Display the notes you play
Another idle evening. The theme is Sinatra, and the students are (so far) WAY out of their depth. Drowning. Michael Lynche excepted.
I can’t blame it on the music, or the musicians. Harry Connick Jr. has the chops. It’s the top five who are too young to have the cultural memory necessary. Why, oh why, do the show producers feel the need to punish 50 million people at once?
I did see something new, along the way. On Harry’s piano, where a rumpled pile of charts should have provided the cues, he had a single, tidy, LCD display. A musical stroke of genius. Somewhere in the background, technology rules. Perhaps a memory card (like those photo display frames that the grandmotherly generation prize). Perhaps a wi-fi connection with a tablet interface. Who knows?
I’ve checked the web, and there are a number of companies that now offer electronic musical displays. I wish I’d thought of this first (royalties, baby!) For those of us with fading visual acuity and memory banks that overflow with tunes, this might provide the crutch needed. Just think, controlled zoom on the intricate runs…
At work, we’re into the annual pick your vacation dates dance. The one where I choose and the direction changes them. Frankly, I’m too old to care: summer is going to arrive, and we could be in for some warm weather. Perhaps I want to be on the ground under the stars a little earlier than usual.
My keyboard upgrade is holding firm. That’s good. Not to badmouth posties, but they don’t always use good judgement. Not everything that goes through the system deserves to be folded, spindled and mutilated.
