Ragtime Music Denounced at Convention

Here's an old article on ragtime music from The Sunday Telegraph dated June 2, 1901. Notice the irony of the caption how "long haired individuals" says the music is "rot trash" and "distinctively vulgar"?  Pretty much the same reaction when Rock -n- Roll came onto the scene with The Beatles, Elvis and others. 

Read more on this article.

Scott Joplin's Pianos - upright or grand piano?

Over the years I learned much about the King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin, and the kind of piano he may have played on either the upright or grand piano. Reading suggested works such as Dr Edward A. Berlin's two books on ragtime, a carefully researched, well-documented musicological and historical examinations on ragtime history, I learned that Scott Joplin had an upright he played on in New York City. But in Saint Louis he may have actually had a grand piano, and might have at least had access to one for composing and performance purposes in New York City.

If one looks at The Paragon Rag music sheet one could see on how it could only be properly played on a grand piano with a sostenuto pedal. A sustained chord for two measures cannot be done properly on an upright piano because it has no sustenuto pedal to begin with for that time period.  Only a select few very expensive ones with tricky mechanisms have a sostenuto pedal to make the piano piece work as written (Note: the sostenuto or middle pedal on most grands 5'5" or larger. One plays a chord, then press the sostenuto pedal down. Only those dampers will be held while the others will continue to mute after the key is released, allowing only the held notes to sustain). In any case, this would strongly suggests that Paragon Rag at the very least was composed with a grand piano in mind, and therefore possibly composed when he had access to one. Other Joplin pieces such as Bethena and Binks Waltz might have benefited from a grand piano as opposed to a vertical upright piano. Looking and listening to a Bethena or Binks Waltz music would more than likely call out for a tone befitting of a grand piano than not.  Scott Joplin may have used a grand piano at John Stark's store (music publisher on many of Scott Joplin’s ragtime composed pieces including the well-known and famous The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag songs), at a nearby social club or with some of his friends who had pianos. Knowing some of the history helps with learning on how to play, namely, Scott Joplin's  ragtime.

With thanks to "Perfessor Bill" who is a ragtime genius helped shed some light on the ragtime question.

Jennifer Castellano - a hearing and visually-impaired pianist

It is not often I come across a pianist on the internet born with hearing and vision loss. And when I do it is a treat. Because what she does is simply an inspiration. So is Sky Mundell in a piece I covered a few years back. Jennifer Castellano has been a pianist for over 20 years and a composer for over 10 years. She describes herself as a person born with hearing and visual impairments. You can visit her website to learn more.. There are links to her Facebook page, Twitter, and more. If you want to support her by downloading one of her performances go here. She is a member of the Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss.  In September 2013, her own piano performances were included in the organization's CD recording entitled Hear This!  She has a few more CDs of her performances you can buy as well.

I am also a member of the Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss for several years. I was also asked to provide a recording of my ragtime pieces for Hear This! CD compilations of deaf and hard of hearing musicians but unfortunately I never gotten around to getting it done. Although you can hear me play a couple of ragtime pieces here. I have been interviewed for a published book on deaf and hard of hearing musicians if you're curious about buying that book "Making Music with a Hearing Loss: Strategies and Stories" by Cherisse Miller who is also a pianist with hearing loss.

All in all, visit Jennifer Castellano's website! How often do you come across a pianist of that caliber?

K.K. Ragtime

K.K. Ragtime this is a song that came from a Nintendo video game called "Animal Crossing." K.K. Slider is the name of the dog character seen in this video. Kazumi Totaka is the original composer of the song in the video but this K.K. Ragtime piano piece was arranged by Ron O'Dell. This is no old-timey ragtime song but it is certainly a modern ragtime piece that Tom Brier exclaimed after playing it for the first time, "Oh, that's cute!"

I love playing this piece. It is indeed fun to play it on my piano, especially my antique player piano.

Hope you like Tom Brier's video!

Ragtime Era Clothes

One good way to research ragtime era clothing (between 1890 and 1929) is to examine the cover sheets of old ragtime scores. This can be done by browsing at digital libraries such as the University of Colorado Digital Sheet Music Collection or any number of sources seen in the link on the right side column of my blog (scroll down some) under "Free Ragtime Sheets." In there you will find cover sheets that depict people or couples wearing clothes at the time of publication. A fairly accurate way to ensure that the clothes you see is indeed ragtime era clothing between 1890 and 1929 (which is the end period prior to the terrible stock market crash in 1929). Good times before everything went south. This will help gain a better understanding on the types of clothing to wear if you decide to dress correctly for that era such wearing costumes for ragtime festivals, ragtime society groups, or compete in World Championship Old Time Piano Playing contests when the rules call for clothes as an authentic period dress, preferably so between 1890 and 1929.

Enjoy!

A deaf pianist?

A  deaf pianist??  Is there such a thing? Certainly. I am one of them. Specifically, a deaf ragtime pianist. I am also hard of hearing if that helps since I do have useable hearing in my right ear I take advantage of with my hearing aid. My left ear is no good.

Playing the piano is something I love to do and it is no mystery to me that deaf people can be pianists, enjoy playing it and be good at it. When I get the chance to sit down at the piano it becomes a relaxing affair even when I'm practicing a new ragtime piece. I'm no beginner here. I began playing the piano since I was 7 years old. That was over 40 years ago. Discovered ragtime in my early teens.   I continue to play and practice new ragtime songs on my 1920 Thompson player piano as well as my Kohler & Campbell piano. I play pieces like Kitten on the Keys by Zez Confrey, Black and White by George Botsford, Bag of Rags by WR McKanlass, Scott Joplin pieces, K.K. Ragtime by Kazumi Totaka, Apple Sass by Harry Belding, American Beauty by Joseph Lamb and many, many more.  The links are pages to free music sheets download.

Not all pianists born with a hearing loss have the same amount or type of frequency hearing loss. Some are born with mild hearing loss others have severe to profound hearing loss. I wear a hearing aid in my right ear while my left is no good. I can hear all of the 88-key notes. Some deaf pianists are unable to hear the higher notes or the lower notes even with the help of a  hearing aid. Some pianists wear cochlear implants.  Each of us has a preference to a particular type of piano pieces we like to play whether it'd be classical, country, jazz, ragtime, rock, or boogie woogie. For me, I am simply fascinated with the ragtime and novelty pieces. So I prefer to spend my time playing those pieces than classical scores.

What do you prefer to play?

Revival

It's been awhile since my last post. Things have been busy distracting me from my blogging.  I also had to stop playing the piano for several months to allow my upper back to heal. I could not sit for more than 10 minutes on my piano bench without getting some serious aches and pain between my shoulder blades. Results of sleeping on a bed that did my back no favor. Switched to a different bedding and can see the improvements. I now can sit on the bench an hour or so at time and not feel the effects. Plus, my left hand has been experiencing trigger finger type condition. I just do too much with my hands working the yard, chopping woods, hammering, working on the computer laptop, piano playing and any gripping motion. So, I'm trying to limit my playing time on the piano but I have recently been practicing and playing more over the last month playing the piano about 2 times a week. I'd like to do it everyday but that may have to wait. 

I plan on doing more ragtime piano blogging. Being a (the only) deaf pianists, that I know of ,who enjoy playing ragtime. It is not often I come across a deaf or hard of hearing pianist. But, ah, so many things to do right now.

My first vintage player piano

Last week I bought a vintage Thompson player piano for $250.  Beautiful mahogany wood. Everything seems to work fine and all of the notes still ring. No cracks on the piano. The sound board looks solid. Some of the ivory keys are missing. Everything works. I was told by piano's previous owner that it hadn't been tuned up in over 50 years. Yet it sounds remarkably well for it's age despite the lack of tuning.

50 piano rolls came with the piano.  Most of the titles I don't even recognize. Some titles are downright racist and demeaning but that's how the era was like. Some minor adjustment is needed to add a slight tension to the reel to help keep the piano roll paper lined up and not crinkle along the edge. I'll figure it out on how to do that. Pumping the pedals isn't quite perfect but it works and takes a bit of doing and adjusting the playing speed.

I plan on posting some of my videos playing some ragtime pieces now that I have a real vintage player piano.

Captioned Video: Deaf Man's Passion for the Piano

Here is Ron Tan, who was born with 80 per cent hearing loss, teaching himself to play the piano was a turning point in his life.

"I realised that what I really want is to produce music, and that has to come from my heart."

And having discovered and developed his own passion, Ron is now eager to help other people with disabilities stoke theirs. His talent management outfit for special needs performers, called Inclusive Art Movement (I.AM), is one of the entries in the Singapore International Foundation's Young Social Entrepreneurs programme, which seeks to inspire, equip and enable youths of different nationalities to embark on social enterprises. Interested in taking part or supporting I.AM? Get in touch at ContactUs@ArtsMovement.sg.

Grand Piano Passions

If you have a love for grand piano (mine would be to have an Estonia grand piano someday) and have a hearing loss here's an online magazine called "Grand Piano Passion" created by the founding editor Nancy M. Williams who herself has a (genetic) hearing loss.  She can hear across a wide range of frequencies, from the lowest note in the bass to the highest note in the treble. There's a "Hearing and Music" section that covers piano and hearing loss, and how pianists deal with their hearing loss or their hearing aids.  It's a good site to go to for good reading. Although I'm a ragtime/novelty rag pianist at heart I have practiced and played classical piano growing up until I discovered ragtime as a young teen.

Deaf Pianist Donates $2 Million Dollars

A deaf person who also plays the piano donates $2 milllion dollars to California State University, Fresno.

Retired architect, vineyard owner and piano player Robert Duncan Nicol, who has been deaf since birth, says he is living proof "that deaf people, indeed, can do many things." That includes being a generous benefactor. Nicol on Friday gave $2 million for The Silent Garden program in the Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies department at California State University, Fresno. The donation will help deaf and hearing-impaired children, their parents and teachers, as well as adults with hearing loss.

Young pianist continues to struggle with declining hearing

Here's a young pianist who was born with some amount of hearing loss but in her later years as a teenager her hearing loss has noticeably progressed affecting her piano playing skill. She continues to compensate by feeling the vibrations through her fingers on the keyboard. Doctors are unable to find out why she has lost more of her hearing or whether she will progressively lose more in the future. In December of 2011 she put on a musical show at her school to raise funds for the National Deaf Children’s Society. Read more on this story.

Deaf pianist regains hearing again

Here's a subtitled video of a Dutch pianist who lost his hearing due to ear infection. He was able to push through his deafness and continue to play and compose music while the sound of piano notes remained in his head. But in the end he never took for granted the ability to hear once he regained all of his hearing back.

Making Music with a Hearing Loss: Strategies and Stories

That book is now available in Amazon. I'll be getting a free copy of it since I'm one of the several deaf/hh musicians who were interviewed for that book. My narrative can be found in the final chapter of that book.

There are many texts on music and hearing loss, but what makes this volume unique is that it does not require the reader to have any previous background in hearing science. It is written in non-technical language for the layman, and begins by explaining how the human ear hears sound. It covers the interplay between music, speech and hearing devices and discusses hearing conservation for musicians. The final chapter contains inspiring narratives from eleven deaf or hard of hearing musicians belonging to the Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss. These eleven stories describe using a variety of strategies to integrate hearing loss and music making. Musicians new to hearing loss, hearing-impaired adults wanting to learn a musical instrument, audiologists, music educators, and music researchers will also find this book a valuable addition to their library collection.

I'll be waiting with great anticipation for my free copy. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and enjoy music, this will be a great book to have. If you have a hearing loss and is considering on wanting to play a musical instrument, don't let your hearing loss stop you. And if you do play a musical instrument....don't stop! Keep practicing and find other like minded people who enjoy playing music with their musical instruments.

Possum and Taters

Here's something I just picked up quite recently and tried my hands on it for a few days. Some brushing up here and there are needed. I'm sure you'll enjoy this one called "Possum and Taters - a Ragtime Feast" published in 1900. But, dang, my piano sure needs some serious tuning up!

Sky Mundell wins Vancouver Island's Got Talent!

I covered him briefly before of him playing on his piano in a YouTube clip. His name is Sky Mundel. But the amazing thing is that not only is he blind and deaf but he has cerbral palsy and is autistic. He won the coveted Vancouver Island's Got Talent contest that took place this year on January 20th.

The 19-year-old pianist wowed the judges and audience alike at the finale for Vancouver Island's Got Talent Jan. 21, as he had throughout the competition, with two pieces dedicated to his mother and sister.

"It was a pleasure playing in this competition and I certainly will have a lot of fun performing in Las Vegas," he said upon taking to the stage after event host Maria Manna announced him as the winner.

Mundell, whose goal is to pursue a career in the music industry, will get a head start on that dream thanks to his win.

He will travel to Vegas to sign a contract with the Nevada Talent Agency, will perform at Planet Hollywood there as part of V: The Ultimate Variety Show, will receive image consulting and a professional marketing package.

He also won recording time for a three-song demo CD, a professional photo shoot and help setting up a web and social media presence.

This is an incredible young man, 19 years old, to win this competition. Below are the videos of the Vancouver Island's Got Talent with him in it.


Final round and announcement of Sky Mundell as the winner out of 84 contestants.


2nd round in VIGT competition in November 2010.


1st round in October 2010

Someday soon I would like to meet him personally since Vancouver Island (Canada) is about a 6 hours drive from where I live. I am fascinated by pianists who are blind and a savant but Sky Mundell is quite the incredible and different pianist who happens to be deaf and austistic. In fact, I do have an interest in musically talented pianists who are blind and are classified as savants but Sky Mundell is a different breed. And why the interest? Well, naturally I'm a pianist myself who play ragtime and novelty rag pieces who happens to have a hearing loss in both ears.

It was late last year when I read a book about a black, blind savant pianist named "Blind Tom" who was one of the nineteenth century's most famous and perplexing pianists. A man with such an uncanny talent that very few of us would even dare hope to hold. It was several years ago when I became fascinated with pianists who are blind and classified as savants when I saw a show about boy named Derek Paravicini who is such a pianist who is now an adult today. But for Sky Mundell, I'd say that a congratulation is in order for this young man. May he find success and joy!

A Breeze from Alabama

Here's a lively piece called 'A Breeze from Alabama' by Scott Joplin. I'm still nursing a bit of a hand injury and so there are some flubs in playing this piece, especially about 3/4 of the way through. I usually get through that part. Anyway, decided to put this video up. I used the middle pedal to give it bit of a more muted/softer sound. And when I do get around to playing this again, hopefully it'll be in much better form! So, for now, enjoy my piece.

The video was taken using my new Sony Handycam DCR-SR68 camera. It has a great microphone to pick up the sound. Great sound quality. And no more blurry hand movements! Yay!

As you may know I'm a deaf/hh ragtime pianist. I'm not sure if there are others like me who like to play ragtime all the time. But it's good to know that there are other deaf/hh pianists out there as well.

Dis 'n' dat...

Practice, practice, practice....fun all the time! It is for me when it comes to learning a new ragtime or novelty rag piece like Black and White, Champagne Rag, Bag of Rags, A Breeze from Alabama, Top Liner Rag, Sensation Rag, and American Beauty Rag.

I just started on the American Beauty Rag last week. It's a tricky piece. It'll be awhile til I get around to really practicing it and get it down pat. I already practicing like 30 different pieces right now with more on the back burner as I go through these free, downloadable ragtime music sheets for my growing digital collection.

Champagne Rag is a nice surprise after playing it for a week or so. Plays nicely either slow or fast. I plan on memorizing this piece soon enough.

One of the best Joplin songs I love playing so far is A Breeze from Alabama. Almost completely memorized by now.

Black and White Rag? A cool one. Already memorized. There's a video of me playing it.

Kitten on the Keys is next on my list and I've been practicing off and on with this one. Tough one if played fast but delightful to listen to.

Of course, my plan is to play these pieces up on video soon enough someday.

My story

I was born with hearing loss when my mother contracted the German Measles or Rubella while I was still in the womb. This occurred during the Rubella outbreak of the northwest in 1960s. I born with profound hearing loss in my left ear while my right ear was somewhat spared with a hearing loss about 70 dB. I was fitted with a hearing aid at age three in my better ear.

My fascination with music began early on. So, at age 7 I begged my Mom and Dad to get a piano because I wanted to learn how to play the piano. I’m not exactly sure why I did this but I think it’d be fun and cool to be able to play the piano. Of the three of us siblings, my younger sister and older brother, I was the only one who continued to practice on the family piano while growing up. Over the years I had fun performing at piano recitals though I didn’t take much stock in the fact that I was a hard of hearing kid who can play the piano and that I probably stood out from the rest of the people there.

At about age 11 my first piece was a simplified version of “The Entertainer” - a widely popular and recognizable Scott Joplin ragtime piece. And during my early teen years I re-discovered ragtime when my piano skill progressed even more to the point of playing more complicated and original ragtime piano pieces such as Maple Leaf Rag, The Entertainer, The Cascades, Original Rags and so on. It was that weird and intoxicating music that hooked me.

Much of my young life has been rather a musical one. I can play any instruments if I wanted to since I am able to hear all range of musical notes with the help of my hearing aid. I’ve played the violin, taught myself to play the saxophone to the point of being good enough to play in a middle school band, played the drums, and xylophone in middle and high school bands. I was in a marching band in high school and I was the bass drummer where we competed in marching band competitions in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. And at one time I played the piano for an audience on a theater stage while in college belting out Maple Leaf Rag. Ironically, it was at Gallaudet University, a school I attended while as a student. Despite all that my main musical instrument has always been the piano.

My love for ragtime stayed with me even while as I was absent from ever touching a piano during my college days (with on occasion the opportunity to practice but not as much as I have wanted and without the distraction of education) and while raising a family. My time was limited but did what I could whenever I came across a piano. In that absence I read books on ragtime and the people who played ragtime, and collected ragtime piano sheet music whenever I could. What was a big help during my graduate college days at University of Idaho was the availability of pianos on campus and the famous Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival held annually on campus. The internet over the last several years has made it easier for me to learn and experience more about ragtime, the people (new and old), the history, and the music through YouTube. It has given me blogging opportunities, allowed me to become involved in a ragtime discussion forum and provided a way to download lots of free ragtime music sheets dating back to the early 1890s.

My time finally came in December 2008 when I decided it was time to buy myself a new piano and not have a broken down piano to worry about. I decided upon a goal to get back into ragtime with fervor and become the first known deaf ragtime pianist. It will take some time, gradually and slowly for sure as I branch into other well know ragtime composers such as W.R. McKanlass, Charles Leslie Johnson, George Botsford, Holmes Travis, and many other well known and not so well known composers, including the early jazz pieces like Jelly Roll Morton.

Over time I was finally able to get to the point of practicing 4 or 5 hours a day if I wanted to. Though my normal, ideal, amount of time is about 2 to 3 hours a day due to the challenge of finding the time to play when my kids are not around. It will take some time to get all of my piano coordination and skill back on track. I may be a “natural” in some sense but it sure doesn’t feel like it. There is a 25 year gap I’ve got to catch up on. My sight reading is getting easier nowadays whenever I come across a new ragtime music sheet pieces though by no means can I whiz right though them, yet. There are thousands of ragtime sheets out there, many of them available over the internet. I collect them for my growing ragtime portfolio both in electronic format and hard copy. My goal is to play as many of these ragtime pieces and memorize some of them when I can. Someday I'll eventually move into early Jazz pieces (e.g. Jelly Roll Morton) and stride piano (e.g. Fats Waller) but for now it’s all ragtime and lot of catching up to do.

My challenge nowadays is to find other ragtime pianists that I could associate myself with and keep my interest high on playing the piano on a daily/regular basis. When I moved to Washington in June of 2009 from New Mexico I learned about the Portland Ragtime Society group in Portland, Oregon which turned out to be a 45 minute drive from my house. This group meets and plays ragtime together once a month at a public eatery that supports a piano. Currently we play at the Elevated Coffee in Portland. Other challenges include the continuing documentation of my progress in my Ragtime Piano! blog. I am always on the lookout for more deaf or hard of hearing pianists. And when I do find one I try and learn about the person and document it in my blog. Future challenges are to try and attend ragtime festivals like the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri (June 2 - 6, 2010) of which I will be going. A deaf-owned company is sponsoring my trip (see story here). All in all I plan to include more videos for my blog and on my YouTube channel, interviews on ragtime pianists, and anything else I can do to increase my focus and interest on ragtime and piano playing. The internet is a big help and a valuable source of my continued learning. There are lots of strategies I can do to help with my interest in my playing the piano and ragtime. But I sure hope I have lots of fun getting there.

A Purveyor of Pleasingly Pianistic Pyrotechnics of Ragtime Music

My music began at the age of 7 when my fingers first touched the black and white keys on our first piano in my parents’ house. I begged my Mom and Dad to get a piano because I wanted to learn how to play the piano thinking it was cool to have a piano. Of the three of us siblings, my younger sister and older brother, I was the only one who continued to practice on our piano. Over the years I had fun performing at piano recitals though many did not realize that I was deaf/hh. In my early teens I discovered ragtime though when younger my first piece was a simplified version of “The Entertainer” - a widely popular and recognizable Scott Joplin ragtime piece. My love for ragtime stayed with me even while as I was absent from ever touching a piano during my college days and while raising a family that took away much of my time the opportunity to even play on piano on a regular basis. But that didn’t stop me from reading books on ragtime and the people while collecting ragtime piano sheet music whenever I could. The internet over the last several years has made it easier to learn about ragtime, the people (new and old), the history, the music and lots of free ragtime music sheets I can print out. My time finally came in December 2008 when I bought myself a piano. I decided upon a goal to get back into ragtime with fervor and become the first known deaf/hh ragtime pianist. It will take some time, gradually and slowly for sure. I sure hope I have some fun getting there.

It won’t be easy to be an accomplished ragtime pianist. The question I am facing is how accomplish can I become? This goal of mine will certainly take some time since I started my long hours of practicing last year starting January 2009. I’ve been absent from my piano much too long. My fingers and hands would require getting used to playing the piano on a constant basis. Just like when it comes to sports or exercising, one has to build up to it until so you can practice for hours and not have your fingers get tired. At first I was sore and felt clumsy playing it, my coordination was a bit off but with gradual practicing and finger exercises I was finally able to get to the point of practicing 4 or 5 hours a day if I wanted to. Though my normal, ideal, amount of time is about 2 to 3 hours a day. It takes time to get the proper hand/eye coordination in place, have your brain adapt more fluidly to reading piano music sheets, getting the dynamics down correctly, knowing where to place your fingers and hands without looking, learning to listen to the notes and make sure they sound right, get the timing down, using the right amount of application, getting the right melody, and so on…..done automatically. For me, it takes even more practice to get it down right while others are a pure natural at playing the piano. I may be a “natural” in some sense but it sure doesn’t feel like it...yet. There is a 25 year gap I’ve got to catch up on. Though my sight reading on new music sheet pieces are becoming easier nowadays though by no means I can whiz right though them. There are thousands of ragtime songs out there, many of them available over the internet. I collect them for my growing ragtime portfolio. My goal is to play as many of these ragtime pieces and memorize some of them when I can. Someday I'll eventually move into more early Jazz pieces (e.g. Jelly Roll Morton) and stride piano (e.g. Fats Waller) but for now it’s all ragtime and lot of catching up to do.