Play Me, I’m Yours
July 16, 2009 - By Bobby Solomon - Category: Art & Life & Music
I was reading this article in The New York Times the other day called All Around London, an Invitation to Make Music, which talks about a program by Luke Jerram who takes pianos and puts them into busy, cultural areas across the world. The idea is that people will stop and play music for anyone who cares to listen, creating a (hopefully) pleasurable experience for not only the player, but the listeners as well. Luke calls this program, Play Me, I’m Your’s.
For some reason this article made me really emotional. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something really gets me about people being united by music. Music is a universal thing no matter what language you speak, we all understand. And there’s just something so random and wonderful about this project that makes me just want to grin from ear to ear.
For example, they did a version of this in São Paolo, where the article says that pianos are scarce. I guess people caught wind of the project and travelled for hours to get a chance to play on these public pianos. Just the thought of that makes me burst inside. How wonderful would it be to walking around and suddenly you see and hear a 9 year old boy playing Chopin? If this intrigues you, watch the video above. Just listening to it gives me chills.
Bobby
Comments
If you've got something to say, keep it positive.[...] you Kitsune, for giving me wonderful pointers such as this [...]
Pingback by ONE AND ONE MAKES TEN - Play Me I’m Yours — July 16, 2009 #
That made the hairs on my neck stand on end. Impromptu sharing is wonderful. Thanks Bobby!
I hear you on the emotion. It’s crazy isn’t it?
..and you have thus caused me to exercise my tear ducts.
fantastic!
I’m in London, there’s a piano outside the station of my commute and it really is nice to see someone playing with a group of people standing around enjoying it.
that also gave me the chills. i totally agree with you in that music is universal.
I work just across the road from that piano in the plaza, and I’m constantly amazed by the phenomenal talent that just sit down and begin to play.
It’s beautiful.
this has to be one of the coolest ideas ever.
-james
[...] Source: Kitsune Noir [...]
Pingback by Play me, I’m yours… « Vibes and Tribes — July 17, 2009 #
That’s an exciting project. I love that it encourages and nurtures a sense of community. For me anyway, it’s hard to find that.
There was one of these outside my work in soho square – they’ve been removed now.
When it first went up about 3 weeks ago, it was extraordinarily charming – the piano would sit alone for long periods, people were too shy to play it. Then someone who’d had a few lessons would throw down some chopsticks or some hall of the mountain king, badly played, years-lost muscle memory slowly kicking in.
Flash-forward a couple of weeks, and there’s people bringing amps, accompanying instruments, singers etc., and the charm was kind of gone. I saw the same guy do a half-hour boogie-woogie set every single day.
The amateurs were way cooler than the pros I guess, is what I’m saying.
I wonder what happened to all the pianos?
Bobby, have you seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI_0Hyn57Lk
so beautiful
Wow thanks for sharing this! I had to reblog this and keep the vibe going on this. Great story!
Yours! Yours! Yours!