tuners who play

[Walter Sikora]

The only piano piece I know is the Chopin Prelude No. 7 in A Major.  I
think it is the one referred to by George Sand who said "there is more
music in a tiny Chopin Prelude than in all the trumpetings of Meyerbeer".
This piece is joyful and melancholy at the same time, a musical expression
of the adage to "experience with joy the sorrows of this life."

I learned this piece about ten years ago.  My wife, who is a real piano
player, showed me where the notes are.  I play it after every tuning. I'd
guess I've played it a couple thousand times by now. Not getting any
better at it, but not close to getting tired of it.

My original modest plan was to learn a new little piece, such as 'Fur
Elise' each year.  I'm about nine years behind on that project now.

One thing I like about the little Chopin prelude is that it sounds
wonderful on a Wurlitzer spinet as well as on a Steinway 'D'; but it
sounds awful on any plastic (electronic) keyboard I've ever heard.  So
it's a constant reminder of the enormous gulf between real pianos and the
artificial kind, and of the musical value of the work of tuning.

The only tune I can play on the violin (fiddle) is 'Ahh Got a Hog in the
Pen'.

Walter Sikora, RPT
Chapel Hill, NC