Uhh…. good question.
We’ve all read about Banjo Acquisition Syndrome and its related cousins, fiddle acquisition syndrome, guitar acquisition syndrome, etc., etc. Really, “how many banjos do you need?” is not the relevant question. “How many banjos do you want?” is more like it. Or, “how many banjos can you fit in your part of the house?”
But there comes a time when one must pull back the reins, put the horses in the barn and be content with what one has. That time came for me about five years ago when I bought a beautiful mahogany Kenny Ingram Special and told myself, “OK, this is it. Three bluegrass banjos, two open backs, a couple of mandolins, an acoustic guitar, two electrics, a ukulele and a solid body bass are IT. The end. Finito.
But then I walked into Costco a few months ago and they were having a keyboard “road show.” Right near the front of the store sat about five electric pianos. What could be the harm of just checking them out? So I sent my wife into the store and stopped to talk to the nice man.
I am not much of a keyboard player. I had a couple of years of lessons when I was about 12 years old, but then I got a guitar and went, shall we say, in a different direction. But I sat down and tried to remember a few things from my youth, and, damn, today’s electric pianos sound really good.
I started thinking about my current campaign to keep my younger grandson, the seven-year-old, interested in learning music. He knows three ukulele chords but he really wants to be Prince with a fancy electric guitar. (This is the only reason I have the slightest idea what “Purple Rain” sounds like, and also why I know most of the lyrics and even some of the chords.). Maybe a piano could be part of that effort? The decision was made easier because the checking account where I store the money I make with my band was flush with several thousand dollars. (Not that I make all that much but it adds up if you don’t spend it.)
It took a few days for Yamaha to deliver, but soon it was set up in the corner of our living room where our old stereo cabinet and large hi-fi speakers used to live. That enormous music machine has been supplanted by a Bose Sound Wave about the size of a shoe box that fits happily on a shelf above my computer. So, even in our small bungalow of a house there was room for a piano.
The Yamaha has eight sampled acoustic pianos in its electronics, plus seven electric pianos, five organs, five string sounds, four basses, two harpsichords, a vibraphone, and a nylon string guitar and a steel string guitar, neither of which sound much like guitars. The sounds are excellent. I love the sound of an old Fender Rhodes that it makes, and the jazz organ is really cool.
Although I haven’t used it yet, the piano will also record what you play and then you can play along or record other tracks on top. That will be fun when I can play a song in time from beginning to end, I’m sure. And there is an earphone jack so you can play without disturbing anyone else in the house. Very handy.
Playing piano after all these years has proved to be a lot of fun, and I have enticed Oliver to strum along as we do some of the songs his class sings and plays in school. I love how every note on a piano has its designated spot on the keyboard, so that building chords is like working with a map. Getting my left hand to play bass notes and chords has proved challenging, but each day I get a little closer. I hope in a few weeks I will have at least one “recital piece.”
And I’ve shown the boy how the strings on the uke match the keys on the piano and the strings on my guitar. His mom says he is actually practicing changing chords at home.
My fingers are crossed, when they aren’t playing music.
