Category Archives: Uncategorized

She fell for an online piano scam. A cautionary tale…

The purchase of a piano is often the largest single musical investment a person or family will make in a lifetime, and choosing the right instrument from a reputable business with longevity, a track record of excellence in service after the sale, and many decades of combined expertise in their professional staff (not to mention the quality of products they offer) will make all the difference in the world.

Here is a sad, cautionary tale via businessinsider.com

“I had the surprise planned out. The moment our new au pair arrived at our house, I would pull the dust sheet off his welcome gift and say, “Ta-da!” His jaw would drop at the sight of a Steinway baby grand piano. 

One of the reasons I’d hired our au pair — aside from him being an experienced babysitter — was his musical talent. He was a classically trained pianist from the Czech Republic. The video on his application showed him sweeping back the tails of his tuxedo and playing a grand piano.

I saw him teaching our kids how to play. I imagined him entertaining our friends with an impromptu performance or two.

We couldn’t afford a new piano. I appealed for a secondhand model on the neighborhood-networking site Nextdoor.  A few people sent me photos of their “well-loved” — and, dare I say, ugly — pianos. They were literally on their last legs. It wouldn’t have been worth my while paying the exorbitant moving costs.

I couldn’t believe my luck when I spotted the ‘free piano’

I found a decent-looking upright Yamaha on Craigslist. But it cost $5,800 — plus an estimated $1,250 relocation fee.

So I couldn’t believe my luck when I spotted an ad on Facebook Marketplace for a gleaming baby grand piano by Steinway & Sons. Not only is Steinway the Lamborghini of pianos — John Lennon played an exquisite white Steinway in the video for “Imagine” — but the piano was free.


I messaged the seller. “Yes, it’s still available,” they said. They told me that they were acting on behalf of their sister, Joyce Ehle, a recently widowed doctor who was downsizing. I sent her an email.

She replied the next day. “I’m hoping to give it out to someone who is a passionate lover of the instrument,” Ehle wrote. “It’s currently going to be with the movers I employed to move my properties from my house which is it’s on the move,” she added. I failed to notice her poor grammar. “If you really don’t mind making new arrangements with the movers, I can attempt to get in touch with them to reroute it,” she went on. “This should not attract too many charges since the distance can be recovered within a day or two.”

I saw a photo of the dismantled piano, seemingly in transit

Things moved fast. Ehle sent a link to the freight company and her order number. She said to communicate with them via online chat. The only favor she wanted in return, she said, was a photo of her husband’s piano in its new home.

The website of the freight company looked professional enough. I typed Ehle’s order number into the chat and asked about the reroute.  They sent a photo of a disassembled piano inside a shipping container. It was wrapped in packaging material, but I could see the outline of the lid of a piano. I wrote my name, address, and telephone number into the chat. The operator set the delivery for a week later.

A photo of a seemingly dismantled piano wrapped in paper inside a moving crate.
The “freight company” sent this photograph of the supposed piano in transit. 

I followed the instructions, sending the agreed $340 moving fee via PayPal. The payee was a Yahoo address. They wanted a screenshot of the transaction. I sent a thank-you email to Ehle, assuring her that the piano would be in good hands.

I couldn’t wait for my bargain Steinway to arrive. I hadn’t figured out where to put it yet. “It’s going to be tight,” I thought. “But it’ll fit somewhere.”

Two days before the expected delivery, I received an email from the freight company. They apologized for the late notice, but there was an extra charge. They said the owner had failed to complete some paperwork in time. I was liable for an “interstate fee” of $370. If I didn’t pay by Zelle, the delivery of the piano would be canceled.

I realized I’d been scammed 

I thought about contacting Ehle. “Maybe it’s not too late for you to sign the paperwork,” I planned to tell her. Then I felt guilty. It would be heartless to pester a grieving widow. The total cost of the piano may have increased to $710, I thought, “But it’s still a pretty good deal.”

I went to sleep without paying the $370, thinking I’d Zelle it the following day. But I tossed and turned. Around 3 a.m., I sat bolt upright in bed. I thought about the “interstate fee” — something I’d never heard of before. I’d never spoken to anyone on the phone about the piano. The arrangements had been made either by email or chat. “It’s a dirty, rotten scam,” I thought.

I got up and Googled “grand piano scam.” There were dozens of hits with titles like “Avoid Baby Grand Giveaways” and “Don’t fall for the Grand Piano Scam.” The warnings were all over media, consumer, and police websites. I read some lengthy Reddit threads. I was the victim of a sophisticated con which, judging by the dates of the reports, had become increasingly common in recent months.

Read more at businessinsider.com

Roland GP-607

The Roland GP607 Digital Grand Piano

A mini grand piano that sparks creativity and complements your living space, now available at the lowest price ever while supplies last…

If you’ve longed to own a grand piano but were discouraged by the cost or weight, then the Roland GP607 could be the perfect addition to your home. A stylish digital mini grand piano in polished ebony or white, the GP607 pays homage to the classic grand piano form with an imposing-yet-graceful design. And although its appearance is traditional, explore a little deeper and you’ll discover the very latest technology. Bluetooth® connectivity lets you wirelessly stream songs from your tablet/phone through the GP607’s powerful 4.1 multi-channel speakers, filling your room with rich, clear sound. SuperNATURAL Piano Modeling technology offers supremely realistic piano sound and, along with the expressive touch of the new PHA-50 keyboard, provides a playing experience that will satisfy the connoisseur. And a host of onboard learning features—including connection to piano education apps—will ensure that you’ll stay motivated and your piano skills will constantly improve. Whether you want a strikingly beautiful addition to your living space or a sophisticated mini grand piano that supports your family as they learn to play, the GP607 brings beauty, elegance, and evocative piano performance into your home.

Find out more about the GP607 at Steinway Piano Galleries here!

Musical Overature

Leave a reply

Musical Overture releases The Gig Room

 

Musical Overture is pleased to announce the launch of The Gig Room,  a new video conferencing tool that allows musicians in different locations to rehearse and perform together in real time.  The dream:  Bring the best musicians in the world to one place and play for them and with them via a computer or smartphone.  The Gig Room utilizes technology that, with a reliable internet connection, reduces latency to less than 25 milliseconds between two musicians up to 600 miles apart.  That’s the same lag, or delay, that is present if the two musicians are in the same room, but sitting 25 feet away from each other.  

 

This tool is part of a web application that creates an online space where the best musicians in the world gather to share music, ideas, and contact information.  Musical Overture has profile pages that serve as personal websites – with the musicians’ bios, contact info (if they opted to list it), musical interests, photo or avatar, etc. It also features a private messaging app, a powerful search tool, and a large video repository with HD videos, fast upload speeds and unique tools for sharing portfolios. 

 

Musical Overture is not just a web application, it is a community of musicians who want to meet each other and play for and with each other.  After all, musicians feel most like musicians when interacting with other musicians and with the people who love to listen to their music.  As a result, Musical Overture has become the world’s first truly global directory of musicians.  Instead of referring to the musicians’ union directory, orchestra personnel directors can find musicians and audition players on Musical Overture.  Musicians are learning that if they want to be found, they need to have a presence on Musical Overture. 

 

Once musicians find each other and play for each other using the HD video repository, the next step is to play together.  Thus, the Gig Room was born.  Finally, musicians can find each other, play for each other and play with each other in real time.  If a singer needs to rehearse with a pianist, the Gig Room makes that possible. If a bandmate is unable to attend a rehearsal, the Gig Room allows that player to attend and contribute to the rehearsal in real time.   The Gig Room is also the perfect way to teach “distance lessons.”  All a musician needs is a computer or smartphone with a fast and reliable internet connection. 

 

The advantages to being a part of the world’s first truly global community of musicians are many.   Musicians can meet their peers and find comradery through their common love of music making.  Students can meet prospective teachers and mentors who can guide them on their lifelong musical journey. Teachers, universities, conservatories, agents and personnel managers can recruit talented up and coming musicians. Music retailers can finally interact with musicians without having to go through the traditional gatekeepers (band directors, chorus teachers, etc).  Likewise, musicians can interact with their favorite manufacturers, which deepens brand awareness and loyalty.  Music lovers benefit as they are able to meet their musical idols and even play with them.  This, again, works both ways.  Musicians can interact with their fans on an even deeper level than is possible on other social media platforms.

 

The message is simple.  Meet the best musicians in the world and play for them and with them – in real time.  

For more information and press inquiries, please email tlowry@musicaloverture.com.

Train Your Brain

Leave a reply

Use your head
Students

Want to ‘train your brain’? Forget apps, learn a musical instrument

Musical training can have a dramatic impact on your brain’s structure, enhancing your memory, spatial reasoning and language skills

‘Music probably does something unique. It stimulates the brain in a very powerful way, because of our emotional connection with it.’
 ‘Music probably does something unique. It stimulates the brain in a very powerful way, because of our emotional connection with it.’ Illustration: Sophie Wolfson

The multimillion dollar brain training industry is under attack. In October 2014, a group of over 100 eminent neuroscientists and psychologists wrote an open letter warning that “claims promoting brain games are frequently exaggerated and at times misleading”. Earlier this year, industry giant Lumosity was fined $2m, and ordered to refund thousands of customers who were duped by false claims that the company’s products improve general mental abilities and slow the progression of age-related decline in mental abilities. And a recent review examining studies purporting to show the benefits of such products found “little evidence … that training improves improves everyday cognitive performance”.

While brain training games and apps may not live up to their hype, it is well established that certain other activities and lifestyle choices can have neurological benefits that promote overall brain health and may help to keep the mind sharp as we get older. One of these is musical training. Research shows that learning to play a musical instrument is beneficial for children and adults alike, and may even be helpful to patients recovering from brain injuries.

“Music probably does something unique,” explains neuropsychologist Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster. “It stimulates the brain in a very powerful way, because of our emotional connection with it.”

Playing a musical instrument is a rich and complex experience that involves integrating information from the senses of vision, hearing, and touch, as well as fine movements, and learning to do so can induce long-lasting changes in the brain. Professional musicians are highly skilled performers who spend years training, and they provide a natural laboratory in which neuroscientists can study how such changes – referred to as experience-dependent plasticity – occur across their lifespan.

Changes in brain structure

Early brain scanning studies revealed significant differences in brain structure between musicians and non-musicians of the same age. For example, the corpus callosum, a massive bundle of nerve fibres connecting the two sides of the brain, is significantly larger in musicians. The brain areas involved in movement, hearing, and visuo-spatial abilities also appear to be larger in professional keyboard players. And, the area devoted to processing touch sensations from the left hand is increased in violinists.

These studies compared data from different groups of people at one point in time. As such, they could not determine whether the observed differences were actually caused by musical training, or if existing anatomical differences predispose some to become musicians. But later, longitudinal studies that track people over time have shown that young children who do 14 months of musical training exhibit significant structural (pdf) and functional brain changes (pdf) compared to those who do not.

Together, these studies show that learning to play a musical instrument not only increases grey matter volume in various brain regions, but can also strengthen the long-range connections between them. Other research shows that musical training also enhances verbal memory, spatial reasoning, and literacy skills, such that professional musicians usually outperform non-musicians on these abilities.

Long-lasting benefits for musicians

Importantly, the brain scanning studies show that the extent of anatomical change in musicians’ brains is closely related to the age at which musical training began, and the intensity of training. Those who started training at the youngest age showed the largest changes when compared to non-musicians.

Even short periods of musical training in early childhood can have long-lasting benefits. In one 2013 study, for example, researchers recruited 44 older adults and divided them into three groups based on the level of formal musical training they had received as children. Participants in one group had received no training at all; those in the second had done a little training, defined as between one and three years of lessons; and those in the third had received moderate levels of training (four to 14 years).

The researchers played recordings of complex speech sounds to the participants, and used scalp electrodes to measure the timing of neural responses in a part of the auditory brainstem. As we age, the precision of this timing deteriorates, making it difficult to understand speech, especially in environments with a lot of background noise. Participants who had received moderate amounts of musical training exhibited the fastest neural responses, suggesting that even limited training in childhood can preserve sharp processing of speech sounds and increase resilience to age-related decline in hearing.

More recently, it has become clear that musical training facilitates the rehabilitation of patients recovering from stroke and other forms of brain damage, and some researchers now argue that it might also boost speech processing and learning in children with dyslexia and other language impairments. What’s more, the benefits of musical training seem to persist for many years, or even decades, and the picture that emerges from this all evidence is that learning to play a musical instrument in childhood protects the brain against the development of cognitive impairment and dementia.

Unlike commercial brain training products, which only improve performance on the skills involved, musical training has what psychologists refer to as transfer effects – in other words, learning to play a musical instrument seems to have a far broader effect on the brain and mental function, and improves other abilities that are seemingly unrelated.

“Music reaches parts of the brain that other things can’t,” says Loveday. “It’s a strong cognitive stimulus that grows the brain in a way that nothing else does, and the evidence that musical training enhances things like working memory and language is very robust.”

Learning to play a musical instrument, then, seems to be one of the most effective forms of brain training there is. Musical training can induce various structural and functional changes in the brain, depending on which instrument is being learned, and the intensity of the training regime. It’s an example of how dramatically life-long experience can alter the brain so that it becomes adapted to the idiosyncrasies of its owner’s lifestyle

Benefits of Playing Music

Leave a reply

The Benefits of Playing Music Help Your Brain More Than Any Other Activity

#4. Learning an instrument has showed an increase resilience to any age-related decline in hearing.

By John RamptonEntrepreneur and investor@johnrampton
CREDIT: Getty Images

The brain-training is big business. For companies like BrainHQ, Luminosity, and Cogmed, it’s actually a multimillion dollar business that is expected to surpass $3 billion by 2020. But, do the actually benefit your brain?

Research doesn’t believe so. In fact, the the University of Illinois determined that there’s little or no evidence that these games improve anything more than the specific tasks being trained. Luminosity was even fined $2 million for false claims.

So, if these brain games don’t work, then what will keep your brain sharp? The answer? Learning to play a musical instrument.

Why Being a Musician Is Good For Your Brain

Science has shown that musical training can change brain structure and function for the better. It can also improve long-term memory and lead to better brain development for those who start at a young age.

Furthermore, musicians tend to be more mentally alert, according to new research from a University of Montreal study.

“The more we know about the impact of music on really basic sensory processes, the more we can apply musical training to individuals who might have slower reaction times,” said lead researcher Simon Landry.

“As people get older, for example, we know their reaction times get slower. So if we know that playing a musical instrument increases reaction times, then maybe playing an instrument will be helpful for them.”

Previously, Landry found that musicians have faster auditory, tactile, and audio-tactile reaction times. Musicians also have an altered statistical use of multi-sensory information. This means that they’re better at integrating the inputs from various senses.

“Music probably does something unique,” explains neuropsychologist Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster. “It stimulates the brain in a very powerful way, because of our emotional connection with it.”

Unlike brain-games, playing an instrument is a rich and complex experience. This is because it’s integrating information from senses like vision, hearing, and touch, along with fine movements. This can result long-lasting changes in the brain. This can also be applicable in the business world.

Changes in the Brain

Brains scans have been able to identify the difference in brain structure between musicians and non-musicians. Most notably, the corpus callosum, a massive bundle of nerve fibres connecting the two sides of the brain, is larger in musicians. Also, the areas involving movement, hearing, and visuospatial abilities appear to be larger in professional keyboard players.

Initially, these studies couldn’t determine if these differences were caused by musical training of if anatomical differences predispose some to become musicians. Ultimately, longitudinal studies showed that children who do 14 months of musical training displayed more powerful structural and functional brain changes.

These studies prove that learning a musical instrument increases grey matter volume in various brain regions, It also strengthens the long-range connections between them. Additional research shows that musical training can enhance verbal memory, spatial reasoning, and literacy skills.

Long Lasting Benefits For Musicians

Brain scanning studies have found that the anatomical change in musicians’ brains is related to the age when training began. It shouldn’t be surprising, but learning at a younger age causes the most drastic changes.

Interestingly, even brief periods of musical training can have long-lasting benefits. A 2013 study found that even those with moderate musical training preserved sharp processing of speech sounds. It was also able to increase resilience to any age-related decline in hearing.

Researchers also believe that playing music helps speech processing and learning in children with dyslexia. Furthermore, learning to play an instrument as a child can protect the brain against dementia.

“Music reaches parts of the brain that other things can’t,” says Loveday. “It’s a strong cognitive stimulus that grows the brain in a way that nothing else does, and the evidence that musical training enhances things like working memory and language is very robust.”

Other Ways Learning an Instrument Strengthens Your Brain

Guess what? We’re still not done. Here are eight additional ways that learning an instrument strengthens your brain.

1. Strengthens bonds with others. This shouldn’t be surprising. Think about your favorite band. They can only make a record when they have contact, coordination, and cooperation with each other.

2. Strengthens memory and reading skills. The Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University states that this is because music and reading are related via common neural and cognitive mechanisms.

3. Playing music makes you happy. McMaster University discovered that babies who took interactive music classes displayed better early communication skills. They also smiled more.

4. Musicians can process multiple things at once. As mentioned above, this is because playing music forces you to process multiple senses at once. This can lead superior multisensory skills.

5. Musical increases blood flow in your brain. Studies have found that short bursts of musical training increase the blood flow to the left hemisphere of the brain. That can be helpful when you need a burst of energy. Skip the energy drink and jam for 30 minutes. 6. Music helps the brain recover. Motor control improved in everyday activities with stroke patients.

7. Music reduces stress and depression. A study of cancer patients found that listening and playing music reduced anxiety. Another study revealed that music therapy lowered levels of depression and anxiety.

8. Musical training strengthens the brain’s’ executive function. Executive function covers critical tasks like processing and retaining information, controlling behavior, making, and problem-solving. If strengthened, you can boost your ability to live. Musical training can improve and strengthen executive functioning in both children and adults.

And, wrap-up, check out this awesome short animation from TED-Ed on how playing an instrument benefits your brain.

WHAT DO THE PIANO PEDALS DO?

Leave a reply

What do the piano pedals do?

What do the piano pedals do?

What do the piano pedals do? Pianos, keyboards and digital pianos can have one to three foot pedals that perform various musical functions. The most important pedal is the Damper or Sustain pedal, usually found on the furthest right on acoustic instruments, and the only one for single pedal keyboards. The Damper/Sustain pedal controls how long the notes can be heard after playing them. The second most important pedal is the Soft pedal, otherwise known as the Una Corda. This controls how soft the piano sounds, and is usually the pedal furthest to the left on acoustic pianos. The third pedal – usually the middle one – varies in function, depending on the type of piano. On grand pianos, the middle pedal is known as a Sostenuto pedal. This pedal only holds notes that have been “locked” with the fingers, keeping the other notes free to be controlled by the other pedals or with the fingers alone. On upright pianos, the middle pedal is usually the practice pedal, moving a piece of felt between the hammers and strings to produce a muted sound, perfect for keeping the piano quiet and not disturbing others