Piano sale! Piano sale!

Funny how days get away from us so quickly. Blogging was the first thing to take a hit once my son arrived home. Now school has started, and as much as I love being spontaneous and going with the flow, there is something to be said about having a predictable schedule. So, back to blogging, writing, and mommy-ing.

I am already nervous about what I'll be doing three hours from now. The University of Buffalo is having its annual piano sale today. One of my adult piano students (who has a real piano) received a letter from UB explaining that the crop of pianos donated by Kawai last year is ready for sale to the public "at a fraction of the cost." These "gently used" (by piano students.....I was one once...."gently" may be a stretch) babies go on sale Sunday to the general public. With this prized letter my student passed on to me, I get my own private appointment today to peruse these puppies and PERHAPS bring one home of my very own. Holy canoli, batman......

I started piano lessons at age 7. I sold that piano in order to have some cold, hard cash to move to Denver when I was 23. I bought a cool, sleek little Kawai that fit into my even littler apartment when I was 28, but sold that to one of my Denver students (who is now 20, and a great pianist) when I moved to Madison. Also while in Denver, I purchased a Yamaha P80 electronic piano, which rocks and has made me lots of money over the years. It can be placed in its case in the coat closet if I need more room around the house. I lug it to wherever I need to go with it and use it to teach my students here in The Buff. Solid piece of equipment, for sure.

The house that I live in now has a really big front room. One side is the Music Area with my keyboard, music books, CDs, etc. The other side is the Family Room type of thing. I just measured about 52-ish square feet of space JUST IN CASE there is a sweet o' baby grand that beckons at UB today. I am double-checking my finances/credit limits/monthly overhead to see what my max-out price is. If I don't watch myself, I could easily go overboard here (but that doesn't seem to bother me. A new piano!!!!)

I'm nervous because I have become used to playing on a "piano" that has a volume control button and practical mobility. I've also become used to the SOUND of my Yamaha as it comes out of my amp compared to an acoustic, "real" piano. As a kid/teenager/piano student, I would pound the crap out of my piano at my parents' house and gleefully FEEL the vibrations, reverberations, physicality of nailing whatever I was practicing. That sense is rusty after a decade on the Yamaha. What will my house sound like after today???? What will I feel like?

I'm packing a few pieces of music that I know I can just lay out as Testers for today's events: Chopin's "Raindrop" Prelude, a rollicking gospel version of "Precious Lord Take My Hand" that I use in my church job a lot, Bach's Invention #13, and--the true test of a piano's quality---Debussy's "Sunken Cathedral" Prelude. Maybe I'll throw some Rachmaninoff in for good measure.

I'm like a kid in a friggin' candy shop. I started piano lessons 30 years ago this month, I'm not moving from this house for at least a decade (if ever), and after a year of relocation adjustments and challenges, buying a piano that could stay with me for a loooooong time feels like an exhilarating and satisfying plunge. See what a nerd I am!?!??! Hee hee.

The next question is: What will be the christening piece of music that I play on my new baby??? Suggestions welcomed.

"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams," said poet Arthur O'Shaughnessy (and then Willy Wanka). Sounds good to me.....