I was lucky enough to have a chance to practice and record a piece on a Boston Grand today. Pretty sure it is the GP-178 PE. It is a great piano with a nice singing tone. On the right hand side of the piano is a little inscription "made by Steinway & Sons," so maybe what I like about it is that it sounds like a Steinway, though it has another name! From what I understand the big Steinway factory where the piano company started is based in New York, so perhaps these pianos are made in Boston, MA?

The piece I am playing is a nice tune called "That Couldn't Be My Guy" by Ned Gerhart from his Studies in Song. It's a short piece, but it has a special charm to it, I think you will agree. Here is a video of the performance:

http://youtu.be/xfsRxrBKt9Q

Hi Riley,
I enjoyed watching your video! Even the bloopers at the end....funny!
Anyway, I don't know this piece, but it sounded fine to me. Boston pianos are Steinway's more affordable piano line. I'm sure they are very good pianos, but the sound quality here may not show off its best sound. Still, I liked watching your hands and seeing that you used a laptop.

Thanks. You must have been jealous, I've seen elsewhere that you've been without a piano!



I wonder if you or anyone here can relate to that. Honestly, this take wasn't scripted at all. I just forgot to silence my cell phone... and, as a result the take was ruined... oh well, it was a bad take to begin with



I see. I thought they might be a division of Steinway or smth like that. Yeah, I think its hard to compare the differences at the high end, and for me, after a certain point action is more important that tone. Would be cool to compare a bonafide Steinway with a Boston. Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, the laptop score viewing is new to me. I tried it once before, not exactly the same as paper, but.. you hit one button and it instantly advances the page. Only problem is on my laptop the page down button is only half the size of the letter keys, so you really have to be like an archer hitting the bullseye when you press it Someday I'd like to invest in a page pedal turner like Luis has

Yes, Ned Gerhard's pieces do have an easy charm. They are very well written with catchy tunes and inventive endings.
Must be nice to play on such a good instrument ! Fancy sitting down to record with your cell phone switched on
Not bad played but rather too slow, and you need to swing a bit more freely.
Why did you not ask for the score ? I don't have it electronically but would have scanned it for you.

I like the USB plugin page turner pedals. Much cheaper than Bluetooth. The one I have cost under $50 and has a cord that's plenty long enough to reach from any piano or music stand to the floor. It's starting to go on the fritz during hot humid weather a bit, but it's given me over 3 years of good use for under $50 and I am always wadding it up and shoving it in and out of bags, so I can't exactly complain.

Yes, all of the pieces that I have heard you play on here I have enjoyed. I only wish the ned gerhart business was still open. I emailed him but he said the business is over.



Right, it's not every day you get to play on a full grand! I think next time I should just leave my cell phone behind at home to be safe!



Yes, I noticed on one piece there are swing style eighth notes. I got a trial version when the site was still up from a piece called walking in the dark. but just the audio not the score but i remember how it was marked.



NOW you tell me! Thanks for the offer. There are so many pieces of Ned's i'd like to play. It seems for this set there are pieces I simply like less than others, but they are all good. If you could scan me singing again! that would be fun to play But I really shouldn't play any more right now because before I make any other recordings I promised Andreas I would record his sonata in full (and before that, transcribe it to composing program from his extremely hard to read handwritten score!). Unfortunately, I don't have access to my quality mic or recorder.. it will probably be a while before I can start making good audio quality recordings again.



That helps a lot, thanks! 50 dollars isn't much. I've got a USB port on the left side of my laptop so I would probably just plug it in and use my left foot to do the job.



Wow. It sounds like a piano--affected by humidity as well! I imagine in 10 years they will be producing digital pianos that have everything built in, a score reader, a page turner, and of course, everything that they have now.