There has been a slow down in blogging but for good reason...I've been playing with my new toy, a Kurtzweil digital piano. I've missed playing the piano for the last couple of years and thought I wanted to buy a Yamaha Clavinova but just couldn't justify the expense and weight (in case we want to bring it back to the States) for an instrument that might only be played for several years here in Malaysia. Then, I started looking at digital pianos but was afraid they would feel something like the keyboard I purchased in Turkey that never gave much enjoyment:sticky touch, lack of octaves, no sustain pedal, electronic sound, etc.
Relunctanly, I "test drove" several digital pianos a couple of weeks ago. After only a few minutes of playing, I was pretty sure I would enjoy having one in our Lumut home. Both the Yamaha and Kurzweil had similar feels and sounds but I actually liked the touch a bit better on the Kurzweil. The deciding factor, however, was the price. In Malaysia, the Yamahas were $300 - $600 more than the same model listed on Amazon in the US. (This makes no sense to me because the shipping from Japan (or China) would be less I would think but it might just be the Yamaha name.-I could write an entire blog about the love for brand names: Coach purses, Mercedes cars, Yamaha pianos, etc...) However, the Kurzweils were within dollars of the Amazon price so at least I knew I wasn't getting ripped off. Besides, I think it's kind of cool that the original Kurzweil pianos were inspired by a bet between Stevie Wonder and Ray Kurzweil to see if a synthesizer could be made to sound like a piano. The short answer is "yes". I love the sound of this piano.
Now...to the reasons why a post about a digital piano is on my pjinmalaysia blog...First, it's to illustrate how I entertain myself when there is both a shortage of local activities besides shopping, and an abundance of time while my husband is at work. This extra time is turning out to be a real blessing because I can spend time learning things that I never would have had the patience for before. This new piano is a perfect example. I'm learning how to be a one-man band complete with drums,a bass, saxophone interludes, vocals, and piano accompaniment all in the comfort and solitude of our little Lumut home.
Before living in Malaysia, I never would have had the patience to learn how to use all the bells and whistles on anything electronic besides the transposer or the metronome. I would have been too busy practicing for the next choir rehearsal or school music class to learn anything more than the basic piano notes. Now, I have time to listen to Avicii, try to mimic the sounds on his hit single "Wake Me Up" and pretend like I'm a rock star belting out the words on stage. I can welcome my husband home from work with my seductive (I wish) Nora Jones-like voice singing "Come Away with Me." And, I can always switch on the organ stop with full diapasons and give us an uplifting Sunday postlude experience.
In addition to the fun with the piano, here are some other new things I've learned thanks to WiFi and the digital age.
1) I can find most sheet music at www.sheetmusic.com and download it instantly. (I can also find lots of music for free but I'm trying not to stoop to the low level of cheating/copying and blatant disregard of copyright laws that is so prevalent here. Hopefully, I'm keeping some musicians and music companies employed and keeping a clean conscience.)
2) I installed an app on my notebook that allows me to view my purchased sheet music right on notebook. (I might need to get some super magnifier cheater glasses to read it, but it's still pretty cool that all my music is in one little place...)
3) I can purchase (although I haven't yet) an electronic page turner so, with a touch of my foot, I can have my digital pages turned. This could come in really handy on the 13 page long Beyonce's" Halo". (No, I'm too old to memorize and no, I don't play by ear.)
It's been out of necessity that I upgraded/updated/ and learned some new skills. It's been thanks to this opportunity to live in Malaysia that I've had the time. Gotta go practice.....
Relunctanly, I "test drove" several digital pianos a couple of weeks ago. After only a few minutes of playing, I was pretty sure I would enjoy having one in our Lumut home. Both the Yamaha and Kurzweil had similar feels and sounds but I actually liked the touch a bit better on the Kurzweil. The deciding factor, however, was the price. In Malaysia, the Yamahas were $300 - $600 more than the same model listed on Amazon in the US. (This makes no sense to me because the shipping from Japan (or China) would be less I would think but it might just be the Yamaha name.-I could write an entire blog about the love for brand names: Coach purses, Mercedes cars, Yamaha pianos, etc...) However, the Kurzweils were within dollars of the Amazon price so at least I knew I wasn't getting ripped off. Besides, I think it's kind of cool that the original Kurzweil pianos were inspired by a bet between Stevie Wonder and Ray Kurzweil to see if a synthesizer could be made to sound like a piano. The short answer is "yes". I love the sound of this piano.
Now...to the reasons why a post about a digital piano is on my pjinmalaysia blog...First, it's to illustrate how I entertain myself when there is both a shortage of local activities besides shopping, and an abundance of time while my husband is at work. This extra time is turning out to be a real blessing because I can spend time learning things that I never would have had the patience for before. This new piano is a perfect example. I'm learning how to be a one-man band complete with drums,a bass, saxophone interludes, vocals, and piano accompaniment all in the comfort and solitude of our little Lumut home.
Before living in Malaysia, I never would have had the patience to learn how to use all the bells and whistles on anything electronic besides the transposer or the metronome. I would have been too busy practicing for the next choir rehearsal or school music class to learn anything more than the basic piano notes. Now, I have time to listen to Avicii, try to mimic the sounds on his hit single "Wake Me Up" and pretend like I'm a rock star belting out the words on stage. I can welcome my husband home from work with my seductive (I wish) Nora Jones-like voice singing "Come Away with Me." And, I can always switch on the organ stop with full diapasons and give us an uplifting Sunday postlude experience.
In addition to the fun with the piano, here are some other new things I've learned thanks to WiFi and the digital age.
1) I can find most sheet music at www.sheetmusic.com and download it instantly. (I can also find lots of music for free but I'm trying not to stoop to the low level of cheating/copying and blatant disregard of copyright laws that is so prevalent here. Hopefully, I'm keeping some musicians and music companies employed and keeping a clean conscience.)
2) I installed an app on my notebook that allows me to view my purchased sheet music right on notebook. (I might need to get some super magnifier cheater glasses to read it, but it's still pretty cool that all my music is in one little place...)
3) I can purchase (although I haven't yet) an electronic page turner so, with a touch of my foot, I can have my digital pages turned. This could come in really handy on the 13 page long Beyonce's" Halo". (No, I'm too old to memorize and no, I don't play by ear.)
It's been out of necessity that I upgraded/updated/ and learned some new skills. It's been thanks to this opportunity to live in Malaysia that I've had the time. Gotta go practice.....
great post Penny. It's funny to hear you apologize for not being able to memorize a 7 page song. I can't remember 2 measures!
ReplyDeleteYou should let me set you up with an outboard amp for that keyboard. It would sound awesome with a 15" speaker . . . you could entertain the whole neighborhood that way ;-)