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<p>Some people say “Life is like a song, with music being the voice of love”. Regardless of how the piano is engaged and how well the music is played, we say “There can be no life without music, because music forms the foundation of life”. To quote Oscar Wilde, “Women fall in love through their ears, men fall in love through their eyes”.</p>
<p>A piano is often lamented as an expensive piece of equipment, easily costing thousands of dollars. However, did you know that there is such an act as Piano Burning? That’s crazy, some may think, maybe the person is absolutely insane- or just really hates the piano. However, that is not so. Piano Burning is an action of setting an acoustic piano on fire. It is usually ceremonial or for visual entertainment.</p>
<p>To welcome the Lunar New Year, we had a special themed Pianovers Meetup planned this week, complete with an explosion of the colour red, delicious Chinese New Year goodies, Mandarin oranges and an array of Chinese New Year-themed music. Many of the Pianovers also indulged in the Chinese New Year snacks and goodies that were brought and contributed while they chatted with others.</p>
<p>Here are some points to take note and look out for when you are hiring a piano teacher, and they will be important and helpful in cases where you are changing a teacher or looking for a suitable teacher for your child to start music lessons.</p>
<p>When we first met Matthew with his children at Meetup #21, we didn't think he is the one learning the piano. He took to the stage with “Silent Night”, because he had wanted to inspire his children to pick up the piano. It proved to be successful as his kids have since picked up the piano and were here this week, performing alongside their father; a true inspiration indeed.</p>
<p>Piano-playing reached new heights at the 31st Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, where the visitors were treated to a huge ice piano keyboard of 21 keys with LED lights that actually produced music. Probably the first such piano ever seen anywhere in the world, this magical ice piano quickly became a hit with locals and tourists alike.</p>
<p>After taking some time off for the holidays, The Pianovers Meetup is back! The night began as how Pianovers Meetups would begin, with an intimate dinner between a couple of Piano lovers and delicious local food. Once a chef, JC even treated the gang to an in-depth and insightful analysis of the famous Michelin-Award winning Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice.</p>
<p>Just a few years ago, in the beginning of the 2010s, I felt that Singapore remained largely as a cultural desert (as far as music is concerned) despite the large or growing number of performances we had per day. Why? It is fallacious to associate music vibrancy with the number of performance items alone.</p>
<p>The 22nd Pianovers Meetup this week came earlier than anticipated. With a generous offer of a complimentary Western-style buffet, original plans for the 8 January 2017 were brought forward to the 22 December 2016, at an exciting new location at The Sail @ Marina Bay!</p>
<p>Seldom does a piano performance simultaneously take place in a stunningly beautiful outdoor location and take on a grim, urgent environmental message. Greenpeace, the environmental group, commissioned a special video that carried its message of environmental protection. Probably the most unusual piano performance ever filmed, this short performance featured well-known Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi playing in the frozen Arctic.</p>
<p>Following the series of the Pianovers Meetups and other events such as the Pianovers Sailaway and most recently, the Piano Jamming Party, organised by Casio, at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Pianovers who are regulars at the Meetups and have become close friends, organised an exciting new event of their own – Pianovers Jammers Night!</p>
<p>It’s the festive time of year and ThePiano.SG had a lot in store during the week’s Pianovers Meetup. From matching outfits to themed music, it was a night packed with joy, cheer, laughter and of course, wonderful music! Though it was not actually Christmas day, the spirit of the season was certainly present, everyone had a wonderful time.</p>
<p>According to the "Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians", we discover there are two types of piano duets: "four hands" and the "piano duo". These are the two main ways by which two players can perform together. When both use the same piano, we term the duet "four hands". When each performs on a separate piano, they form a "piano duo".</p>
<p>ThePiano.SG and Casio came hand in hand to bring to piano lovers all over the island an exciting weekend called The Piano Jamming Party! Held over 2 days on the 10 and 11 Dec, the usual weekly Pianovers Meetup at The URA Centre was at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Level 3. This Meetup saw a record number of 20 registered players, and a total of 23 pieces performed!</p>
<p>What an exciting 19th Pianovers Meetup we had this week indeed! With an extra special location and two exclusive pianos to dabble with, Pianovers were more than delighted to be a part of the incredible evening. In conjunction with Casio’s two-day Piano Jamming Party that took place on 10 and 11 December, we had the honour of hosting our Meetup at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Level 3.</p>
<p>After months of anticipation, ThePiano.SG’s inaugural yacht event, Pianovers Sailaway, finally arrived. On 4 December 2016, Pianovers, along with support crew, descended upon the ONE°15 Marina Club at Sentosa Cove for the yacht outing that would bring them out into the open sea. What would transpire in the next four hours would turn out to be the event that would become the occasion of a lifetime.</p>
<p>As the sun sets on another Sunday at The URA Centre, Pianovers from all over the island gather for the 18th weekly Pianovers Meetup. Unique talents and piano lovers of all ages and sensibilities are always present at the Meetups, this week being no exception. Felly Chitran and his family, who were invited by Peter Prem, were amongst some of the new faces in the group. Other newcomers included Ann and and her friend Amro, Shu Wen, a piano teacher, and two passing Mongolian tourists.</p>
<p>"Minuet in G" is found in a notebook Bach gifted to his second wife, Anna Magdalena. Originally thought to be an original composition by Bach, it has, since 1970, been discovered to be the work of Christian Petzold.</p>
<p>On the 27th of November 2016, 5.5km of roads in Singapore were closed to create a pedestrian-friendly precinct for a fun-filled Car-Free Sunday, an event usually held on the last Sunday of each month. Pianos which are usually placed at The URA Centre’s Piano Park were moved by Play It Forward Singapore to Chong Wen Ge (崇文阁) on Telok Ayer Street.</p>
<p>We appreciate all the kind donations and contributions that have been made by the Pianovers at our previous meetings. We would like to say a big thank you! Special mention must also be made for the kind and generous Pianover who donated two Mistral 8" turbine fans, and two white extension cables for the connection to the existing portable generator. These electric fans provided much-needed relief from the stale tropical heat.</p>
<p>In Singapore, the pursuit and enjoyment of piano has to compete with a rigorous education system that is based primarily on examination grades. As a result, parents who heretofore may have been encouraging their children in their piano studies, often cancel piano lessons during exam periods to allow their children more time to study.</p>
<p>The Pianovers returned to The URA Centre again this week for the 16th Pianovers Meetup. After the meeting last Saturday at Orchard Central, it was back to the heart of the city, with the bustling of weekend excitement. Many new faces showed up to the meeting this week, faces like Anthony MB, who had been in engagement with us on ThePiano.SG Facebook Page, Samuel and his friends, Lian Ong and Geoff Tan, Xuanying, who was invited by Junn, as well as Alicia and Junhao.</p>
<p>Some consider pianicas to be superior to long-established woodwind instruments. While instruments such as the flute, saxophone or clarinet tax the performer because of the need for multiple fingers to cover certain holes to generate just one sound, pianicas allow the freedom of sounding one note with merely one finger, along with the liberty of pressing other keys with other fingers, like in playing a chord. </p>
<p>At last Friday's meeting, the group was taken to a new location away from the bustling city traffic and the sweltering island heat, at the air-conditioned 10 Square @ Orchard Central. Tucked away in a cosy room, the 15th Pianovers Meetup still managed to draw an immense crowd.</p>