Back in 2012 we bought a Casio digital piano. It was worth getting not just for the production of Grimhilda! during which it was used as the rehearsal piano, and later the piano in the pit, but also because I've kept it set up next to my computer, and use it in the winter time for singers and instrumentalists who come here for practices. It's warmer in the winter in this room than in the lounge where the grand piano lives.
I suppose the digital piano we bought is already out of date by several editions, though it's hard to know when these various instruments were produced (without doing a great deal of searching online). I think the Casio PX-130 is probably a later model, but who would know just by going by the numbering system. It's not easy to tell. This model looks more solid in terms of its structure - our one is basically a keyboard that sits on top of a trestle, and surprisingly isn't attached to the trestle in any way except by gravity. (Once it slipped when I was putting it on the trestle because the screw holding the trestle wasn't secure, and there was a moment when it looked as though the whole keyboard was going to dash itself in pieces on the floor. As it was one of the top notes caught on my hand and came loose, to my horror. However it turned out it was a matter of moments to fit it comfortably back where it belonged.)
The PX-130 also has a stand, but the the base and the keyboard fit together all of a piece. You can detach the keyboard part from the base, and apparently it's light enough to shift around. It weighs 25 lbs, being an American keyboard. My keyboard, even though it came in two parts, was quite heavy. I know this for a fact because I had to hump it out of the car and into the rehearsal rooms on innumerable occasions: there were about thirty steps involved in the process. (By steps I mean ones in a stairway, not steps you take.)
Reading about the PX-130 makes me think it's probably a better digital piano than the one I've got; certainly the advertising gives that impression. However I don't think there'll be any new pianos in this house in the near future. We have other things (not necessarily more important things) to spend our money on.
Showing posts with label keyboard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label keyboard. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Saturday, March 08, 2014
Wimpy keyboards
I've always been dissatisfied with keyboards as replacements for pianos. None of the ones I've come across have had that feel of weight that's needed for someone who's played real pianos his whole life. We bought a Casio piano to use for the rehearsals of Grimhilda! back in 2012, and it was effective enough, but it lacked something. It hadn't been to to gym to build its muscles.
What I think it lacks, along with most keyboard pianos, is that sense of standing up to the strain of a pianist fighting to produce the right sounds. When it comes to something soft, keyboards aren't too bad, especially ones like the excellent Casio PX850. But when it comes to taking the full weight of a long-experienced pianist hammering at them, nothing beats a real piano, an instrument that stands up and takes a beating without whimpering. (Totally unconnected to this, why is wimp spelled without an 'h' when whimpering has one?)
A pianist at full throttle needs something that will not only give its all in terms of the music, but also won't buckle under pressure. The last thing you need is the feeling that your keyboard is trying to run away when you're giving it a fistful of fortissimo chords.
What I think it lacks, along with most keyboard pianos, is that sense of standing up to the strain of a pianist fighting to produce the right sounds. When it comes to something soft, keyboards aren't too bad, especially ones like the excellent Casio PX850. But when it comes to taking the full weight of a long-experienced pianist hammering at them, nothing beats a real piano, an instrument that stands up and takes a beating without whimpering. (Totally unconnected to this, why is wimp spelled without an 'h' when whimpering has one?)
A pianist at full throttle needs something that will not only give its all in terms of the music, but also won't buckle under pressure. The last thing you need is the feeling that your keyboard is trying to run away when you're giving it a fistful of fortissimo chords.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Just a little overview
While commenting on Facebook this morning, I thought that it would be interesting to list the number of different skills that have been employed since I began to work on the musical, Grimhilda! It hasn't been quite a matter of everything and the kitchen sink, (as in Sienna Sinks stainless steel sinks) but it's felt close to that at times.
Of course, the first skill was writing the thing, in collaboration with my friend, Cherianne Parks (she contributed many of the crazier ideas, and is very strong on structure and plotting).
Then the was the writing of the music, first in a piano/vocal score, and then gradually this was orchestrated. None of these skills, so far, were new to me.
Next, and these aren't in any particular order, I had to discover how to apply for funding and how to fill in applications forms to funders. I was greatly helped in this by Sally-Anne Howes, who's done it before and made editorial comments and did the budgetting side of it. As a result we got some $6000 of funding!
Then there was my involvement in the auditions. I didn't make the final decisions on casting, but was involved in the process with the director and music director. When we didn't have a complete cast as a result, in collaboration with the D and MD, I began the search through every means I could think of to find the additional actors we needed. So you might say I acquired some casting skills...
Then there was advertising. Initially I was doing this in a kind of ad hoc way, and then somehow it became my job altogether. It's been interesting, and I've met some great and friendly and helpful people. And been overwhelmed, as always, by the willingness of people to get involved.
I also recorded two selections of music and put these on SoundCloud, along with some of the instrumental music - courtesy of the Sibelius program. And last weekend, I went through and checked (and corrected) the instrumental parts, and printed them out, and, with my wife's assistance, taped all the individual pages together into a concertina format, so the musicians don't have pages flying everywhere during the performances. That was a much bigger job than I anticipated. And then we'd no sooner done that than we had to add in a number of bars because the Director wanted a bit of dancing in one place. Such is his prerogative, but it's surprising how much extra work that was. It's much easier to cut stuff than add stuff!
And then there's what you might call my 'producing' role: finding things, and people to do stuff, and making decisions that something is far too expensive to go with and trying to find a better and more economic option. Surprisingly the economic options are often because other groups in town, or people, are willing to be generous to a degree that continues to amaze me. This week has shown me just how generous people can be - we were even offered a keyboard for the celesta part in the score after I advertised on Twitter. Someone retweeted the original tweet, and within five minutes, I was on the phone to a resident saying he not only had a keyboard he was willing to lend (to a complete stranger!) but was willing to drop it off to the theatre. Wow!
I've just been having coffee and liaising with the MD and the man who's going to look after the mics for us. He's even willing to go chasing up additional items we need to get this part of the show to work properly. Again, Wow! (And he's been willing to come to rehearsals and see how things run and what needs to be done.)
My list of helpful people is growing - and I'll keep it for future reference!
Meanwhile, Cherianne has also played multiple roles: props person (collecting them and organising for them to be built where necessary); overseeing the making of the costumes and liaising with the scenic designer; ongoing script consultant and much more which she could tell you about better than I can. And of course, she'll be Stage Manager during the show's run.
I'm sure there are other jobs I've been involved with (such as putting together the promo at the Library yesterday) but they're all beginning to merge...maybe I'll update this as the other jobs come to mind!
Of course, the first skill was writing the thing, in collaboration with my friend, Cherianne Parks (she contributed many of the crazier ideas, and is very strong on structure and plotting).
Then the was the writing of the music, first in a piano/vocal score, and then gradually this was orchestrated. None of these skills, so far, were new to me.
Next, and these aren't in any particular order, I had to discover how to apply for funding and how to fill in applications forms to funders. I was greatly helped in this by Sally-Anne Howes, who's done it before and made editorial comments and did the budgetting side of it. As a result we got some $6000 of funding!
Then there was my involvement in the auditions. I didn't make the final decisions on casting, but was involved in the process with the director and music director. When we didn't have a complete cast as a result, in collaboration with the D and MD, I began the search through every means I could think of to find the additional actors we needed. So you might say I acquired some casting skills...
Then there was advertising. Initially I was doing this in a kind of ad hoc way, and then somehow it became my job altogether. It's been interesting, and I've met some great and friendly and helpful people. And been overwhelmed, as always, by the willingness of people to get involved.
I also recorded two selections of music and put these on SoundCloud, along with some of the instrumental music - courtesy of the Sibelius program. And last weekend, I went through and checked (and corrected) the instrumental parts, and printed them out, and, with my wife's assistance, taped all the individual pages together into a concertina format, so the musicians don't have pages flying everywhere during the performances. That was a much bigger job than I anticipated. And then we'd no sooner done that than we had to add in a number of bars because the Director wanted a bit of dancing in one place. Such is his prerogative, but it's surprising how much extra work that was. It's much easier to cut stuff than add stuff!
And then there's what you might call my 'producing' role: finding things, and people to do stuff, and making decisions that something is far too expensive to go with and trying to find a better and more economic option. Surprisingly the economic options are often because other groups in town, or people, are willing to be generous to a degree that continues to amaze me. This week has shown me just how generous people can be - we were even offered a keyboard for the celesta part in the score after I advertised on Twitter. Someone retweeted the original tweet, and within five minutes, I was on the phone to a resident saying he not only had a keyboard he was willing to lend (to a complete stranger!) but was willing to drop it off to the theatre. Wow!
I've just been having coffee and liaising with the MD and the man who's going to look after the mics for us. He's even willing to go chasing up additional items we need to get this part of the show to work properly. Again, Wow! (And he's been willing to come to rehearsals and see how things run and what needs to be done.)
My list of helpful people is growing - and I'll keep it for future reference!
Meanwhile, Cherianne has also played multiple roles: props person (collecting them and organising for them to be built where necessary); overseeing the making of the costumes and liaising with the scenic designer; ongoing script consultant and much more which she could tell you about better than I can. And of course, she'll be Stage Manager during the show's run.
I'm sure there are other jobs I've been involved with (such as putting together the promo at the Library yesterday) but they're all beginning to merge...maybe I'll update this as the other jobs come to mind!
Monday, October 03, 2011
Legacy systems
I hadn't heard of the phrase 'legacy systems' before, and apparently it's most often used in relation to the computer world. However, according to Wikipedia, it may also be used to describe human behaviors, methods, and
tools. For example, timber framing using wattle and daub is a legacy building construction method. In other words, the phrase applies to the use of old methods (or in computerese, old programming systems) that are still functioning alongside more recent ones.
We tend to think that the computer world continues to upgrade at every point - certainly for us end-users that seems to be mostly the case - but for those who work in the basement, as it were, where all the programming is actually done, it seems there are a host of possibilities. Programmers can continue to use old ways of programming alongside new ones without blinking an eyelid.
But it has some issues, which is why places will advertise legacy system programmer jobs these are for people who know how to program using the old systems. It's kind of like having an old tradesman on the job with you who can do things that the modern machine doesn't do nearly as well.
The Wikipedia article tells us that NASA still uses a lot of 1970s technology because it's too expensive to replace. But NASA's not alone in this: many companies would find it prohibitively expensive to replace their computer systems. So they live with the consequences.
I sometimes think I'm a person in the legacy systems mode: I much prefer to play the piano when there's a choice between a piano and a keyboard. For me, so far, there hasn't been a keyboard that's successfully duplicated the touch and feel and weight and much more of an actual piano. But then I'm a Luddite in all sorts of things...!
We tend to think that the computer world continues to upgrade at every point - certainly for us end-users that seems to be mostly the case - but for those who work in the basement, as it were, where all the programming is actually done, it seems there are a host of possibilities. Programmers can continue to use old ways of programming alongside new ones without blinking an eyelid.
But it has some issues, which is why places will advertise legacy system programmer jobs these are for people who know how to program using the old systems. It's kind of like having an old tradesman on the job with you who can do things that the modern machine doesn't do nearly as well.
The Wikipedia article tells us that NASA still uses a lot of 1970s technology because it's too expensive to replace. But NASA's not alone in this: many companies would find it prohibitively expensive to replace their computer systems. So they live with the consequences.
I sometimes think I'm a person in the legacy systems mode: I much prefer to play the piano when there's a choice between a piano and a keyboard. For me, so far, there hasn't been a keyboard that's successfully duplicated the touch and feel and weight and much more of an actual piano. But then I'm a Luddite in all sorts of things...!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Standardization - not!
It’s strange the things we take for granted: I’d assumed that the QWERTY keyboard layout was the standard (obviously apart from those countries that don’t use the same alphabet), but nope! Even in
But when I was in Luxembourg, I discovered that the alphabetical letters are swapped around as well: not enough to make things totally unfamiliar, but certainly more than enough to cause confusion when you’re typing passwords and such: the sorts of things that you take for granted, and don’t bother to check when you’re typing. Seemingly the people in
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Funky P
On our last night in Maybe you could call them a Faux Jazz Band. (In the same way faux wood blinds are not really wood blinds.) Faux, for those who haven’t been to
Anyway, Funky P, a group of some nine musicians and singers (bass, lead guitar, sax, trumpet, trombone, keyboard, drummer and two singers) were performing in the Abbey Courtyard in the Grund in
The singers can sing – and dance – the keyboard player is superb (when he gets a chance to be heard), the sax player is a middle-aged feller with real power, and everyone else in the band performs wonderfully. And loudly. I don’t think the loudness was their issue, really: they were performing in a natural amphitheatre, which didn’t need as much reverb and boom and whathaveyou as they were given. They could almost play acoustically and get away with it. (I realise that ain’t the done thing no more.)
Anyway, apart from being temporarily deafened, I’d really like to hear more of their music (on CD, in the quietness of my own home). I’ve found their site, but I need to know now what’s available to buy. This is one of the things about this holiday: quirky things turn up at every corner, and arouse your interest!
What I almost forgot to say, is that Funky P - the most Phat & Funky Soul/Funk/Pop Band in the Universe is from Luxembourg...! Luxembourg, which likes to give the impression nothing funky could possibly happen there.
The photo of Roosevelt Isaac comes from the Funky P, and as far as I can make out from the legal guff, it's okay for me to publish it here. Hopefully Funky P won't regard my inclusion of it on this blog as a way to make some real money by suing me.And I've found out that Funky P only have an EP out, with three tracks on it. There has to be more out there somewhere.
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