The Unicorn
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Wife played for a funeral today and had to get there a bit early to work with the guy doing the congregational music and the same person was singing a solo of How Great Thou Art.
When they started, he told my wife he wanted to do the song a bit more up-tempo. She told him no problem, I'll follow you.
Noticing he had to reach to hit a couple of the high notes, she offered to change the key. He told her he was a natural base and asked her what key she could play it in. Well, she could play it in whatever key he wanted...If she didn't have the music, she'd play it by ear.
He asked her was she going to play it in chords? No, but do you want any or all of it in chords? I can do that.
He stopped rehearsing for a moment and told her she was a unicorn. Most of the pianists he worked with could do a bit of variation, but not key/notes/chords/by ear and change it as wanted within the song.
I know everybody can't do that, but surely it's not that rare?
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Bootsy’s son is a preternatural transposer. He’d play a Chopin etude a half step higher just to grate on his old man.
@jon-nyc said in The Unicorn:
Bootsy’s son is a preternatural transposer. He’d play a Chopin etude a half step higher just to grate on his old man.
See, here's what really pisses me off about people with that kind of talent.
They think music. For them to do this kind of stuff is as natural as for
you andme reading "See Dick run. Run, Dick, run!" I just can't wrap my head around it.A couple of years ago, I was having dinner with a violinist who's been with the CSO since the Solti days. I commented that learning how to "sight read" a measure or two ahead of where I'm playing is such a struggle.
"Yeah, I get it. I'm OK until about 10 measures ahead."
DaFUQ?
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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The wife isn't great at classical. She's not classically trained (mostly self-taught) and the fingers don't move like they used to. Besides, when she swaps over to playing by ear, she tends to transpose over to flats.
But when you fall back to hymns, sacred and Southern Gospel, she's done that for fifty years as of the first of the year. Some of it stuck, I guess.
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@jon-nyc said in The Unicorn:
Bootsy’s son is a preternatural transposer. He’d play a Chopin etude a half step higher just to grate on his old man.
See, here's what really pisses me off about people with that kind of talent.
They think music. For them to do this kind of stuff is as natural as for
you andme reading "See Dick run. Run, Dick, run!" I just can't wrap my head around it.A couple of years ago, I was having dinner with a violinist who's been with the CSO since the Solti days. I commented that learning how to "sight read" a measure or two ahead of where I'm playing is such a struggle.
"Yeah, I get it. I'm OK until about 10 measures ahead."
DaFUQ?
@George-K said in The Unicorn:
@jon-nyc said in The Unicorn:
Bootsy’s son is a preternatural transposer. He’d play a Chopin etude a half step higher just to grate on his old man.
See, here's what really pisses me off about people with that kind of talent.
They think music. For them to do this kind of stuff is as natural as for
you andme reading "See Dick run. Run, Dick, run!" I just can't wrap my head around it.A couple of years ago, I was having dinner with a violinist who's been with the CSO since the Solti days. I commented that learning how to "sight read" a measure or two ahead of where I'm playing is such a struggle.
"Yeah, I get it. I'm OK until about 10 measures ahead."
DaFUQ?
I've often said the best pianist I know, is my wife's first cousin. Guy can't read a note of music. But all he has to do is hear it - and it doesn't matter what type of music or what style - he can play it. He can go from slip-note to boogie woogie to Southern Gospel rolls to Chopin, and do it all flowing from one to another in a two minute span.
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@jon-nyc said in The Unicorn:
Bootsy’s son is a preternatural transposer. He’d play a Chopin etude a half step higher just to grate on his old man.
See, here's what really pisses me off about people with that kind of talent.
They think music. For them to do this kind of stuff is as natural as for
you andme reading "See Dick run. Run, Dick, run!" I just can't wrap my head around it.A couple of years ago, I was having dinner with a violinist who's been with the CSO since the Solti days. I commented that learning how to "sight read" a measure or two ahead of where I'm playing is such a struggle.
"Yeah, I get it. I'm OK until about 10 measures ahead."
DaFUQ?
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I remember reading a story/video about pianists who play when singers come in to audition.
They give the pianist the song they want to sing, and expect the pianist to be able to do it right away. And they pretty much always do.
The interesting thing was that pianists who are able to do that are usually very very good at crossword puzzles.
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I remember reading a story/video about pianists who play when singers come in to audition.
They give the pianist the song they want to sing, and expect the pianist to be able to do it right away. And they pretty much always do.
The interesting thing was that pianists who are able to do that are usually very very good at crossword puzzles.
@taiwan_girl said in The Unicorn:
I remember reading a story/video about pianists who play when singers come in to audition.
They give the pianist the song they want to sing, and expect the pianist to be able to do it right away. And they pretty much always do.
The interesting thing was that pianists who are able to do that are usually very very good at crossword puzzles.
My wife is very, very good at crossword puzzles.
“Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”
Those who cheered as J-6 American prisoners were locked in solitary for 18 months without trial, now suddenly fight tooth and nail for foreign terrorists’ "due process". — Buck Sexton
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@taiwan_girl said in The Unicorn:
I remember reading a story/video about pianists who play when singers come in to audition.
They give the pianist the song they want to sing, and expect the pianist to be able to do it right away. And they pretty much always do.
The interesting thing was that pianists who are able to do that are usually very very good at crossword puzzles.
My wife is very, very good at crossword puzzles.
@Jolly said in The Unicorn:
My wife is very, very good at crossword puzzles.
I used to be pretty good at them. At work we did the New York Times as a group. However, by Friday, it was an impossible task.
The NYT Crossword used to have a theme for every puzzle which made it fun, and always gave you a clue.
My favorite was the one which had all the names of Elizabeth Taylor.
Taylor
Hilton
Wilding
Todd
Fisher
Burton
Burton
Warner
Fortensky
Taylor -
@taiwan_girl said in The Unicorn:
I remember reading a story/video about pianists who play when singers come in to audition.
They give the pianist the song they want to sing, and expect the pianist to be able to do it right away. And they pretty much always do.
The interesting thing was that pianists who are able to do that are usually very very good at crossword puzzles.
My wife is very, very good at crossword puzzles.
@Jolly said in The Unicorn:
@taiwan_girl said in The Unicorn:
I remember reading a story/video about pianists who play when singers come in to audition.
They give the pianist the song they want to sing, and expect the pianist to be able to do it right away. And they pretty much always do.
The interesting thing was that pianists who are able to do that are usually very very good at crossword puzzles.
My wife is very, very good at crossword puzzles.
Interesting how the brain works. There must be some relationship in thinking between gifted piano players and gifted crossword puzzle workers
