(piano-nerd)

I WANT A FORTEPIANO.

I'm not sure why this one is outside, but it's essentially identical to one that I was able to play today, thanks to my friend Rogan.

I walked past the Early Music Studio in the music building and I heard something that sounded like someone playing an out of tune banjo. I looked in the window, past the dark green blinds, and I saw my friend Rogan. I wanted him to notice me and open the door, but he looked pretty focused, so after listening to him for a bit, I knocked on the door and he let me in.

He was playing a theorbo!

It's a Renaissance instrument. He showed me the other, smaller theorbo he sometimes plays as well. They belong to our school. Then, he showed me the two harpsichords and the piano from the 18th century, one from the era of Schubert or Schumann.

The harpsichord plucks the strings - no wonder why Bach couldn't get any dynamics in any of his pieces!

Then, in the next room, he showed me another harpsichord and a fortepiano.

Of course, first off, it's weird that the keys are reversed in colour - the white keys are black, and vice versa. The fortepiano also had a knee-pedal as a damper instead of a foot pedal. And the hammers are leather-lined rather than felt-lined, which creates an entirely different sound.


I want a fortepiano because it made Haydn and Mozart make sense. Modern pianos are monstrosities compared to their forerunners. Running scales and trills felt like nothing; grace and gentleness in touch seemed to fall off my fingertips.


Ahh, if only I had a spare 50 grand.