Recording on a SLEEPER Dream Piano

On a whim, I had decided to make an hour long trip to Visalia about 50 miles south of Fresno to sniff out the stock over at the “Piano Gallery.” (This was before it went out of business) A medium size establishment in an upscale shopping mall, it was owned by “Ginnadiy Merkerin,” a Russian…

Piano Tuner, York on Mice, Rats, Moths and Cats (Video, part 2)

In this part two follow-up to York's World War II Memoir, the seasoned piano tuner relaxes into his emblematic animated conversation, telling the world how to eradicate mice, rats, and moths from pianos. Oldsters watching better have a fresh pair of Depends, because York lets loose with some mighty over the top, funny lines. Throw…

Fujie Finds her Dream piano, but Buyer Beware!

Fujie's Suzuki Digital piano, purchased at Costco, predated her starting lessons with me. Prior to entering my sanctuary with its two Steinways and wall-to-wall, piano emblem nick knacks, she had been enrolled at Fresno State's Group classes. Seated at her electronic station with a full deck of 88s mounted on particle board platforms, among rows…

Pianos I own and those that I reluctantly let go

My Steinway, model "M" grand, 1917 is a permanent fixture in my living room which doubles as my piano studio. It was rebuilt to perfection in 1992 by Dale Erwin, Modesto. (http://www.erwinspiano.com) I cannot give anyone a higher recommendation than Dale. He views the piano as a singing instrument and voices it exquisitely. His skills…

More Photos from my Dream Piano Adventures

Connell York, Piano Technician: York examines a moth hole in a hammer felt: Terry Barrett, RPT, Registered Piano Technician is pictured below getting ready to tune the Aeolian table style piano. In the process, he discovered its true date of manufacture as April, 1936 (engraved into a key after he pulled the action) confirming York's…

A tour of my piano room as prelude to the tuner’s arrival

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoLMyIVP0q8 Awaiting Terry Barrett's arrival to tune my Steinway upright, I decided to have some fun panning about the piano studio, sharing favorite mementos on and off the wall. It might be a bit dizzying with numerous shifting camera angles, but the desired homespun, impromptu feel is there. When Terry gets here, I will do…

A High Stakes Piano Finding Adventure, or was it a Sopranos TV episode?

A woman named “Sharon Cooper," phoned me one Saturday morning about my helping her select a console size piano in a modest price range. She had heard about my piano finding activity from a friend. Inquisitive and intelligent, with an animated personality, she had an ardent curiosity about the whole process of finding a suitable…

Pics of the Little Knightingale, me, York, and Caroline

There's York, piana tuna,' joining the crowd at Caroline's. He harbored doubts about Knight pianos until he inspected this one. You can see his time honored lamp with its twisted neck hanging down over the piano. Missing are his Filter Queen moth eradication machine and can of Decon. Read: The Little Knightingale https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/the-little-knightingale/

The Little Knightingale

It sang like a nightingale the morning I stroked its keys, yet it has always been a relative unknown in the world of big name pianos such as Steinway, Baldwin, and Yamaha. From an innocuous three-line ad posted on Oodle.com, I discovered that this very Knight piano was for sale, housed in northwest Fresno just…

A Player Piano Without a Name

"Alice," the owner of an unidentified player, is seen above. On a sultry Friday morning before a long Memorial Day weekend, I stumbled upon a Fresno Bee ad for a brand-less “piano,” sandwiched among “moving sale” items. The seller’s address traced to a working class neighborhood in south Fresno that probably wouldn’t house a pricey…