“Pianodectomy”? Piano-sectomy? -nectomy? -ectomy? What do you call the removal of the parts of yourself consisting of keyboard, soundboard, hammers, strings, and so forth? I could still sing—without accompaniment—but felt incomplete for the two days till the rental instrument arrived.
Of course things still feel weird. The rental isn’t my piano, that’s seen me through so much learning, teaching and performance-prep. No, even if you offered me a concert-grand, my connection to my own piano is just too…. I remember when I bought it, in February, 1968. “You could get a lot more than you’re asking,” I told the lady in Beverly Hills. “I know that,” she said, “but I just want to be sure it has a good home.” I promised I would give it a good home. She was the first owner. So you can understand why I couldn’t even consider…. Well…. I suppose I could try a concert-grand for a few days…. I mean, I’ve played lots of them, but never in the house…. You can understand my wanting to try it, right? Anyone, any pianist, might…. And it would be a valuable experiment! An acoustic experiment. I wonder what it would sound like….
The “pianectomists”:
