #26: Carl Schurz Park.  It took a while to find this piano!

Surprisingly, the piano was a little out of tune and the keys were a bit sticky to the touch, but I played three songs anyway.  :)