The Incredible Keyboard

Katherine, Caroline and her friend MD went to The Incredible Keyboard, sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, this morning. The participants were introduced to the harpsichord, the organ, the handbells and the piano. I dropped the girls off and ran an errand but made it back in time to join them for a very interesting session about the piano. The session was led by a local piano technician. He taught the girls about the individual parts of the piano. They learned that there are over 10,000 parts to an upright piano and over 12,000 parts to a grand piano. They also learned that each different piano manufacturer uses a different color of felt to make their hammers. He also explained why plastic covered keys are more prevalent than ivory keys, but that ivory is still available despite the bans on harvesting. Did you know that there are stockpiles of ivory in museums all over the country?

The girls also really enjoyed learning about and playing the organ. This session was taught by Caroline's piano teacher, BTM, who is also our church organist. Both Caroline and Katherine were so excited about the organ that they are eagerly awaiting the end of tomorrow's service so they can take BTM up on her offer to help her put the organ to sleep.