Magical Moment 599, "A Nice Thing Happened At Work..."

I feel pretty confident in saying this...without youtube, I wouldn't be able to make a living as a pianist. For any job, I'm given sheet music to learn within a certain amount of time. As a ballet accompanist, often these come from famous ballets like Sleeping Beauty and Raymonda. Other times, people request specific songs for their wedding or special occasion. I'm able to simply type in the title of the song in the search box, and up pops link after link to any and all versions ever recorded of the song in question. Playing primarily by ear, all those tricky rhythms I can't figure out from the sheet music make perfect sense when I hear it. I cringe to think how much money I would be spending if I had to pay for each song I needed to listen to, or worse, live in the days when we had to BUY a whole CD for 1 song! Oh, was I ever that young?!

Just as easy and effortless, I can then open up a new tab, and search for the chords of a song. About 90% of the work has been done for me by the folks living Cyber World! Long gone are the days when I had to strain my ears, discerning intervals, tones, and chords. But something happened last night that made me miss doing all that work, and thankful that I have the capability in the first place.

I was playing my usual repertoire of standards and favorites at my weekly restaurant gig at The Bernards Inn. I watched a waitress walk from a nearby table of patrons towards my seat at the piano with a small note in her hand. I knew right away it was a song request. As she handed me the piece of paper, I braced myself, hoping I knew the song and would be able to play it for the guest. There is nothing worse than having to say, "I'm sorry I don't know that one!" Goodbye tip!!!

Sure enough, when I read the song title, my heart sank. "Music Box Dancer." I gave a puzzled look to the waitress who handed me the note, "Do you think he meant, "Tiny Dancer?" I asked hopefully. She shook her head and said she really didn't think so. I walked over to the table and gave my apologies and explained I wasn't familiar with the song. Feeling crummy, I decided to take a little break.

Being the proud new owner of a smart phone (not a brilliant phone, but smart enough), I thought I'd google the song, still skeptical that he meant "Tiny Dancer," and that "Music Box Dancer" wasn't a real song. But sure enough, there it was, written by Frank Mills. Curious, I decided to see if I happened to have the youtube application downloaded on my phone. Pleasantly surprised, I did! And I listened to the whole song with the phone pressed against my ear.

I was thrilled to discover the song was a simple melody, and only 3 chords, repeated over and over. I quickly drilled the pattern into my head and went back to the piano. I began quietly and unsure, but soon, the man who requested the song whipped around in his chair with a huge smile on his face when he recognized the piece. After I finished, he came over to thank me and said, "I thought you didn't know it!" I explained the miracle of youtube on my phone and he was fascinated. I didn't want to let him down by explaining the simple nature of the 3 chord song, so I kept that my little secret. :)

There is no better feeling for a musician than playing a song for someone that they want to hear, that affects them in some way, brings back a memory, or simply makes them smile. And certainly no tip that replace that feeling!

"Music Box Dancer" Frank Mills

~~~

A Discovery

Play it by Ear

Victory at the Broadway Comedy Club

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le...

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-...

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