Piano

[helen99]

I'm getting a piano for my birthday. It wasn't intended as a birthday present, or any kind of present at all, really. It was just a coincidence. Someone at work sold her house and left the state, and she didn't want to haul the piano with her to her new location. It was described as a small, mahogany upright that includes a piano bench with sheet music in it. It's in perfect shape except it hasn't been tuned in a while.

Coincidentally, the transport date that works best for Rialian and the neighbor who's supposed to let us in is April 14th. That day is also the cheapest of the available dates to rent a u-Haul with a ramp and a transport dolly. None of this would be particularly out of the ordinary, except that 4/14 is my disowned birthday. My mom would have thought it was a shame that I don't celebrate my birthday anymore since, well, her funeral was on 4/14. She would have insisted that I receive a gift anyway. For example (if she could find one in good shape that was free) a piano. So birthday present.

Is anyone up for helping out with moving this piano from Derwood, MD (around Gaithersburg) to Berkeley Springs WV on Tuesday 4/14? We're going to rent a u-haul with a ramp to transport it but we need about 2 or 3 4 or 5 people who can lift heavy objects.

This would take place after we get off from work. I should be able to arrange to leave from work at 4:00 that day.

Comments

[rebelfilms.livejournal.com]

how lovely. I have some computer music composition programmes that make the keyboard into a musical instrument (you can set what instrument) but its taking a long time to get the hang of them.

[helen99.livejournal.com]

I have a keyboard as well, but it doesn't have many 'voices'. I haven't had a piano in many years, though - actually since we left Greece. We had an old upright when we were there, and I took lessons for a year or so, but I never really learned to play well. My mom was relatively good, since she had taken lessons for several years longer than I had and her aunt was strict about her practicing. When I was around four years old, I would ask her to play songs until I fell asleep. I was able to play little tunes on the piano myself at that age, so they thought I could learn to play. Unfortunately, without perseverance or hard work that never amounted to much. I'll have fun with it, just like I do with the guitar and dulcimer, but it's ironic that I will now have a house full of musical instruments, and the only kind of 'keyboard' I excel at is attached to the computer.

[czarina-laura.livejournal.com]

What an excellent unintentional birthday gift!

Good luck with the moving...hope you enjoy the piano. Sounds lovely!

[helen99.livejournal.com]

It's been a long time since I shared a house with a piano. We had to leave ours in Greece when we left. Taking with us it would have cost too much and the chance of damage was too great. I've missed it.

[hummingwolf.livejournal.com]

Though I understand why your birthday isn't your favorite date, that birthday present is still very cool. And I doubt that it is just a coincidence.

[helen99.livejournal.com]

It probably isn't... In any case, it is a wonderful opportunity -- not one to pass up. Now to figure out how to get it from Point A to Point B... Plan A is still not fully operational.

[elwing2000.livejournal.com]

I won't be able to help move it, but I can give some general help on how to move it :)
-They're freaking heavy.
-If there are any staircases involved, you'll need at *least* 4 strong guys (single steps aren't as bad)
-A furniture dolly is a lifesaver (even if the piano has wheels, the front supporting posts aren't enough to support it if someone's pushing)
-Tuning a piano that hasn't been tuned in a while can get pricey. I've started the process with mine (hasn't been tuned in 30+ years), and it's looking like a $300-$400 operation since the tuner has to come back a few times.

Good luck with it! And enjoy having a "real" piano, they sound so much better than keyboards and are much more fun to play. Let me know if you want some more "interesting" music. I have "easy piano" versions of Evanescence and several popular musicals.

[elwing2000.livejournal.com]

Also, I can recommend an awesome piano teacher in Rockville at the music & arts center near microcenter - Kathy Fisher. I worked with her for 4 years before I moved to VA.

[helen99.livejournal.com]

That would be great! I'll check them out.

[helen99.livejournal.com]

Oh geeze. I haven't even been able to get 2 or three people of varying strength to help, let alone 4 or 5 strong guys. I'm not sure I actually know that many strong guys, especially not ones who would be free during a work day. Talk about excellent planning on our part. Another consideration is whether or not we will be able to get it in the door once it's there. I don't want to take the house apart to get it in the door! We'll get measurements before attempting anything...

Thanks very much for the tips. At least now we know how many people we need rather than realizing too late that there aren't enough people.

My coworker told me how long she had the piano and when it was last tuned, but I've forgotten. I will ask her to remind me so I know what to expect. I'd be interested in extra sheet music if you're getting rid of it. Thanks again!

[keyake.livejournal.com]

That's really fantastic. Wish I could help! Best of luck.

[helen99.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[lifeatthegreen.livejournal.com]

Ah, a piano! May you have many wonderful hours of musical indulgence...

I far prefer an actual piano to an electronic keyboard. There's something about the texture, the feel of the keys depressing, the richness of the sound, that make all the difference. Even a high-quality electronic keyboard still sounds tinny and artificial to me next to a real piano.

(I'm so behind with my Live Journal friends... sorry for the late comment!)

[helen99.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I've enjoyed it so far. It's a little Huntington/Winter Spinet, the type of piano a lot of parents bought for their young kids when they started piano lessons. They were cheap, so if the kid was rough with it or lost interest, it wasn't a major wasted investment... However, now those kids are grown up, and a lot of them are saying that Winter is the lowest of the low, a stepchild among pianos: http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Forum/1/topic/021428/Number/0/site_id/1#import

Apparently in order to keep them compact and inexpensive, they sacrificed some of the sound quality of the larger ones.

I don't have the worst one of the Winter spinets - in fact mine is pretty decent. The worst of their pianos was built in 1940 and had a harp that was made of aluminum.

No matter what its dubious lineage may be, though, it was free, and as you said, playing it is way better than my keyboard. The piano is currently out of tune -- I haven't been able to convince a piano tuner to come to Berkeley Springs to tune it for me yet -- and it desperately needs it. The previous owner said she didn't tune it for over 10 years. I'm estimating closer to 30 years, since the newest piece of sheet music in the piano bench was dated 1980...

Still, it sounds better than the keyboard.

I bought my keyboard in the 90s and it's in beautiful condition - because I never use it. To me the notes sound wrong. They're too even - it's the same note no matter how heavily or lightly you press it, and there are no pedals to alter the sound. There are two hand controls to the left, but to use them I have to take my hands off the keyboard. Even if I modify the sound, I can't really get it to sound alive.