New Grand and Baby Grand Piano Features

Posted on Sep 6, 2011 in Featured Products | 0 comments

Slow-Close Fallboards

Found on most new grand pianos & baby grand pianos here at Houston Piano Company.

Shorter Lid Prop

A standard feature on all grands and baby grands here at HPC is the lower lid prop. Lowering the lid height reduces sound for nighttime play, or to mute overtones while accompanying a singer. (more…)



Gifts that Keep on Giving:
 An Inspirational Story

Posted on Aug 25, 2011 in Academic & Health Benefits, News & Events, Piano Blog | 0 comments

When a child is born into the family, we always wonder what he or she might become one day. Perhaps a gifted singer or actress? A famous scientist, businessman, or engineer?

It might soon occur to us that what a child will be is partly just up to her 
or him. Indeed, some part of us is programmed by genetics (about 40-60%). That’s the old nature/nurture battle. 

It is now being recognized that early exposure to language, music, art, kinetics, and so on, has a profound influence on the young, developing child. 
It is also becoming clear that “the younger the better” for this exposure.

I remember being in the Houston Piano Company one day when a gentleman came in wanting to purchase a piano for his grandchild. He wanted him to be exposed to music and learn to play a piano early, like he had done, leading him to be a professional musician for many years. (more…)

Special Features to Look For When Buying Vertical Pianos

Posted on Aug 23, 2011 in Featured Products, Image Gallery, Piano Blog | 1 comment

Take a look at these upright piano features offered on some of our new and used vertical pianos.

Grand Style Music Rack (Kawai 52” only)

Better suited to displaying large scores, song books and hymnals.

Lid Prop (Yamaha/Kawai uprights)

Allows more sound to fill the listening environment, like a grand piano with its lid open.

(more…)

SAYING GOODBYE TO THE AMAZING VOICE AND PIANO TALENT OF AMY WINEHOUSE

Posted on Jul 25, 2011 in News & Events, Piano Blog | 0 comments

This week we say goodbye and offer tribute to a music legend and pianist whose light has extinguished before it had a chance to fully blaze forth, and we offer hope in the form of a classical young pianist who overcame a checkered past through piano.

The history of music is littered with the loss of young artists in their youthful prime. This past week, the world lost another monumental but tortured talent with the death of Amy Winehouse. (more…)

HARRY POTTER ACTORS KNOW THEIR PIANO

Posted on Jul 23, 2011 in Piano Blog | 0 comments

Robert Pattinson played Cedric Diggory in 2005’s “Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire”

As Harry Potter fans around the world know, the last film in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”, came out last week. R.I.P. to the series. We’re sure will continue to influence millions of kids across generations just as “Star Wars” has done since 1978.

Ever the Twitterverse observers, when we saw the Harry Potter film tracking #7 on Twitter prior to its opening [we won’t be able to see how it has tracked since its opening until Saturday when mashable.com releases this week’s trend chart]. So we asked ourselves the inevitable question: Do any of the Harry Potter actors play piano? It turns out that at least two of them do, both English. (more…)

‘Sweet Home Alabama’ Performer Elew Rocks America’s Got Talent

Posted on Jul 12, 2011 in News & Events, Piano Blog | 2 comments

This season (season 6, episode 7) on “America’s Got Talent,” a man wearing comic-book themed accessories stepped on stage to audition for a chance to ultimately win one million dollars.  He introduced himself as Elew (his actual name is Eric Lewis), and informed the judges and the audience that he is infatuated with comic book heroes.  When asked what he did for a living, he stated that he is in fact a pianist; the look of confusion and dismay showed on the judges’ and the audiences’ alike.

When Elew finally took to the stage, he began playing the song, “Sweet home Alabama” by famed classic rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Yamaha grand piano, clearly electrifying the atmosphere with his passionate performance.  As he was performing, he got a standing ovation from the judges (even the notably difficult-to-please Piers Morgan). When asked by the judges how he incorporated rock music into piano-playing, he said that he began playing classical music as a child, but felt “too disconnected from modern times” and that he found that he can “apply guitar playing to the piano,” thus creating a rock-and-roll performance.

Although the piano is stereotypically played in classical music, Elew demonstrated how the piano can be played in various manners to incorporate any and all kinds of music.

PIANO ROCKS THE HOUSE ON TV AND ‘NET YET AGAIN

Posted on Jul 8, 2011 in News & Events, Piano Blog | 0 comments

We really don’t know what we’re going to do now that “The Voice” has finished for the season until starting back up again with its second season in winter. Piano was front and center yet again during the awesome finale show where the duets between the four finalists and their coaches actually stole the show.

But, wait! Never fear…Just when we thought the 15 minutes of fame for the piano in arts-related reality show-land were coming to end, the piano showed up more creatively than ever on “So You Think You Can Dance” on last week’s show.

Let’s start with last week’s “The Voice” finale. Always one to make a statement, Beverly McClellan chose to feature the piano during her original song performance because as she said, it was the first instrument she learned to play so it has a special place for her.We actually thought the original song written for her, “Love Sick”, was not one of the strongest in the bunch, but she did with it what she could, using the beautiful glossy black Roland baby grand as more of a memorable prop than as a musical instrument. She sat down very briefly and played one little phrase, but with characteristic Beverly aplomb, after standing in front of the piano for quite a while she eventually got up on top of it lying down full length. Her mentor, Christina Aguilera, loved it, especially noting the original twist her use of the piano gave to her performance. You can catch Beverly’s performance here, or on YouTube.

Finalist front-runner Dia Frampton also returned back to the Roland baby grand this week to accompany her original song, “Inventing Shadows”. In a much more fashion-forward full-length red dress, Dia also made due with a song that didn’t seem to showcase her talent to the extent of the other songs she’s chosen for herself. But it was another great advertisement for piano, especially with many multi-angle camera zooms swooping around the Roland name on the piano repeatedly. You can also see Dia’s performance here,  or on YouTube.

Another world away on “So You Think You Can Dance”, the piano surprised us by showing up in yellow upright form as the major centerpiece for a contemporary dance choreographed by Dee Casbary for popular duo, Sa

sha Mallory and Alexander Fost.Dancing with props is always hard, but it was incredible to see how extensively the piano was incorporated into the routine, and not just for a moment or in one-dimensional ways. The dancers danced on the piano bench, on the keys, across the top and – yes

– even climbed inside it! The performance was a little literal in its approach, not leaving much to the audience’s imagination; choreographer, Dee Casbary, explained that the keys of the piano were meant to represent the keys to Alexander’s character’s heart. But it was cool to see what the piano cou

ld do as the “third dancer” in the piece. You can see Sasha and Alexander’s

performance online.  Choose the episode that aired on June 29.

The Legacy of Gil-Scott Heron

Posted on Jul 3, 2011 in Piano Blog | 1 comment

EVER HEARD OF GIL-SCOTT HERON? PROBABLY NOT, BUT HIS LEGACY LIVES ON AS ONE OF THE FIRST HIP-HOP ARTISTS BEFORE HIP-HOP HAD A NAME

It’s really fascinating to study top Twitter trends to keep a finger on the pulse of what captures people’s attention. In the midst of Bieber-mania, Federer-mania, Gaga-mania and The Voice-mania, imagine our surprise seeing a name we’d never heard – Gil-Scott Heron – trending #5 in the Twitter Top 10 for the week of May 27 – June 2.

Who’s Gil-Scott Heron?, you say. We asked ourselves the same question and discovered more about this fascinating man who just happened to play the piano, among many other things. (more…)

Piano in Country Music

Posted on Jun 24, 2011 in Academic & Health Benefits, Piano Blog | 2 comments

When most people think of pianists, the first idea that emerges is classical music. Many early country music performers did not even consider playing the piano as part of their music-making. In fact, when Charlie Poole requested to use a piano in his recording, he was removed from his recording session. This anti-piano in country music ideal began to change as Opry player, Sam McGee was said to have learned to play music using a player piano roll.

Additionally, when Bob Willis was playing in fiddle dances, pianos were a widespread instrument of choice. The Western country music scene encouraged other pianists such as Moon Mullican. Moon Mullican joined King Records in 1946 and was henceforth known to be the first singer-pianist in country music. Other singers such as Mickey Gilley, Becky Hobbs, Ronnie Milsap and Gary Stewart followed using the piano as their main instrument.

‘THE VOICE’ DOES IT AGAIN WITH PIANO AS ONE OF THE STARS

Posted on Jun 24, 2011 in News & Events, Piano Blog | 0 comments

Well, NBC’s “The Voice” has done it again this week. This show is doing for piano what “Dancing with the Stars” has done for dance.

Tuesday’s show was one of the best yet as the four teams were narrowed down to two super-strong singers, each on the way to next week’s final. Two of the strongest and most dynamic performers, Nakia and Beverly McClellan, followed Dia Frampton’s lead from last week by including piano work in their numbers. We imagine that these performances by such cool and talented people should be sending both kids and adults by the droves into piano lessons and piano camps at places like Houston Piano Company!

Nakia was the first performer of the evening to tickle the ivories on a cool black Roland, which was prominently featured on camera. As Nakia’s mentor, Cee Lo delivered again with the surprising song choice of Adam Lambert’s “What Do You Want From Me”. You could practically hear Nakia saying in his head, “Dude, you have got to be kidding me!!!”, but he was a good sport and went along for the ride. And, of course, he ended up making it totally his own. You can check out his performance on NBC’s online The Voice website. You can also see it on YouTube!

Beverly tickled the ivories as well on a more traditional mahogany grand piano (the camera never showed us the make) with an entertaining and completely Beverly rendition of B.B. King’s classic, “The Thrill is Gone”. You can see her performance on the NBC website, or on YouTube.

What was really cool about both performances was that Nakia and Beverly did their own versions of Dia’s section of no-playing the piano. Nakia and Beverly have similar vibes in that both of them give the impression that they are totally and completely themselves when they sing. They put it all out on the floor and invite you into their world. And what is really bizarre is that these two people who are about as far as can be imagined from the stereotypical Hollywood celebrity singer mold are totally compelling, totally magnetic and totally radiating crowd appeal.

Nakia, with his slight lisp and less-than-athletic physique, is one of the consistently sexiest performers on the show. Beverly, with her studs, tattoos and bald head that might make her scary-looking in a dark alley, gushes enthusiasm, youthfulness and pure joy that are totally infectious. You get the sense when she sings that it’s like you’re sitting in her living room or in her shower as she’s just belting out music she can’t contain inside herself for one more minute.

Nakia working the crowd after leaving the piano

About a third of the way through his performance, Nakia stood up, kicked his piano bench away so it flew across the stage, stalked across the stage and made the crowd his own. Also about a third of the way through her performance, Beverly stood up, grabbed a mike and started moving across the entire stage in her usual performance of abandon and exuberance. The result of both was irresistible, and it wouldn’t have been at all the same if both of them hadn’t started in such controlled stillness in front of the piano. Their skill and body quietness at the piano provided the contrast to really let them explode onto the stage and into the hearts of the crowd.

Beverly’s exuberant self just after getting up from the piano

And as if two awesome piano-based performances weren’t enough, at the end of the show, Carson Daly acknowledged the show’s musicians, which included a slow pan across the stage showing not one, but two Roland Fantom G8 pianos clearly visible.

If you’re lucky enough to live in the Houston area, you can go check out what it’s like to play a Roland and other pianos at Houston Piano Company.