Welcome to the Piano World Piano Forums Over 3 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments. Over 100,000 members from around the world.
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
Well was having an awesome session today, and I have been working on my version of “Fur Elise” So here we go. I have never noticed the beauty at this amplitude, of classical piano music or maybe just this piece, in particular,(this is the only classical piece I play or am working on). It was genius!! I never heard the brilliance of this piece, but today I actually, personally lived it!! When I finished I was overwhelmed in some sort of a blissful state. So hope I can advance my playing level to experience more classical music genius and to have more moments like I experienced today.
Oh and an apparition of epic proportion occurred. Haunting, but wonderful as I reminisce now. While I was playing, to the left of my left hand middle C 3 area, a note was being played?? It was certainly pressed, and my fingers were well past middle C . My fingers were indeed there just seconds before, but I have no explanation of what I witnessed. A single note E, F, A, not sure was pressed down. I thought WTF, a sticky key? I have never had yet(a sticky key) on this piano. I moved my left hand, fingers to pull the key back up. It was only depressed about half way. It just kinda felt weird, and the key just went back up naturally. After, about 30 more minutes I couldn’t duplicate any sticky keys in this area. Until I can duplicate and confirm a sticky key, I am in belief a spirit of this 107 year old piano was with me today!
Hi Dog, and thx for sharing on my rants and especially for the comment on my imagination.
That’s why it was so epic for me. This was not my imagination!! And I’ll be the first to tell you I never believed in a deceased spirit(at least the common definition of “deceased”)making contact with with the living. I laugh, silently, at others claims, and loudly when I see those ghost shows on TV.
Just recently I have learned some family piano lore. Stories like my paternal grandparents having a baby grand piano in their house, and my father’s cool upright in our basement. I don’t know if this apparition is family related or specifically related to something in this pianos history. All I know is this was not my imagination. It was a gift of some sort. I’m forever enlightened that there is a supernatural. It just fits in all the pieces of what I have experienced with this instrument since I first played it some 13 months ago.
Now if I wake up, say in the middle of the night and hear the piano being played, hmm I don’t know if I would stay in bed and listen or venture out for a peek! And still the sticky key has not been disproven yet. My wife wants to do a cleanse! I told her No No this is a friendly spirit.
[...]All I know is this was not my imagination. It was a gift of some sort. I’m forever enlightened that there is a supernatural. It just fits in all the pieces of what I have experienced with this instrument since I first played it some 13 months ago.
[...] And still the sticky key has not been disproven yet. My wife wants to do a cleanse! I told her No No this is a friendly spirit.
So you had a key that momentarily depressed or stuck, and now you think that is the supernatural coming to you! You need a good dose of reality.
Well I once heard my old Feurich playing in the middle of the night on its own, but then we had been watching the movie "The Pianist" the evening before, which was rather overwhelming.
My piano's voice is my voice to God and the great unknown universe, and to those I love. In other words a hymn. That is all, but that is enough. tre corda
I believe my Baldwin Hamilton is possessed by the spirit of Corfam.
Some of my keyboards: 1912 Ritmuller Art Case Grand, 1976 Baldwin Hamilton 243, 1973 Hammond C3, 1987 Yamaha HX-1, Casio PX-160, Casio PX-130, 3 Older Clavinovas, 2 pump organs, and an assortment of other toys.
Hi Bruce, with all do respect to your beliefs. However you were not there. I have been playing this piano for just over a year now and never a sticky key. I have had it tuned and regulated a bit, twice since last June, by a skilled tech. I have now stopped my efforts in trying to duplicate a faulty key, there are none. I really do not need “A good dose of reality” as you suggest I have that 24/7, well almost
I’m not quite sure what you refer to when you state “Ill say no more about this fantasy” FYI I have never had a fantasy about a spirit playing my piano with me.
I’m not trying to be unfriendly in my response to your post. I certainly understand your views and beliefs. Earlier in the thread I stated I did not believe in ghosts spirits… and really was dismayed when other people would share their experiences of the supernatural to me, or even read or watch about the history many others.
If this phenomenon ever happens to you, you will enlightened and perplexed as I am now.
Did it happen in the "stormy section" of Fur Elise with the repeated notes in the bass? Perhaps the Erlkonig was exhausted, and just needed to rest on your couch? 😮🙀😳
Jessye Norman is a true artist the way she is able to capture the magic, horror and divine beauty in that song.I was sorry we never got to see the pianist performing those repeated octaves in the piano part.If ever you would need a well regulated piano it would be right there. Perhaps if you mention your experience in the technicians forum they may have a good explanation.I think piano technicians get to know the relationship of the owners of the pianos they service quite well.We all have this unique perception and relation to our pianos which others may never understand.Perhaps your piano does have some kind of entity that can be unlocked, perhaps only by you or perhaps some rebound in the hammers under certain conditions of humidty/and or emotion.Who can tell?
My piano's voice is my voice to God and the great unknown universe, and to those I love. In other words a hymn. That is all, but that is enough. tre corda
Hi Tre, thx for your response! Hmm, you got me on which section. I am new to playing classical pieces, and my Fur Elise comes with a lot of improv.
Love your latest response, I may have unlocked this entity in someway while I was playing. If so I hope I can do it again. Hoping the entity appeared as a compliment to my playing and not the opposite!
I haven’t listened to the Jessye Norman recording yet. Not sure the correlation but listen a bit later
Xam, Probably more likely something a piano technician can work out.These old pianos do bring a great deal with them, so who knows.If my prewar piano speaks again on its own I shall let you know, but it probably will not.. Jessye Norman had a unique voice with an incredible range and power.Just read all the awards and honours bestowed on her! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessye_Norman
LOL well my wife did a smudge! I had no idea what that was?? She texted me one day last week and she said, " The house is kinda smokey, you might want to open the window when you get home, my smudge got out of hand" so I texted back, "?? "what happen and what is a smudge" she says "look it up!" Well, turns out a smudge is a procedure for removing spirits..So my girl took a thick branch of sage(never asked where she got it., lit it(fire) and proceeded to distribute smoke all around my piano!! So I get home, and yes certainly could smell the odor, just kind of earthy. Then I open my fall board on the piano and low and behold there are ashes(small amount) on my ivories!! OMG, WTF, so i immediately get my cleaning vac and do a once over. There was some ashes also inside close to the pins too. I was to say the least (*^*&%&^%$, but I sat down and played the piano and it sounded as lovely as ever. Gotta love it. I told her NO no please this was a good spirit, not one I want to expel! So life goes on.....
Well I once heard my old Feurich playing in the middle of the night on its own, but then we had been watching the movie "The Pianist" the evening before, which was rather overwhelming.
The mind can do funny things and play tricks on us!
I may have shared this before...
My daughters had a couple friends over and they were watching some sort of horror movie pretty late at night. Our piano has always been in the family room, where they were huddled up in the dark watching, and their friends have long known it's there. But what they didn't know was that I'd recently installed another piano in an adjacent room (my project upright). So, apparently in a particularly scary and suspenseful spot in their movie, I wandered into the other room and started to play. The two friends were startled and freaked out as the piano "started to play" with no one there!
