Update on the Yamaha C3X

...and it has a Silent System!

When I bought the Yamaha AvantGrande N2 (which is a hybrid piano) a friend of mine joked with me and said that I had finally "tied the knot" with my True Love. But I have now purchased a five-foot-eight grand piano, which sits magnificently inside the recording studio in my house. I guess this means I'm now in some kind of a shady polyamorous relationship? (Or would it be an open marriage?)

My original plan was to buy it much later (maybe in a few years) but this particular piano, a Yamaha C3X with a Silent System, was one of the few left in California and was about to be shipped out. If I wanted that particular model, I had to act on it right away. As far as why I would want that particular model, all I would have to do is direct anyone to go play it and listen to the quality of the sound.

The Silent System, in case you're wondering, makes it so that I can push a switch that changes the piano to "digital", instead of letting the hammers actually touch the strings, so that I have the option of playing the piano with headphones. As with most things in my life, though, this is just the tip of the iceberg...

I'm going to need how many mics?

I was told that the number of mics I will need is 'four', but I need to dig further and make sure I'm getting reliable information, and preferably from experts who know what they're talking about. As for the reason I'm looking into buying microphones, the whole purpose of buying this piano is to set up an acoustic recording studio, so that I can record directly from that the instrument. So far, all I have been doing recording-wise is recording digitally. 

The piano (okay, I admit it, I named her - it's "Isabelle") has been adjusted/tuned two times now, since I bought it. A date is still being set up for a third (and I guess final) tuning and adjustment of the piano. After that, I will carry on my shoulders the monumental task of finding out how to convert that room to an acoustic recording studio, which kind of microphones to buy, how to connect them to the piano, and how to use them to record successfully. In the mean time, I am still trying to manage my time so that I can record the digital way and put together the tracks for August In Bloom.

The Art of Piano Haggling

I guess it would be superfluous to point out that buying a piano is not like buying a loaf of bread at the store. There are other costs that come with it -- tunings, delivery, maintenance, and let's not forget the much-needed humidifier, which also requires you to buy distilled water (what??).

Since I bought the instrument in cash I was able to get them to take the price down quite a bit. Apparently, most people choose to finance when making a purchase like this. (Translation: pianos are expensive). 

An added benefit to this whole deal is that the piano gallery's owner, Vince Chambers, sold it to me, and is also the primary person involved in doing the adjustments and tunings. Since he already knows me and has worked with me professionally for some time, he's that much more invested in making sure the piano is taken care of, and I guess it's a benefit for him in knowing that the piano is being put to good use.


The Yamaha AvantGrand N2 stays

I'm not selling "Zoey" by any means. She's the hybrid piano I used for the performance I did back in February at the Chico Women's Club. My long-term goal is really to perform, more than anything else, and Zoey is far more portable than the new grand piano. Isabelle will mainly be an instrument for recording. I'm still amazed at how close the manufacturers were able to get the sound of the N2 to match the sound of a real acoustic grand. The hybrid also allows me to record my own music into its internal memory, which is yet another reason to hang onto it. Yes, sometimes people need two instruments, especially if they're professionals.

I blame myself entirely for the bank-breaking expenses of these pursuits, since I had the option of choosing a much more portable (and cheaper) instrument. You know, like a harmonica. Needless to say, though, every time I roll my fingers on the keys of that C3X, I don't regret my decisions for even a moment. ;)

 

Gleanings from the February concert

An awesome turnout

I'm a worst-scenario kind of a guy. When I plan my budget, for example, I assume that the worst possible financial outcome will be the reality, and then I shave off a few hundred dollars off of that, just to be on the safe side. The result is that I am usually very pleased with the outcome, because I plan for the worst. A certain amount of pessimism can be healthy, and I proceeded with my plans for the February 10th concert with that same mentality. At least several people asked me how many people I was expecting to show at the concert, and the ball park figure I gave them was maybe 35 or so. It turned out to be about 64! Some people even showed up late and people had to scramble to find chairs. 

I could describe the event in many ways, but the best way would be to label it as a learning experience -- there were last-minute changes, hangups, mishaps, misunderstandings, etc., days before the performance, but the minute the performance started at 7:00pm, it was as if everything came together perfectly. I was nervous the first couple of songs, but I finally relaxed during the third song ("Snowfall on a Light Glissade"), maybe because so far nobody had booed or thrown tomatoes at me.

The Next Adventure: September 15th!

I have to say I was really fond of that venue. The Chico Women's Club is just small enough to fit 60 to 100 people or more, but not too large that it appears intimidating or makes the audience look too dispersed. So I booked another show at the same location, which will be September 15th. It's a ways away, but it's the earliest date I was able to book it. I'm in the process of deciding on the program, and at this point mainly debating whether I want to have 10-ish songs played all the way through to the end, or do 45 minutes followed by an intermission, followed by another 45 minutes.

I've posted a video below of "Snowfall on a Light Glissade". I had written an arrangement to the original piece and included a cello, and I was able to find a cellist in Chico who agreed to play. I had also planned to perform a piece with an opera singer (which Vince Chambers had agreed to help with) but we had to forego that particular song since he had a cold the entire time we needed to rehearse the piece. He was still able to host the event though, and I'm hoping he can do both next time.

There are too many other learning experiences to list in just a short blog post like this, but there's one that's worth mentioning, which is that I sold all nine CD's at the event, at $10.00 each. I had only brought the nine, so next time I'll be bringing more. Raising the ticket price slightly will also bring the profits into the "black" instead of the "red", although I was expecting to be a little in the red during my first major concert.

I have considered putting on more casual/informal shows somewhere between now and September, but this is hard only because I work so much (including my day job in Yuba City) and it's tricky to squeeze in the time to visit the venues and set it up. Either way, more updates will become available as the date gets closer.

Some of my trusty helpers/supporters! (Mandalyn, Dawn, Ashley and Mindy)

30 Days to Showtime!

I've secured a venue in Chico, at a place called Chico Women's Club, where I performed for the Baha'is several months ago. The decision to book this event was generally a result of me telling myself to stop making excuses for postponing it. I've been wanting to put on a concert like this for quite some time. More specifically, I chose this particular venue because the place is small enough for it not to be too intimidating, and the acoustics are fantastic.

A secret to success...

I carefully chose the article 'a' in the above heading, as opposed to 'the', because I don't intend to claim that I know "the secret" to being successful, as if there were only one. But I do know a method that can work wonders, and that's being able to network well with other people. If you're good at building professional relationships, acquiring colleagues, and just being a nice guy (or gal) your chances of success will be a lot higher -- guaranteed. .

The Chico Women's Club concert is only 30 days away and I've been delighted to see how many people stepped in to help. I have a sound guy, a tech guy, a host person ("MC"), a chair set-up person, two other musicians that will be performing at some point, a promo guy, a design guy, a ticket lady, a merchandise person and even a person who's going to sell food.  Some of these folks I'm paying, but even when you can't afford to pay people, building supportive networks goes a long way and it means that much more people will still step in to help you out when you happen to be strapped.


Everything I know I learned from George Winston (and others)

In one of my blog posts I talked about a time I went to see George Winston perform in Redding, California. Part of the reason I wanted to go (besides just that he's a great performer and a fantastic composer) is that I wanted to see how what a typical piano concert looked like. Questions kept coming up in my head, prior to watching him perform, like "Does the performer talk between songs?" "Does he introduce himself?" "Does he do anything else?"

George Winston played some of his most popular compositions on the piano, as expected, but during the show he also picked up his slack key guitar and played on that as well. He played the guitar for two of his pieces, and the rest were all on the piano. This was a nice change of pace and it added some variety, even though I loved everything he was doing on the piano.

Watching George put on a concert this way definitely helped inspire me to dig for ideas to add variety into my own piano concerts. As a result I've been able to find a professional cellist who will be playing "The Swan" by Camille Saint Saens, as well as a melodic version of "Snowfall on a Light Glissade". The person hosting the concert is also going to sing for one of the songs, and I'm extremely grateful that the host just happens to have an opera background. I've rehearsed twice with him and once with the cellist.

Yo-yo Ma performing Camille Saint-Saens' "The Swan"

Since it's my first self-organized concert, only time will tell how successful the attempt at variety will be. And at just a little over two weeks away I'll be squeezing in as much rehearsal time that I can.