Impromtu recitals on our street piano

I’m a chronic customer at our local supermarket as it’s right in front of the station and a few steps from my apartment. I’ve told you about this very local place in a suburban Noda City, before. This Belx Supermarket’s management petitions the gods for food safety. 

This summer, 店長 tencho, the manager,  invoked the muses by placing a ストリートピアノ, a street piano in the atrium. Next to the Yamaha upright grand piano is a sign that implores customers to disinfect their hands before playing.

At first, I was hesitant to touch it. Would people be annoyed by my poor attempts at classical and folk music? As a child in Canada, my parents put me through a musical education and I had a beat-up piano at home. I hadn’t touched a piano since I graduated from high school. I worried that supermarket customers would not tolerate my fumbling attempts to play…

Well, I worked up the nerve after an elderly neighbor lady gave an impromptu concert - Richard Clayderman classics and Disney theme music performed to the best of her ability. We got talking after she played. It turns out that she is mostly self-taught and struggles to read musical scores.

Right, then. It was my turn! I hurried home and pulled a battered accordion out of the oshiere, an Italian-made instrument I bought second hand and lugged from Canada. I had a go with some pieces half-remembered, and through the magic of the Internet, I refreshed my knowledge of musical theory and found some scores to pieces I enjoy.

Back to the supermarket street piano, I was surprised and heartened by the response from neighbors. They don’t mind my imperfect playing.

Even better, the street piano has become a social hub. People gather, make requests, encourage all comers to play, and the music sparks conversation. A few times I’ve urged children to come and taught them simple and familiar tunes, one hand at a time. Through the magic of the street piano, I have learned the names and faces of my neighbors. And we teach each other the pieces we know.

Are you looking for a public piano? Don’t be shy as anybody, learner, amateur, or professional can play. Try Daredemo Piano for locations in Japan and Pianos Pub for international pianos including hundreds in Japan.