HOTELS WITH PIANOS LIST
PianosOTR
Those of us who play but have to travel on business frequently suffer
piano
withdrawal. As a service to fellow sufferers, I am assembling a list of
hotels which I intend to publish on a web page. If you know of any such
hotels, let me know, or if you're interested in being informed when the
list is available,
let me know also. (It will help motivate me that it's worth going to the
trouble of assembling this list!)
Thanks,
Josh K
EMail: PIAN...@aol.com (Pianos on the go)
Tim MacEachern
pian...@aol.com (PianosOTR) wrote:
>Those of us who play but have to travel on business frequently suffer
>piano
>withdrawal. As a service to fellow sufferers, I am assembling a list of
>hotels which I intend to publish on a web page. If you know of any such
>hotels, let me know, or if you're interested in being informed when the
>list is available,
>let me know also. (It will help motivate me that it's worth going to the
>trouble of assembling this list!)
I think this is a great idea. It will add impetus to hotels who would
like to be on the list as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim MacEachern |Tim_Mac...@atl.sofkin.ca, Software Specialist.
Software Kinetics Ltd.|Single father of four-year-old Laura, still I
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia|play golf, piano, bridge, read, run ...
Canada |Meet us at http://ccn.cs.dal.ca/~ae721/Profile.html
Brenda and Larry Clough
Will it be necessary for me to determine whether the hotel I suggest will
actually let a guest play the piano? If the hotel has one but keeps it
locked up it won't do anybody any good. (The Watergate Hotel in DC, of
Richard Nixon fame, has a piano, but I don't know if they let guests use
it.)
Brenda
PianosOTR
Brenda, the list I am assembling is of hotels who have said they are
prepared to make a piano available to guests who so request it. Usually
these are pianos in reception or banquet rooms when not in use. Also
assembling a list of hotels with suites containing pianos for the
well-heeled.
P.S. The more people I get on the "interested list" the more clout I will
have with hotels, so anyone interested, please Email me at
Josh K
Dave Schutt
Put Mason's Restaurant (in the Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco) on the list.
Peter Mintun is playing there right now. He just returned from a gig for
Bobby Short at the Hotel Carlyle, NYC. Peter plays those wonderful 20s and
30s tunes (with occasional lapses into the 40s) on his fabulous Steinway
that used to belong to Dana Suesse (My Silent Love ...)
--
Dave Schutt <sch...@netcom.com>
Gil G Silberman
In article <4nh2r0$5...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>,
PianosOTR <pian...@aol.com> wrote:
>Those of us who play but have to travel on business frequently suffer
>piano
>withdrawal. As a service to fellow sufferers, I am assembling a list of
>hotels which I intend to publish on a web page. If you know of any such
>hotels, let me know, or if you're interested in being informed when the
>list is available,
>let me know also. (It will help motivate me that it's worth going to the
>trouble of assembling this list!)
Let me start by nominating the Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco and
La Posada in Santa Fe, for your list. The Sir Francis Drake has a fairly
new, okay quality grand in an upstairs lobby -- plus a real clunker of
a square piano. Nobody seems to care whether you play it.
La Posada is a really beautiful hotel, in about the $200 range. The main
mansion has a very good grand in a banquet room to the side of the main
diming room. I've never heard any complaints. . . in fact the staff
sometimes comes by to say good things.
The Willard in D.C. has a number of uprights in various places. . . as does
the Fairmont in San Francisco.
>
Gil G Silberman
I almost forgot to mention. . . the Mulberry Mansion, a really
elegant, lavish but quirky bed and breakfast in Sweetwater
Texas, home of the yearly rattlesnake roundup, not far
from Midland, on the way from El Paso to Dallas. They just
got a new Yamaha or Kawaii grand. . . And as with almost
all B&B's, you can play to your heart's content within reasonable
hours.
Martha Beth Lewis
I hope this list will be part of the FAQ. What a wonderful service!
Martha Beth
Isako Hoshino
In article <4nt17d$g...@sjx-ixn5.ix.netcom.com> mar...@ix.netcom.com(Martha Beth Lewis) writes:
>I hope this list will be part of the FAQ. What a wonderful service!
huh?? uh... what? a faq?
...sorry I missed something... wasn't paying much attention to this
thread... if someone did come up with a list, and wants it in a FAQ,
can some kind soul fill me in on what was going on?
Isako
Robin Spielberg
New York City:
Grand Hyatt Hotel has a few Steinway "L"'s. (42nd and Lexington Avenue)
The Plaza Hotel
The Four Seasons
The Sheraton Centre
Marriott Marquis (Times Square)--Yamaha 9'
The Omni
The New York Hilton (6th Ave at 53rd Street)
there are more...but these are the ones I have personally played that I
can recall at the moment...
The Hilton at Short Hills (New Jersey)
Kimball baby grand
Baldwin grand
-Robin
Steve Standiford
At the Ritz Carlton in Amelia Island, Fla, I was wandering around 1 am, and
found a Yamaha (maybe a C-7) and a Steinway (about a 6 footer, you guess the
model) outside the meeting rooms. ( I far preferred the Steinway) I played
for two hours - with approving looks and even applause from the cleaning crew.
I'm not sure they encourage this sort of behavior, but certainly they didn't
discourage it.
Steve Standiford
Columbia MO
philm
The Sheraton Imperial in Durham (Morrisville?) North Carolina has a small
granrd in the lobby bar area. This hotel is convenient to the RDU
airport and all of Research Triangle Park. I don't know how often it is
played
but I have heard a bar pianist play on it and it sounds quite fine.
The Durham Hilton in Durham North Carolina has a small grand in the lobby
restaurant area. This hotel is convenient to Duke University and the
Research Triangle Park.
The Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill has a small grand in the lobby. The Siena
is the nicest hotel in the area (Lotsa stars from the Mobil folks, etc.)
The piano is shamefully set up along a foyer wall rather than anywhere
nice. You could probably play it in the evening when there are no guests
save the folks at the bar who will enjoy hearing anything decent.
Phil Marsosudiro
Glenn Mandelkern
In article <4njhha$s...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>,
PianosOTR <pian...@aol.com> wrote:
>The list I am assembling is of hotels who have said they are
>prepared to make a piano available to guests who so request it. Usually
>these are pianos in reception or banquet rooms when not in use. Also
>assembling a list of hotels with suites containing pianos for the
>well-heeled.
>
I was not aware that hotels make their piano available to guests.
It seems like a generous idea but I am having a little bit of
trouble understanding how to carry this out , especially in terms of
hospitality towards other guests and fellow hired musicians.
Wouldn't it be a bit disconcerting (no pun intended) for patrons of the
hotel to hear scales, Hanon and other exercises done during practice?
Also, when practicing, one tends to repeat difficult passages, etc.
at slower tempos, separate hands, etc., activities which are not
exactly entertaining for passers-by. Lastly, they probably have pianist(s)
on staff already--is there any issue about fairness and not invading
someone else's territory that should be considered?
Or is it understood that you will be playing standards or other pieces,
especially of a kind that is appealing to most other guests as well?
Is the purpose of this practice to not be alienated for too long a
time from the keyboard?
Perhaps the logistics of setting up these piano practice could be
explained here. Many times I have seen pianos at hotels and
other public places where I would have really liked to have practice,
but did not because of the above concerns.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glenn Mandelkern "Hee, hee, hee, hee!" -- Questor the Elf
gma...@netcom.com "When passion runs deep,
San Jose, CA you're playing for keeps" -- Keith Emerson
Games, GUI's and Entertainment What does Motif sound like in the key of C++?
Barry Fernelius
Glenn Mandelkern wrote:
> I was not aware that hotels make their piano available to guests.
> It seems like a generous idea but I am having a little bit of
> trouble understanding how to carry this out , especially in terms of
> hospitality towards other guests and fellow hired musicians.
> (Snip! a bit of reasonable stuff deleted...)
> Perhaps the logistics of setting up these piano practice could be
> explained here. Many times I have seen pianos at hotels and
> other public places where I would have really liked to have practice,
> but did not because of the above concerns.
Most of the time when I inquire about a piano at a hotel, I don't try
to use a piano that's in a public area. Many times, hotels have a piano
that can be used at celebrations held in the hotel (e.g. weddings, family
reunions, etc.) In many cases, the concierge can direct me to an unused
banquet room with a piano, and I can practice without disturbing anyone.
By the way, I believe that it's extremely important to be couteous to
people who let you use their piano. Make sure that you let the hotel
know how much you appreciate being able to practice piano while you're
away from home.
Note that Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV). My business travels are usually
on weekdays, and this keeps me from being in conflict with the special
events that sometimes occur in hotels on weekends.
Best Musical Wishes,
Barry R. Fernelius
ba...@fc.hp.com
steven...@email.eushc.org
In article <gmandelD...@netcom.com>, <gma...@netcom.com> writes:
>
> I was not aware that hotels make their piano available to guests.
> It seems like a generous idea but I am having a little bit of
> trouble understanding how to carry this out , especially in terms of
> hospitality towards other guests and fellow hired musicians.
>
I was at a Holiday Inn in Mansfield, MA this week where they had a Knabe
grand in the atrium. The piano was somewhat beat up, but playable. The
hotel staff was very happy to let me practice on it. The music holder was
missing, so all I could play was stuff from memory. Besides, the lights
were rather dim at the times I could play (9:00 p.m. to midnight), so I
couldn't see very well anyway.
Nobody complained, even when I was warming up with chords and scales. I
didn't play very loud while warming up, anyway. Also, there was a huge
fountain nearby which made a lot of noise, so you had to be right next to
the piano to hear it. I did not raise the lid, because the staff had a
huge bouquet sitting on top, and I wanted to disrupt as little as
possible, so I did not ask them to move it.
On the second night of my stay, I had to wait 30 minutes or so while one
of the pool attendants played his music. It was quite good, by the way. He
was also a piano student. I personally think that most of the time, the
staff would be very happy to have someone play their lobby piano. It
doesn't make too much sense to have the thing there just to look
impressive and take up space. If so, they can easily put up a sign that
says "Please do not touch" like they do at the Ante Bellum Restaurant in
Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta.
IMO, the easiest thing to do would be to call ahead to whatever hotel you
will be staying at and ask if they have a piano you can practice on during
your stay at their hotel. The final answer will be either yes or no. This
seems easier than carrying around a list that someone put a lot of work
into compiling. Besides, even if you have the list, you should still
probably ask the staff. After all, they might not know about or approve of
our list on this newsgroup.
Steve Micko
Steven Humphrey
>Perhaps the logistics of setting up these piano practice could be
>explained here. Many times I have seen pianos at hotels and
>other public places where I would have really liked to have practice,
>but did not because of the above concerns.
>
>Glenn Mandelkern
>
Good day Glenn.
Yours is a good question. It has always been my assumption that not
everyone in the world wants to hear me play or would appreciate my
choice of music.
When I am away from home on business, one of the first things I will do
at a hotel is scout out the piano(s). Then I will arrange with the
staff to practice from 5:00 to 6:30 in the morning -- before the guests
are up and about. I have always been treated very graciously by the
hotel staff and never been refused this request. And, as someone
previously in this thread observed, the cleaning staff often preferred
my playing to the hotel Musak.
====_=====_===============================>
= ( )___( ) Steven Humphrey
= (.) (.) ==========================>
= ( o ) shum...@ix.netcom.com
======(=)=============================>
V
Jung Ah Lee
I saw a grand piano on the 'Garden Level' of Atlanta Marriot Marquis two
weeks ago, although I did not play.
There was a huge teddy bear sitting on the bench.
Jung
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jung Ah C. Lee
email: jun...@which.csl.uiuc.edu
Address: Coordinated Science Lab.
JFitzDen
I am visiting New Orleans for 10 days in late June. In calling hotels to
decide where to stay I discovered the "Ponchartrain Grand Heritage Hotel".
They have a number of "grand suites" which sell for a discounted rate
during the summer -- one of them, the "Mary Martin" suite has a baby grand
piano in it! The suites are not cheap (summer corporate rates = $165 per
night!) by any measure. But I reserved it anyway. After my visit I'll
post a note and tell you if it is a "playable" baby grand or not.
Jeff Fitzgerald
Denver, CO
Gil G Silberman
In article <gmandelD...@netcom.com>,
Glenn Mandelkern <gma...@netcom.com> wrote:
>I was not aware that hotels make their piano available to guests.
>It seems like a generous idea but I am having a little bit of
>trouble understanding how to carry this out , especially in terms of
>hospitality towards other guests and fellow hired musicians.
Well, the point of a hotel is to provide you a home away from home.
The whole idea is hospitality. It is not that you are in someone
else's house, rather that you are paying good money for a convenience. . .
So to the extent that you can do something that makes you happy without
disturbing other guests, I consider it more of a service than an
act of generousity.
>Wouldn't it be a bit disconcerting (no pun intended) for patrons of the
>hotel to hear scales, Hanon and other exercises done during practice?
>Also, when practicing, one tends to repeat difficult passages, etc.
>at slower tempos, separate hands, etc., activities which are not
>exactly entertaining for passers-by.
On that manner, I try to avoid playing technical exercises when people
are about. Hannon is particularly noxious, worse than scales. But playing
a piece slowly, or repeatedly, can be interesting to listeners, depending
on your attitude. If you are anxious and get mad, or impulsively repeat
things, than the listener will pick up on your frustration. On the other
hand, if you play sections and work with the piece, it can actually be quite
interesting and informative to listen to. On most records you just get
one take. But to hear a good pianist play the same passage twice in a row,
that is an education! Personally, I don't mind listening to practice. In
fact, some instruments like a cello or bassoon are postiviely beautiful
in practice, it is like watching someone walking or breathing.
Also, some composers like Chopin sound just as good at half speed as full
speed. I suspect this is the way they composed. They just wrote down a bunch
of notes, and then you play it as fast as you can.
>Lastly, they probably have pianist(s)
>on staff already--is there any issue about fairness and not invading
>someone else's territory that should be considered?
Most piano rooms are empty, most of the time. I rarely march into a
crowded dining room or lobby to play. I'll never forget the time, though,
when I noticed that the pianist in the lobby had left for a break. I couldn't
contain myself, so I began to play, my usual classical pseudo-jazz
improvization stuff. Well, I got about a few bucks in tips before I left ten
minutes later -- which I left in the tip jar for the professional musician.
I bet he never learned about it, but he got to keep the money.
>Or is it understood that you will be playing standards or other pieces,
>especially of a kind that is appealing to most other guests as well?
>Is the purpose of this practice to not be alienated for too long a
>time from the keyboard?
You got it, it's not about *real* practice, more about keeping your fingers
moving and your musical spirit alive. Now, if you spend half of your days
out travelling, it can be more of an issue.
A Polish man I once met said he once saw Rubinstein practicing in a hotel
room during a tour there. Nobody knew who he was, and he was asked to
keep it quiet!
>Perhaps the logistics of setting up these piano practice could be
>explained here. Many times I have seen pianos at hotels and
>other public places where I would have really liked to have practice,
>but did not because of the above concerns.
Start quietly, then see how long it takes before you get kicked out.
You really aren't hurting anybody, and for everybody who ever complains
you have made dozens and dozens of people happy with your music.
John
In article <4nhulu$7...@news.nstn.ca>, Tim_Mac...@atl.sofkin.ca (Tim
MacEachern) wrote:
> pian...@aol.com (PianosOTR) wrote:
>
> >Those of us who play but have to travel on business frequently suffer
> >piano
> >withdrawal. As a service to fellow sufferers, I am assembling a list of
> >hotels which I intend to publish on a web page. If you know of any such
> >hotels, let me know, or if you're interested in being informed when the
> >list is available,
> >let me know also. (It will help motivate me that it's worth going to the
> >trouble of assembling this list!)
>
> I think this is a great idea. It will add impetus to hotels who would
> like to be on the list as well.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Tim MacEachern |Tim_Mac...@atl.sofkin.ca, Software Specialist.
> Software Kinetics Ltd.|Single father of four-year-old Laura, still I
> Dartmouth, Nova Scotia|play golf, piano, bridge, read, run ...
> Canada |Meet us at http://ccn.cs.dal.ca/~ae721/Profile.html
Tim,
What a great idea. I have worked at Disney at the Palace Hotel in Orlando,
Fl. They have four grands, and pay really good. Keep me informed.
Good luck, John
Brenda and Larry Clough
There's a grand piano at the Hyatt Regency hotel at 1400 New Jersey Avenue
NW, near Capitol Hill, in Washington DC. I didn't try to play it.
Brenda
Keith Dunnigan
What about just carrying a portable keyboard with you on the plane during
travel.
Also I think when using a hotel piano one should practice repertoire, to be
more considerate of the guests.
Keith
SPOBS
In article <jungah.8...@where.csl.uiuc.edu>,
jun...@where.csl.uiuc.edu (Jung Ah Lee) wrote:
> I saw a grand piano on the 'Garden Level' of Atlanta Marriot Marquis two
> weeks ago, although I did not play.
> There was a huge teddy bear sitting on the bench.
>
> Jung
Ahh--yes, at this hotel the piano is "rigged" with a pianocorder device
that allows the piano to play via a CD. The hotel placed a teddy bear on
the bench because the prospect of a teddy bear playing is "cute".
They tried this for a few months in NYC at the Marriot Marquis in Times
Square, only the management placed a life-sized male mannequin dressed in
a tux. I kid you not! From a distance, it looked like a man was playing
the piano! Needless to say, they fired all 4 live musicians and replaced
them with this dummy.
The live musicians were hired back a year later when the management
noticed that business had dropped (it took them a while though to
attribute this to the fake live music).
-Robin
Don Weeks
Glenn Mandelkern (gma...@netcom.com) wrote:
: PianosOTR <pian...@aol.com> wrote:
: >The list I am assembling is of hotels who have said they are
>prepared to make a piano available to guests who so request it. Usually
regret doing this. (*thud bang thud* through the Fur Elise for that first-year
student again :) )
: hotel to hear scales, Hanon and other exercises done during practice?
:) :) We were hoping they'd skip that part. . . .
: exactly entertaining for passers-by. Lastly, they probably have pianist(s)
: on staff already--is there any issue about fairness and not invading
I only wish places had pianists on staff! Jobs!
: Or is it understood that you will be playing standards or other pieces,
: especially of a kind that is appealing to most other guests as well?
: Is the purpose of this practice to not be alienated for too long a
: time from the keyboard?
That's what I thought we were talking about, honestly. I love to show off
and have people come up with the kids asking "How does my kid learn to play
like you? We got her a Casio keyboard. . . ." :) I try not to say,
"First, start at age three playing the real piano. . . ." <wink> I
really kind of hate to see how disappointed they are that there's no quick fix.
They're used to instant everything, and they can't face years of practice
(they think). They feel better when I explain that I'm playing by ear
except when playing a memorized arrangement. Somewho, that comes under the
different category to them (talent or whatever). They do ask for particular
songs.
I've never found a crowd that didn't love "Linus and Lucy" by Vince
Guaraldi, even without the triangle at the end. And you can get mileage out
of "Memory" from CATS, as someone mentioned upthread. . . .
I never show off with scales, though.
That would seem too much like going to a karaoke bar to sing "do...re...mi"!
MARTNO1
Two other possibilities (I'm repeating myself here from several months
ago, but it goes with the thread) - if you prefer privacy, check out the
local community college for practice rooms. I've never had one turn me
away. Private and four-year state colleges are sometimes pickier, but if
you look really pathetic and mumble something about just wanting to play
for an hour or two and how distressing it is to be parted from music while
on travel, (all of which is true), most music department personnel will
help sneak you into a practice room. You could offer to make a donation
to the piano tuning fund. Also larger piano salesrooms often have studios
that they will rent out when not in use for lessons, albeit at a small
hourly fee. A third idea that will only work if you're travelling to a
military base is to check out the officer's club during off-peak hours or
the chapel. Similarly, when I go to visit my parents who have no piano
they get me a key to their church for the duration of my visit so I can
bang away on the piano - in return I leave a check for the choir director
to use for whatever need is pressing. These ideas might be preferable for
those of you in my category - love to play, but not really good enough
that people like to listen. Audrey V..
Williams
>
> >Those of us who play but have to travel on business frequently suffer
> >piano
> >withdrawal. As a service to fellow sufferers, I am assembling a list of
> >hotels which I intend to publish on a web page. If you know of any such
> >hotels, let me know, or if you're interested in being informed when the
> >list is available,
> >let me know also. (It will help motivate me that it's worth going to the
> >trouble of assembling this list!)
Lake, WI, about an hour out of Milwakee, has an ok piano that anyone
can play>: )
> >
Isako Hoshino
Hi everyone!
since this list seems to be very sought-after topic to us pianists,
I've decided to follow Martha Beth's suggestion to start a FAQ on
Hotels with Pianos.
I've been saving all the posts on the Hotels with Pianos trend. Once
I have enough time to compile everything, I will either tack it on one
of the existing FAQs or create a new FAQ list by itself (depends on
how long the list gets)
So, keep posting the hotels you *know* who will allow guests playing
the pianos, or you can write e-mail to me, is...@mit.edu with your
list and comments, if you had direct experience with them.
Thanx!
Isako
FAQ maintainer
Tim MacEachern
is...@oevlsi.MIT.EDU (Isako Hoshino) wrote (in part):
>So, keep posting the hotels you *know* who will allow guests playing
>the pianos, or you can write e-mail to me, is...@mit.edu with your
>list and comments, if you had direct experience with them.
It might be worthwhile to separate out from the list those places that
appear to have been identified as places where you can perform, from
those that have a piano that mid-level pianists can use without
bothering anyone.
davidup...@gmail.com
davidup...@gmail.com
timur.go...@gmail.com
iga...@gmail.com
> Those of us who play but have to travel on business frequently suffer
> piano
> withdrawal. As a service to fellow sufferers, I am assembling a list of
> hotels which I intend to publish on a web page. If you know of any such
> hotels, let me know, or if you're interested in being informed when the
> list is available,
> let me know also. (It will help motivate me that it's worth going to the
> trouble of assembling this list!)
>
> Josh K
> EMail: PIAN...@aol.com (Pianos on the go)
Thanks for this!
an...@wilsonbellelectrical.co.uk
savo...@gmail.com
agnes...@gmail.com
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