Every pianist’s struggle

[ChrisCadenhead]

THIS is why I show up to the venue an hour before everyone else lol

[seancregomusic]

Things like this are why I am glad I do my own piano regulation. It's always in prime shape. I don't perform anymore because of health, so I thankfully don't have to worry about the disastrous world of non-maintained pianos! :)

Obsessed with your content like usual! :)

[Airbender]

This video really hits the spot, because I struggle with this problem a long lately. Having to play on completely different pianos each time is really hard and frustrating. If you achieved something on one piano, doesn’t mean you can do it on another.

[alanclarkeau]

I've been asked by a friend to play organ for her wedding.

I asked about the organ, as I'd heard it was in poor condition.

"Oh, no, it's excellent ".

Firstly difficult to even get to practise on, then first time, the Church secretary opens up, shows me how to access the organ (key, light, on/off).

And she says "the Choir doesn't work, nor do any pedal stops apart from this one ... and the Swell trumpet and tremulant don't either".

A nightmare - I discover that the capture pistons work only if they're in the mood, there were 6 jamming keys at last practice - worst was Great Middle C just staying down last time I practised. Meaning I couldn't use the Great at all.

I've added 2 pages of issues to the Maintenance Book - which looks like nobody ever bothers to. Reading through the log, it shows that the Choir & pedal stops haven't worked for 10+ years.

G-R-O-A-N.

[freddierodriguez]

It’s also the curse of having a good ear where others can’t tell but as a musician you do. Best and warm wishes! 🫶🏼

[jakekeysmusic]

Yep, I know how this goes! There are some pianos you can really bond with, even with their "personalities". I remember working with this women's choral group a few years as their accompanist. Part of their Christmas performances was going around several nursing homes and performing a few selections -- and how that kept me on my toes about how to adjust my touch and technique with each differing piano!

[devenestes]

Such a good lesson! I‘ve had to really learn this hard since I started playing organ, where every instrument doesn’t even have the same number of keys, the registers are completely different, and the instruments are often in varying states of disrepair or just because of weather fluctuations causing the mechanical coupling to expand and contract. Us keyboardists really need to be adaptable!

[Lyle_Plays]

I totally agree! I'm used to practicing at home with a piano but I've found out a benefit of going to play with public pianos. they're all different, some of them have keys that are slightly out of tune, some of they are squeaky, some notes are straight broken at times... as you said, some notes can be really loud compared to the others too! So in using different pianos, I am forced to adapt to each of them and become a more all-rounder pianist :)

[bobbill]

Was gonna play videogames but this made me want to practice some more

[rudolphpyatt]

Keith Jarret famously adapted to a subpar piano for the Koln concert, essentially improvising a suite. Magnificent demonstration of what you’re talking about here.

[thegoodgeneral]

Learning some piano technology alleviates some of these issues.

[Johnwilkinsonofficial]

i had a gig for about a year playing a little bar and the piano action was a nightmare. what a gift for those instrumentalists who only ever play their own !

[timsullivan]

It's also why you have to maintain a good relationship with your piano tech.

[lightintheart]

i love that you took teaching technique to applying a technique when playing a piano that has flawed keys affecting its timbre. i never thought of adjusting myself to overcome a piano like that before. interesting!

[AaronTrimbleMusic]

❤ I was just telling one of my students that, we are doomed to play on other people’s instruments, Preach 🙌

[takemetoyonk]

Super interesting stuff. There's something magical about the overlap of tools and music.

[MotifMusicStudios]

Great reminders that we always show up needing to bring out the best in the instrument in front of us!

[joshuastclairmusic]

This makes me think of the legendary Koln Concert and how Kieth Jarrett transmuted his frustrations for the piano into pure genius. Sometimes imperfections are where the art is.

[phil-o-phobic]

That’s the exact reason I started playing guitar, because I couldn’t carry a piano with me everywhere. I always admire pianists, upright bassists, and drummers, because in order to learn their respective instruments, they either had to lug them everywhere or deal with potentially inferior instruments at wherever they were at. I didn’t have the patience for that 😂

[somebody]

As a pianist it's so relatable, I'm doing this too when I get a different piano that doesn't "cooperate"