A Sunday of Slightly Stressful Song

This weekend was supposed to be musically low-key. Supposed to be. And this isn't a complaining post. It's funny that nothing seemed to go right or easily for me.

I play the organ for Church. There is another organist and we switch off playing every two weeks. It makes it nice. I get to sit with my family, can go on vacation, don't have to have that stress each week. This week, the other organist called me and said she was very sick and wouldn't be able to play without having a coughing fit. We organists are here for each other. So I said I would play.

I realized after I said I would play that we had to leave for Church in 30 minutes if I wanted time to run through the songs before and play prelude. I hurried into my dress, threw a lunch together for El, and woke her up early from her nap (NOOOO!!!!). And off we went to Church. I looked up the songs I had to play. They were easy, familiar songs that wouldn't be challenging: "Praise to the Man," "I Stand All Amazed," "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet," and "Joseph Smith's First Prayer." So that was good news. But when I started to play, I immediately realized that someone had changed the stops. And I hated pretty much every single one. Since I am a pianist who just took a seminar on playing the organ, this becomes a problem for me. I was annoyed and am pretty sure I know who it was of the other organists in the other wards. Then I felt flustered as I tried to find the most appropriate stops for each song and memorize which number it was so I wouldn't accidentally sound like a circus organ. Feeling flustered that the prelude was not awesome and neither were the songs with the congregation. Ahhh, life.

Then, the normal Primary pianist came up to me after sacrament meeting and asked if I could fill in for her in the third hour. I said yes and knew it wouldn't be a problem. It was funny that I was filling in last minute for everyone. I love playing in Primary. I was really sad when I got released, but it makes my Sundays a lot less hectic to not have to be playing all day. I came in and found out I got to play two new songs I had never played nor heard before. That, fortunately, went well and the kids all applauded for me.

After Church, we have choir practice. It is pretty much the worst time ever for choir. We go to Church at 1 pm, it lasts until 4, then choir from 4:15-5:15. It is awful. But since the director is my BFF Shannon, I go anyway. And then I remembered that she asked me to switch from soprano to alto in "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." And we are singing it in two weeks, acapella. Awesome. I learned the part but it is really tough to not have that piano with us when I'm not super confident.

Basically, this is a story about how I was very musical on a Sunday that was supposed to be relaxing and not terribly musical. I lived and music always makes for a good story, right?

In Tune

Kenn from Wildes Pianos came up from Kirkland to tune our piano. We picked him because he has a passion for old pianos and we have an old piano. He gave it a good examination before starting to tune it. I learned a lot about the mechanics of a piano, how you tune one, and about pitch. I also learned that the Pacific Northwest is the best climate for an instrument because the humidity and temperatures are relatively stable all year. He pretty much said that our piano is in almost factory condition. It also has the original ivory keys (!!!), although the black keys were replaced to plastic in the 1970s, so no ebony on this piano. I do know a lot about the history of the piano, something unique for an old piano. It came from the factory to the house in Snohomish, where is stayed until we got it. It has a big sound (which I love) and is a healthy instrument. All of things are good things.

The only aspect of the instrument's health that Kenn couldn't evaluate without tuning was the strings and how brittle they were. Do we take the risk of breaking strings and tune the piano to 440? Or do we play it safe and tune it low, which is only a problem if you have perfect pitch (I do not). Although I don't have perfect pitch, I do tune my cello to 440 so I decided to take the risk and tune the piano to 440.

The lowest set of strings (and most expensive to replace) went to perfect pitch without a hitch. And then up to the middle set. And the first one snapped. The middle set is also where three strings had previously been broken and repaired. At that point, we decided to tune the piano to 435. Next year, Kenn will come with a bunch of strings from a spool and tune the piano to 440. However, I did feel better about this once Kenn told me that pianos of this generation were traditionally tuned to 435, so it actually is perfect for the piano.

I haven't had an opportunity to sit down and pound it out on the piano. Ahhh, the life of a mom with a lot of things going on. But, Drew has been playing a lot and it sounds really good. I am really happy that we got it tuned and that our piano is a healthy instrument!

How often do you tune your piano? They recommend once a year.

Any perfect pitchers out there? Not me. But my uncle does have perfect pitch.

A Student!

I am very excited to have a cello student! It has been about three years since I last taught, so I'm really looking forward to diving in and helping myself grow as a cellist. Plus, it will give me more incentive to practice.

I went to Utah last week and only exercised once. This week I am diving back into it and will incorporate strength training three times a week, running at least twice a week (as long as it feels good to do so), walking daily with El, and soon I will be swimming at the gym. The best-laid plans are sure to go awry, but I know how good exercise feels. My legs are really craving a hard run. When I'm done being pregnant I will have to give them a hard run for a reward.

Speaking of pregnant legs, I am worried about varicose veins. I didn't have them with El but my mom always had them really bad. This time around, my veins look a lot more present and close to my skin. I will probably order some horrible compression thigh-high socks to save my legs.

On my road trip to Utah with my friend, I listened to different music from what I usually do, which is country. Didn't know any of the words, except for when we listened to the Carpenters and to country, but it was nice to listen to something different. I am always amazed at the varieties of music in the world.

PS---we are getting our piano tuned today! Finally!

What song is stuck in your head today?
Today it's anything from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat because Drew taught the second half of the Joseph in Egypt story in Sunday School yesterday, and we both have the whole thing memorized. We are cool and really acted a lot like my parents yesterday. Awkward. At least El thinks we are funny at this point of her life, instead of being embarrassed.

What workouts do you have planned for today?

Do you teach music lessons?

New Shoes, Practicing, and News

I am pretty excited about my new, hot pink running shoes. I love them so far. I need to do a treadmill run before I decide for sure, but they were great for some kickboxing I did.

My mom gave me some piano books for Christmas. Lately, I have made an extra effort to sit down to practice. It helps that El is getting better at playing on her own. But it has been really nice to sit down and play, and I have noticed improvement.

Yesterday, I ran in front of our house for a mile, up and down the street, back and forth, in my old shoes. It was nice to get a short run in while El napped.

Running and musical practice are going to get more complicated in August. I am having another baby then! It is the main reason I have felt blah about exercise lately. I just started my second trimester and I have a lot more energy now.

The New Piano!

It is here.


(I put a picture in! We'll see if this happens in the future. I had to copy from my email and then paste it here.)

We decided to got with the old piano for free. It is in good condition even though it is almost 100 years old. The soundboard is healthy. The strings are OK, and those that broke were spliced together well. Right now, it is out of tune, but that is only temporary. On a less musical note, the color is perfect and actually coordinates really well with a china closet from the 1970s we have. I love that is Victorian but looks retro.

I am so happy to have a piano in our home finally. I loved playing and listening to my my mom play when I was growing up. Our home was full of music. Now my new family will get to enjoy a home full of music.

Today's Workout
core
20 minutes strength training
20 minutes Zumba

How was your weekend?

Was your childhood home full of music?

Is your adult home full of music now?

Old Pianos---are they worth it?

We don't have a piano in our home and it makes me really, really sad. Most people are surprised, even shocked.

"You don't have a piano? YOU don't have a piano?"
No, I don't . Someday.
And then, because I play the piano and organ in church. "You mean, you don't get to practice before church? You just get up there and play it?"
Correct. You do what you have to do. I do wish I had more opportunity to practice the organ because it really is not my strong instrument. But, alas, we live 5 miles from the church and I don't have a car during the day. I guess I could run there. And practice. And be stinky while I practice. Sigh.

Anyway, we have an opportunity through a friend of a friend to get a piano for free. YAY!

We went to her home, an old farmhouse she recently purchased with the intent to turn it into a bed and breakfast. She bought the 100-year-old house from the granddaughter of the people who built it, a 70-year-old woman who didn't know what to do with the stuff in the home. Our friend of a friend put the offer in on the house and all the contents of the house.

With it, came a 95-year-old piano. The friend of a friend already has a piano she really likes, and wants this one to go to a new home. We tried it out. The action of the keys was fantastic still. The wood was in good condition (except for one spot on the top from a vase). The finish was great (this is really important to Andrew, as he worked for a summer refinishing pianos). It was beautiful.

But some of the strings need to be replaced. They are in the middle. The middle strings are the most used and the hardest to get to. How brittle are the strings? When will they snap? How many need to be replaced? We aren't sure.

Restringing the piano will cost about $1000. Is it worth it when we could get a new piano for that price? I know that refinishing an old upright piano is not worth it, unless it has sentimental value. Restringing is right on the border or worth it.

This is definitely a better, more beautiful used piano than what we could get from an ad on craigslist, which we'd still probably have to put some work into. But is the price of the repairs worth it? Ultimately, the decision is up to me. I am just having a hard time.

I really like the piano. It matches the "retro" feel I have going in the rest of our living room area. It is in great condition for its age. It is free. I would really love to have a piano (finally) in our home.

So, any thoughts about old pianos?

Do you have sentimental value attached to your piano?