Never ________ while playing piano

Bellyman It is interesting seeing some older pictures or videos where musicians were smoking. I think of a Bill Evans photo where he's got a cigarette hanging out one side of his mouth. I think of several videos I've seen of Frank Sinatra workin' on a cigarette as he's performing on stage. And there are others.

Can't lie, sometimes the raspy tone of some of those smokers is kinda appealing to some of us who don't smoke and don't have that "edge" to our voices. But I'm still not gonna take up smoking.

Oh, and I almost forgot... there are the Oscar Peterson types... I don't know if Oscar ever smoked, I didn't think he did, but he always had his towel perched somewhere on the piano and would grab it and wipe the sweat off his head, didn't matter if it was in the middle of a song or not, the other hand just kept on playing and most people would never know the difference. LOL!

I recall seeing a YouTube of Martha Argerich working on a piece at the piano and she had a free standing ash tray (on a pedestal) and cigarettes just to the side of the bench, within easy reach. She looked to be in her thirties or so in the video.

MRC There's a passage in Patrick Süskind's book Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer where the fictional author, remembering his childhood, tells the story of a fatal piano lesson with Fräulein Funkel. He is playing a duet with her, and keeps playing an F natural instead of an F# at a particular point. She gets angry at him and hits the note several times, saying "That is an F#". Then she has to sneeze. She wipes the snot from her nose with her finger and hits the note several more times. She thus deposits a large booger on the F# key. When they repeat the passage, the boy cannot bring himself to touch the disgusting mess on the key, and therefore in desperation once more plays an F natural. Fräulein Funkel goes into a tantrum of rage and throws him out.

That is hilarious.

MRC Animisha sneeze!

There's a passage in Patrick Süskind's book Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer where the fictional author, remembering his childhood, tells the story of a fatal piano lesson with Fräulein Funkel. He is playing a duet with her, and keeps playing an F natural instead of an F# at a particular point. She gets angry at him and hits the note several times, saying "That is an F#". Then she has to sneeze. She wipes the snot from her nose with her finger and hits the note several more times. She thus deposits a large booger on the F# key. When they repeat the passage, the boy cannot bring himself to touch the disgusting mess on the key, and therefore in desperation once more plays an F natural. Fräulein Funkel goes into a tantrum of rage and throws him out.

Very funny! But when readying the story I thought the punchline would be that the teacher would sneeze during the recital when he plays F natural so nobody hears the mistake.

rsl12 That is crazy. Was it removable? How would one get the ashes out (and if it's removable, then isn't it a waste to add to the piano?)

This is it! I assume the metal ashtray can be lifted out. This definitely feels like it’s from another era!

It’s a curiosity, for sure. I haven’t seen it in person, but apparently it has an absurd number of lid props as well— maybe 12.
There was another very similar piano that someone was looking at, but it didn’t have the ash tray. So my guess is that the ashtray was a ‘custom’ addition, and perhaps the original owner was left handed.

rsl12 Never tickle the soprano while playing piano,
for her current gentleman fellow might be first or second cello.
Disrupting the strings is certainly one of those things,
where the members of percussion would join in the discussion.
Woodwinds and brass might let the whole thing pass,
But the conductor, reserving judgement, to a whether or a why,
would wait to hear if the diva's note were of a proper high.

Play harmonica. I'm looking at you, Billy Joel!

Bellyman And the difference in sound between Caruso, Pavoratti and Robert Merrill, or Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Adele, are? Or how about Billie Holiday, Julie London and Natalie Cole?
I think each sounds unique because they are unique.

PianoMonk, have you ever caught a cold? Or had a cough for a while? What did it do to your voice?

The times I've had something like that, often my voice will get a different sound to it, sometimes appealing. Whether it's an irritation that changes the sound, a bit of swelling, or what, I don't know. But I hear something similar from someone who smokes and sings.

Not much more I can say about it. If you don't hear it, I don't imagine I have a way to explain it.

Bellyman Paul McCartney smoked, quit 30 some years ago, sounds pretty much the same to me. What is it that you hear? Pavarotti smoked, then quit, then started up again. All of his recordings pretty much sound the same to me. You must have very good hearing.

PianoMonk You must have very good hearing.

Sometimes. I did a few too many years as a piano tuner and it did affect the way I hear things, not always in a good way. I'm sorry I can't explain it better. "Raspy" was about as close as I could get and that wasn't it.

I was listening to a guy on YouTube that was talking about AI voices. He has people in his household that can't tell and others that can tell nearly instantly. It's like you either hear it or you don't. Not sure if it can be taught or learned. (?)

... ride a unicycle ...

Don't know how many people smoke these days, it's not as many as used to. But I have seen a few too many people die way too young because they couldn't leave those things alone. Had an uncle that couldn't. Not a death that was pleasant to watch, wouldn't wish what I saw on an enemy. Some may get away with it. Many do not.

It may be that different people are affected differently by smoke / smoking. I tend to find my voicebox "swelling" and my voice getting deeper when I'm in a smoky room for too long. A similar thing happens when I get a cold and have to cough a lot. I sing a wonderful deep bass at that point but it doesn't last.