Whine, Whine, Whine

The title should say it all... Be warned.

Money.  There is never enough.  Seriously.  Rob Peter, pay Paul, and beg Pedro not to beat you up.  Story of my life.

The fact is, I don't want money for myself.  I don't want fancy cars, or clothes, or even fancy smacy vacations.   But, I do need money to do the things that are important.  Like the girls music.  They must have a piano.  Actually, they must have two.  One for my house, and one for moms.  They spend a ton of time at moms, and that is the ideal time for practice, but it also makes no sense to not have a piano at home, too.  So there are two options: two pianos or spend more time at home.  Both have costs associated with them. Right now, two pianos are a less expensive option than more time at home.

I am researching  "entry level" digital pianos for several reasons.  First, they are the most affordable option for me right now, since there is a one time expenditure, and annual or semiannual tuning is not required. Secondly, they are relatively compact.  I am dealing with fairly small spaces.  Thirdly, they have headphones. . I love my kids music, but MightyMo wants all sound silenced at a certain time of day, including practice of all music.   This is not practical in our very busy world, so I am forced to try to arrange life around his sleep schedule.  (whine, whine, whine.)  Headphones = practice without him hearing.  Now, if they;d just make digital clarinets and flutes....

There is a lot of conflicting info out there, and each digital piano manufacturer seems to have a different name for the same features.  I was told by one person, don't get touch sensitive keys because the piano would respond too easily, making it difficult to transition between acoustical and digital. Then another person said we wanted touch sensitive keys,  because that meant that different amounts of pressure had to be used to obtain sound.  In other words, the player had to strike the keys harder on low notes to get sound, than on higher notes.  So, is touch sensitive good, or bad?

Does the piano sound right?  How the heck am I supposed to know?  As a non-musician, this is a daunting, and ultimately what is most important.  I can play chopsticks, and that is it.  My ear is not trained to pick up the nuances.  When the girls play my old "won't stay in tune" Wurlitzer, it sounds fine to me, even though I know its not "right".  Does that make sense?  I know it's not tuned correctly, I can hear that, but I am not so sensitive to it that it bothers me a whole lot.  I've talked to a couple of people who have told me that playing on an out-of-tune piano is not horrible at their levels EXCEPT, they are both also singers.  They need the piano to match pitch, and right now they are better off to use apps on their iPods for that purpose.  That is kind of sad.  

I've visited this issue many times.  I drop it and come back to it, and that is not the right thing to do.  I've periodically searched for used equipment, but I don't have enough knowledge to make a good decision. I think my best bet is to buy something new, from a somewhere with a generous return policy.

Why an "entry level" ?  My thought is that in 1 or 2 or 3 more years I will really know where the girls stand on piano.  Is it going to be hobby, or scholarship possibility?  My guess is that it will be a hobby, hopefully a life long one, and one that will really enhance other musical areas, but not their 'most developed' talent. I hope I am wrong. I think, between you, me and the fence post, I have messed up with BigB on this. Had I been more educated when she started playing, and I had her with a better teacher, and she didn't loose 3 years ... well, water under the bridge.  I'm not sure if she will decide to "catch up" to where she could and should be. I can't do it for her.

Another question is lessons.  Hmmm.  That is a big dilemma.  It's not the "what came first" question, it's the what came second question.  I know there is interest and talent.  If I have to choose, do I spend on the equipment or the instruction?  Also, I have two very different kids. Do I make changes for one, and not the other?  Am I to that point?  And, do I let the one who doesn't want to be in piano at all go ahead and drop it, so that I can reallocate the money and provide better for the one who is working at it? 

There are MANY more money questions, from school to groceries. There are lots of places that are changeable, but the changes are hard, and they are scary, and there are no guarantees.  I really like the option of being at home more, but I cant seem to make that cost work right now.

That whine is over. For now.

Oh, a second whine.  I got several new blouses for me and BigB to share. (we wear the same size).  They were "talls" AND on a good sale. A rare combintation.  The only thing was many of the blouses needed to by line dried so they wouldnt shrink.  In anticipation for packing for our upcoming trip, I put them in the wash all together, along with some other old items.  Last night when we were at CCT rehearsal, MightyMo dried the whole load.  My new shirts are shrunk. I am going to rewet them and try to stretch them back out, but I think they are going to always be shorter than they were supposed to be.