A Mystery in Black and White on Biscayne Bay

Boaters dropped by the sandbar in Biscayne Bay on Tuesday to try out the mystery piano.

By DON VAN NATTA Jr.

Published: January 25, 201

“Maybe it was used for a models’ shoot,” theorized Mark Alan Leszczynski, president of Piano Showcase in Fort Lauderdale. “Or maybe this was something some bitter divorced person would do — take your ex-husband’s prized piano and dump it on a sand bar.”

The piano in the bay has quickly established itself as another confounding South Florida mystery, like the bicycles, all painted the same shade of bright blue, that were turning up, without explanation, all over Fort Lauderdale.

The grand piano, estimated to be worth $4,000 new (and dry), was barely visible from land on Tuesday. The tourists seen sidling up to it were mostly prancing seagulls, and the occasional boater.

And unless the piano proves to be a danger to wildlife or boaters, officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the North Miami Police Department’s marine patrol say they will not haul it away.

Even the authorities have refused to hazard a guess about its provenance, although the early consensus has settled on a prank intended to attract media attention.

“We have a real mystery,” said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the wildlife commission. “Whoever did this, if it was indeed a prank, they have achieved exactly what they wanted, which is the notoriety and the attention we are giving this story. I’ve been a law enforcement officer for 23 years, and I’ve never seen a piano upright in the water. It’s unusual, extremely unusual.”

Mr. Pino said officials who routinely patrolled that stretch of Biscayne Bay did not notice the piano until after a Miami Herald photographer snapped a picture of it last week. The piano is apparently safe from Biscayne Bay’s high tide, which reaches only its legs.

The Miami New Times offered a list of 10 possible explanations. Among them, “A Calvin Klein perfume commercial ran out of money mid-shoot.”

Another theory is the piano is a well-timed publicity stunt for the New World Symphony, a Miami Beach conservatory that opened its new campus on Tuesday. But a spokesman laughed off that idea.

Some locals recalled that a few years ago, a concert grand, used for a youth concert, had fallen off a barge into the waters off Key Biscayne. But Mr. Leszczynski said, “The odds of that piano washing up are pretty long.”

Video Here: http://www.necn.com/01/25/11/Piano-turns-up-on-sandbar-in-Miami-/landing_arts.html?blockID=397688&feedID=4214

(Source: The New York Times)

blogthoven:

Through the ages, the sound of music in myriad incarnations has captivated human beings and made them sing along, and as scholars have suspected for centuries, the mysterious force that shapes the melodies that catch the ear and lead the voice is none other than math.

DRINKING AND MUSIC have been linked together for as far back as historians can tell. Before the inventions of the phonograph and radio, it was the norm to go to a pub to both drink and sing, it was just what you did. I’m sure this recording doesn’t do it justice….these were SONGS of joy and dance! And even though they probably sounded like an thirty car pile-up, songs like this are the early pop tunes that have stayed around for centuries. (Which is why this song sounds so familiar to you). To me this is the tune to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” but to you it may be the folk song “John Brown” (named after an executed abolitionist), or even another piece. To give you perspective, The Battle Hymn of the Republic was first published in 1874, and before that is was a religious meeting song used in 1850. But THIS recording is a remake of a Bar song named “I’m a Free Game Hunter” this has its roots around 1810 in Germany! It makes me laugh how an age old American Staple may have its roots in sovereign Germany. If you take a look, many pop culture songs are just the same tune as old folk (and even classical) music, but with changed rhythms, more parts, and different instrumentalization…..and if all that is just to much for you, sometimes you need to sit back, relax with music (or sing along if that is your forte`) and grab a cold drink.

“GIVE ME ONE HOUR WITH ALL OF SOMEONE’S MUSIC, AND I WILL KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM THAN SPENDING AN ENTIRE DAY WITH THEM”-Mr.Pianowitz

WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU MIX BARNEY, THE WIGGLES, AND DEATHMEATAL?

You get Hevisaurus; aka Metal for kids. This Finnish band wasn’t having to much luck in the Finnish metal music scene, so they donned Dinosaur outfits and when to town! This is a step that American popular music took a long time ago with shows like barney, that used music and dancing as tools to help kids understand the importance of learning. They even made cleaning up fun! Modern day pop stars appeal to kids anywhere from the age of 6 to 16 (If you get’em young, you’ll probably have them forever). Unfortunately kids get the idea that this is the only music worth listening to, thus the only “good” music out there.(which may be as far from the truth as possible).

Children have very poignant feelings (there’s your SAT word of the day) and once something is internalized, it stays that way until something can snap you out of this. Textbook writers have long known this, and that is why there are constant battles being fought in school boards to as what will be included in school curriculum and even how that information is portrayed. Back to the actual music: It’s a great idea to make all different kinds of music targeting kids, and I think in America we should take a hint and begin to expand their musical minds. (Past Hannah Montana and Soulja boy)

“I THINK HUGE STRIDES COULD BE TAKEN IN MUSIC, ART, AND DANCE, BUT ONLY IF OUR CREATIVITY IS CULTIVATED AND PUSHED FROM AN EARLY AGE, SIMILAR TO MATH AND SCIENCE, WHERE THERE HAS BEEN THOSE HUGE STRIDES”-Mr.Pianowitz

fuckyeahrocknroll:

wczesnajesien:

nikoline:looklifeintheeyes:geetarooman:chloeelise:frogsandcrowns:pearldream:breathingvioletfog:sore-thumbelina:

“Computer Love”

We’ve come a long way in our world, and our music is a miniature part of that same whole. What some people don’t realize is that music and art, more than anything except direct writing, reflect history and civilization in its true form. So it only fits that  in the age of computers (OUR age) we invent the auto-tune.

When I say auto-tune most people may think T-pain, Daft Punk, or Cher. But it was used much earlier than that, just not as overwhelmingly as it is today. It was used to subtly nudge country singers back on the correct pitch when they warbled a little to far off. Invented by Dr.Andy Hildebrand, the concept of auto came from an engineering machine that used sound waves to search for oil. He used a process called autocorrelation, which was used for finding hidden patterns in data when they sent sound waves into the Earth (or Ocean). He then realized that he could use those same equations for pitch corrections.(Oh by the way, he went to college on a flute performance scholarship, and studied engineering). So it turns our that someone who looked at music as a useful hobby came up with the most influential musical tool of the decade. It’s also an advanced version of the talkbox (or vocoder) which is pictured below. The song playing is a live take of “Computer Love” by Zapp and Roger, one of the first to use a talk box. (Even earlier than them was Styx with “Mr.Roboto”. Auto-tune will no doubt always be in our music and will take many forms before it permanently settles in for the long haul. But is that a good or bad thing? That’s up to you to judge.

“BAD MUSIC IS JUST LIKE YOUR JERK FRIEND- IT JUST MAKES THE GOOD THINGS LOOK THAT MUCH BETTER” Mr.Pianowitz