Always Wanted to Play Piano

Sorry for extended blog silence. And it won't entirely abate, but I did want you to know we're still kicking it here 41 miles west o...

Congrats to Sue, who finished mid-pack in last month's Woodridge Mini Triathlon. And if it wasn't for a displaced bike chain, combi...

10 Amazing and Stunning Piano Pieces

For the first time in, I guess, a year and half, I won't be submitting an ABF Quarterly Recital piece. The Kuhlau Sonatina just isn'...

Back in the 1990's, I used to listen to a short annoying* fellow on the radio. Jim Rome was (and, I believe still is) the guy's name...

The Internet has covered a lot of off-the-wall topics since Al Gore gave it to us decades ago. Bacon taped on a cat. Bluhd ("not funny!...

Since last time, we have spent nights in: - Elizabethtown, Kentucky - Blairsville, Georgia - Montgomery, Alabama - Smithville, Tennessee - L...

Recently, while staying at a Marriott that was hosting a convention, I happened across a large Kawai grand piano. And of course I sat down a...

The Supplement to Larry Fine's Piano Book is the best bathroom reading since the last Calvin and Hobbes Treasury was released. - Aw2pp,...

Once again, my apologies for extended blogger silence. I was at a conference most of last week (although the hotel had a piano... more on th...

Sorry for the delay, I am still recovering from Epic Fail (as the kids these days say). I haven't had the time courage to pull the came...

Briefly: Jillian was amazing. Awesome. She played with a smile on her face, and clearly, obviously enjoyed being up there. Mine? I was so ba...

I've read threads Piano World ( Home of the World Famous Piano Forums! ) where folks posit that one should NOT play their recital piece ...

... before Recital. Yes, tomorrow evening, Jillian and I play in front of dozens, nay, SCORES of friends, family, and curious onlookers comp...

I had to get creative to get to Phoenix. For the outward leg of the trip (Chicago to Phoenix), I cashed in some miles. For the homeward leg,...

We're done. We never did recover from the disappointment of losing our Gold Bracket play-in match. So, as I feared, we were an emotional...

Lost our first Gold Bracket challenge match this morning. Congrats to Rizen from Hawaii, who played a tough, hard-fought match that was marr...

Easy day today. Two matches, two wins, I played only the first. After dropping our second match yesterday, we seem to have composed ourselve...

We ended up being seeded a gaudy third, which is really an endorsement in a 72 team field. After the first day, though we proved unworthy of...

... unless my hotel has one, in which case all bets are off. My flight leaves this afternoon for Phoenix, for the 78th Annual USA Open Natio...

... you MUST take 3 minutes out of your life and watch this. It is... The World Cup is starting this month. As you know, I'm a sucker fo...

It's been a little too exciting around lately. I thought I might ease the pace a little. Here is a video of grass growing. If you think ...

The old adage holds in many ways. Focus on the finished product, because you may be better off not knowing about the bits and pieces and eff...

(Two posts in one day? Blogger overload. I may have to take a day off tomorrow.) As I said earlier, today is / was piano lesson day. I stumb...

I have a piano lesson in 29 minutes. Was just playing my recital piece, and played the first half, even three-fourths so well that... it mad...