Piano Lamp

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The words that you have always dreaded hearing are coming out of your doctor’s mouth. I’m sorry, you have skin cancer. The conversation can now go two ways. Your doctor may say, I’m glad you came in when you did. We caught it in time, this shouldn’t be fatal. Or your doctor might say, I’m so sorry. There isn’t much I can do. If only we had caught this sooner.

There are several warning signs a person can watch for. It is crucial that you are aware of what is going on with your body.

While it may seem like a complex issue, there are only two categories of skin cancer; Melanoma and non-melanoma. This particular cancer is one of the most prevalent in the United States.

Melanoma is not as common as non-melanoma cancer, and that is a good thing. Melanoma cancer spreads very quickly through the body and is therefore very difficult to treat. Early diagnosis of melanoma is crucial if you are wanting to lead a normal, long life.

Skin cancer is usually easier to spot than other cancers because it leaves marks on the skin. It is also one of the easiest cancers to ignore. It may dawn on you after several months that the spot on the side of your face still hasn’t healed yet. This is a sure sign that a doctor should take a look at it.

Other times, you may notice a reddish lump that is shiny and smooth. On the other hand, it may be just the opposite, still red, but scaly and rough. If you do have an abnormal spot somewhere, don’t have a panic attack. Not all skin changes mean that you have skin cancer. Just to be safe and for your own peace of mind, see a doctor and see what they think.

Take heart! There are cures for both types of cancers, but you MUST see a doctor as soon as you suspect any problem. If you wish to avoid this problem altogether, limit your unprotected exposure to the sun. Make sure you wear adequate clothing and use sunscreen.

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It is important to recognize that proper lighting is essential when playing, practicing, or performing at the piano.  It is for this reason that House of Troy makes an entire line of lamps that are specially designed for use on pianos. These lamps allow flexibility in directing the light exactly where you need it, on the music and the piano keys, and have a whole list of other features that make them perfect for use on pianos. They are solidly built, offer flexibility in directing light, come in many models, styles, and designs, and many are lightweight and portable, allowing musicians to transport them to performances and rehearsals. 

One popular design is the Balance Arm Lamp, also called a Counter Balance lamp.  These piano lamps work on both grand and upright pianos.  They can be placed on either side of the piano, and have a shade which is attached to a long adjustable arm that reaches over to illuminate the music.

When looking to purchase a balance arm lamp, you should first consider a few things to make sure you choose a lamp that will meet your needs.  First to consider is the amount and type of light a balance arm lamp throws. Some lamps use a T10 incandescent bulb available in either 40 or 60 watts. This light is similar to the light you get from a regular household light bulb. Both 40 and 60-watt T10 bulbs provide sufficient light to clearly read your music, so choosing between them is more a matter of personal preference as to how bright you would like the lamp to be. Other balance arm lamps use fluorescent bulbs which throw more of a white warm light, are more energy efficient and last longer than incandescent bulbs. Fluorescent bulbs typically require about one quarter of the energy than incandescent bulbs do and also produce 75% less heat.  Many balance arm lamps use a 13w PL fluorescent bulb, which is equivalent to 55 watts of incandescent light. 

 

Some balance arm lamps have a double adjustable arm, which allows you to adjust both the height and the extension of the arm.  This is important for fine-tuning the placement of the shade.  Also, the shades swivel to further direct the light, making these one of the most flexible lamp choices for pianos.  Other balance arm lamps have a stationary arm where the extension or reach of the lamp is stationary, but the height of the arm remains adjustable and the shade also rotates. 

 

You should consider the differences between the two arm types when making a decision to purchase a balance arm lamp.  Both arm types allow for focused light on the music. The stationary arm works great if you have room to move the base of the lamp back and forth so that the shade is positioned directly over the music. (This lamp works better on an upright piano).  Double adjustment balance arm lamps are better if you have limited space in which to place the lamp as on a Grand Piano. The adjustment arm allows you more flexibility in lamp placement because the arm can be adjusted to extend or retract which helps position the shade directly over the music. If you use a stationary arm balance lamp on a grand piano, the shade may either over-shoot or fall short of the sheet music. With the double adjustment type, you can move the arm to put the shade exactly where you want it.  In a nutshell, balance arm lamps with a stationary arm are better used for upright pianos, and balance lamps with a double adjustment arm work better on grand pianos.

All balance arm lamps have 10″ shades that encircle the bulb and rotate, which helps to focus the light on specific areas. The arms have a height adjustment range from 0″ to 26″ depending on the model chosen.  The on/off switch is conveniently located either on the front of the base or on the socket for easy access. These lamps have a solid weighted square or round base, which keeps the lamp solid on the piano at any extension of the arm, without the possibility of tipping the lamp. Extending the arm even to full length will not cause the lamp to be thrown off balance. 

 

Balance arm piano lamps are so versatile that they can easily be used in other areas of the home or office.  They function well as a nightstand light for reading, on desk and table- tops, in studios and in many other areas.  They are also lightweight and portable, so they come in handy for musicians and others who travel to performance venues, rehearsals, churches, schools, etc.

 

House of Troy Lighting has a great selection of handcrafted balance arm lamps.  You can choose from contemporary and traditional styles, antique finishes, crystal and brass models, polished brass and marble designs, and other styles and finishes.

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Well…what can i say about “moonfrog”… It was written and recorded in one marathon session after eating a magic cookie and sitting by a lamp with the lights off with just enough light to see what keys i was looking for on the piano keyboard, and where my glass of scotch was sitting. Its probably the most “far out” song that ive composed, as its not as “poppy” as the others i have posted. Oneday i hope to have a band or a group of muso’s that will perform this live. As its structured the way it is, it has remained a recording ever since it was written…

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In the expansive field of psychology, violin students’ personality traits are understood to be the complicated mental dimensions of personality discovered through empirical research. Empirical research meaning, in the context of this article, my vast experience and wisdom as a violin teacher for the past 10+ years.

To further advance the congruity of science and arts in the 21st century and assist my readers to unravel the fascinating mysteries surrounding the complex inner workings of the violin student’s mind, I have compiled my extensive investigation into the following twelve categories:

1. Deer in Headlights

2. Ping Pong Ball

3. Aggravating Antagonizer

4. Teenage Trend Jockey

5. Chit Chatter

6. Know-It-All

7. Chronically Unpunctual

8. Procrasti-Master

9. Excuse-Generator

10. Neurotic Nelly

11. Black Hole

12. The Ideal Student

1. Deer in Headlights

Frequently manifested in pupils over the age of forty, these wide-eyed and petrified casualties of violin instruction are rarely seen by audiences or people who appreciate fine music. Mushrooms of novice music, these willy-nilly players resort to more desirable activities on recital night, such as an elective colonoscopy or tooth drilling, but on rare events may be coerced, er, motivated to participate with the proper incentive: promises of an empty theatre and free finger food.

Once on stage and confronted with the reality of a sold-out live audience (far less preferable to Deer in Headlights to that of a dead audience) the Deer in Headlights defy the human “fight or flight” instinct and opt to freeze for the duration of their piece. Though they seem to be in a deranged trance, they are actually using their peripheral vision to locate the nearest exit.

More bold and seasoned Deer in Headlights may muster up the courage to play a fragment of a scale or the start to “Twinkle Twinkle,” but usually opt for scurrying off the stage like a squirrel with a weak bladder.

The blind audition, or one which is conducted with the player behind a screen or curtain, was surely concocted by a Deer in Headlights. He or she could play like the dickens but had an inordinate fear of spotlights, neat rows of seating and eyeballs.

Players between the ages of four and six may experience Deer in Headlights symptoms during their first couple violin lessons, in which time they will stare up with a frozen, gaping mouth and frightened raised eyebrows at the instructor. They do not respond to light conversation or friendly questions and spend the entire half hour session frozen. They may go out on a limb and nod their head slightly when asked if they want a sticker at the end of class.

Sadly for the teacher, this phase quickly passes and many morph into Ping Pong Balls, leaving the teacher pining for the days when the child didn’t speak.

2. Ping Pong Ball, aka the Easily Distracted Hyperactive Hellion

The most concentrated number of young violin students fall into the Ping Pong Ball classification. They are very easy to spot as they are the ones swinging from the ceiling lamp, followed by floor gymnastics while screaming nasty, made-up lyrics to Ode to Joy. The Ping Pong Balls find it inexorably difficult to pay attention to the lesson, listen to their teacher or remain still for longer than 3.672 seconds (I’ve clocked them).

Depth is lost on the Ping Pong Ball and teachers working with them find themselves the object of much rejection. I have concluded some of my finest technique lectures and riveting inspirational speeches only to be asked by a Ping Pong Ball, “Where did you get that cool pen? Can I have it?”

The Ping Pong Ball quickly switches topics to something about another child at her school who can lick her own elbows and then on to the subject of what their dog coughed up the other day. She cannot think in a room with windows, bright lights or shiny objects.

This is not to say the Ping Pong Ball is not an intelligent individual. Quite the opposite, the Ping Pong Ball is a very smart child who is so enthusiastic about her violin lesson she cannot control her urge to act impulsively.

Violin teachers with pets, toys or any other objects of desire for children in their home will find dealing with these distractions to be a losing battle. Just let them play and enjoy the time off to surf the net or catch up on laundry. The child is having fun at their lesson, even if they haven’t learned anything violin-wise. Tune their violin, give them a star on their book and send them on their hyperactive way.

3. Aggravating Antagonizer

Music teachers serving time in prison incontestably taught one too many Aggravating Antagonizers in their careers. The Aggravating Antagonizer is undoubtedly the most difficult violin student to instruct as they are usually under age and protected by special laws; laws which they conveniently use to their obstinate advantage.

Picture an adorable seven-year-old little girl in pigtails. Add a pouting bottom lip, claws and a shrill scream and you’ve got the start of a successful Aggravating Antagonizer. You say black, she says white. You ask her to play a scale in tenuto whole notes, she plays it staccato prestissimo! Aggravating Antagonizers are spite externalized, though surely they would disagree.

A few more words on Aggravating Antagonizers: adverse, clashing, conflicting, contradictory, headstrong, hostile, negative, obstinate, opposed, ornery, rebellious, stubborn and unruly.

4. Teenage Trend Jockey

Ping Pong Balls and Aggravating Antagonizers do mellow and become more agreeable with age. As teens they enter a pupal stage in development as a Teenage Trend Jockey. Like the Ping Pong Ball, the Teenage Trend Jockeys (or as they would cleverly have it, the “T2J”) are still distracted from the lesson, but focus their teenage distraction instead on being cool and aloof.

Strangely there is a definite split in characteristics depending on the gender of the Teenage Trend Jockey. Females exhibit this behavior by spending the entire lesson admiring their polished reflection in the mirror and messing with their hair. They obsess on mundane news items yet insist Britney Spears’ new haircut is information of life-altering quality.

Teenage Trend Jockey Males are simply concerned with occasionally pulling up their sagging pants and disengaging their digital watch alarms every two minutes to help pass the time. They also enjoy bragging about their cars and latest gadgets. They do not yet understand the concept of deodorant.

All Teenage Trend Jockeysfind enjoyment in checking their text messages on their cell phones and starting up loud conversations with other students waiting in the hall outside the lesson room rather than listening to their teacher. They are not known to practice and have many tragic reasons why they didn’t have the time to practice that week [see Excuse Generator.] However, they are good to keep around as they all give free computer and technology tech support.

5. Chitchatter

I, regretfully fall under this classification. Mixed with Chitchatter students, my long distance phone bill rivals the national debt. To keep things succinct, the Chitchatter talks constantly and dedicates a fair chunk of lesson time to casual banter.

Some adult Chitchatters are just cleverly avoiding playing in front of the teacher or any other observers [see Deer in Headlights] and must be cut off mid-sentence and firmly ordered to play a G major scale.

Violin teachers must strive to schedule chit chatters before Chronically Unpunctual students and to never, under any circumstances schedule a Chitchatter before Neurotic Nelly for whom the weekly babbling and delay to lessons will surely cause a mental breakdown in the latter.

More than one Chitchatter in a group lesson or ensemble means no actual practicing or rehearsing will be done, so you may as well just sit back and enjoy the conversation. Finally, DO NOT schedule the Chitchatter at the end of your teaching day unless you like staying after work two hours extra each day and eating cold supper alone while your family sleeps.

6. Know-It-All

Not to be confused with mere Chitchatters who simply enjoy talking during lessons and sharing a mundane narrative, or the Aggravating Antagonizer who is contrary to anything the teacher says or does, the Know-It-All has the inexplicable ability to attend one lesson and become an instant expert in the violin, its technique and theory.

Expect the Know-It-All to refute any information you share as a teacher but to lack the capacity to prove their argument. Thus arguing with the Know-It-All is futile. Logic and reason do not apply. Yet they continue to pay for lessons even though they are thoroughly convinced they know all there is to be known in violin.

Violin instructors tend to breed Know-It-All children who refute everything their parent explains to them about music. This is the reason why violin instructors pay to have someone else teach their offspring violin.

Know-It-Alls are connoisseurs of self-arrogance and ego in its lowest forms but tragically claim to be humble and patient. Never compliment a Know-It-All; his head will swell up to three times its normal size, which is already larger than 95% of the population, and you will be forced to rush him into the nearest hospital for an emergency ego-exctomy.

Despite their lack of popularity in musical circles, there is plenty of work for Know-It-Alls. With much practice and very little thought they make superb orchestral conductors or music critics.

7. Chronically Unpunctual

Some Procrasti-Masters have devolved into a nasty little side cluster: the Chronically Unpunctual. These people do own watches but apparently do not know how to read them. The laws of time and space do not exist in the mind of the Chronically Unpunctual. To them a weekly lesson slot is merely a suggested time for arrival.

Chronically Unpunctual students are in the lesson in spirit. The spirit of swearing while swerving down the highway at outrageous speeds. Strangely, they find their composure as they enter the lesson room and act as if there is nothing at all inappropriate in being 15 minutes late for a 30 minute lesson.

Chronically Unpunctual parents of young violin students raise resentful Excuse-Generator children who, with enough missed lessons, may even develop into Neurotic Nellies. The Chronically Unpunctual may become nervous wrecks over time, in which case they incorporate Excuse-Generator traits to their repertoire which season their weekly late arrivals. After all, every teacher loves a long, drawn-out story involving traffic, bad roads, alien abductions and time distortion at the start of class.

8. Procrasti-Master

Procrasti-Masters leave everything to the very last minute, and not just their weekly commutes to lessons. They have the best intentions of practicing their violins all week but seem to forget about it until the day of the lesson. Some can be seen practicing their music in the car en route to the lesson.

Interestingly, Procrasti-Masters’ best work is done under pressure. To them it’s a thrilling experience, like skydiving or robbing a bank. The adrenaline starts running as the teacher asks the Procrasti-Master to play the new piece he was assigned the week previous. Thus Procrasti-Masters are fantastic sight-readers and learn pieces far quicker and more efficiently than those silly people who actually practice.

Though it stresses out the teacher to the point of losing sleep and hair, the Procrasti-Master neglects his pieces until a week or so before the recital. An industrious three or four hours is all he needs to catch up. He smiles smugly knowing he wisely used a semester’s worth of practice time playing video games. Thus Procrasti-Masters make excellent understudies for times when the soloist cannot play the concert.

Likewise, Procrasti-Masters consistently earn high marks in festivals, contests and exams. This is a point of contention and jealousy among other students, such as Neurotic Nellies, who have been working on their pieces in all twelve keys for five hours a day the past nine months.

9. Excuse-Generator

One cannot discuss violin students without mention of the Excuse-Generator. The start of every Excuse-Generator’s lesson is dominated by the reason they were late, why they didn’t practice the previous week, the drawn out story of how their music book went missing and how dropping their violin in no way was the cause for the large, mysterious new crack and broken strings.

Everything in the Excuse-Generator’s life is external. They are hapless victims of rare circumstance, government conspiracy and complicated problems to which they have no control or solution. Because of this Excuse-Generators are rarely top-notch violinists. It’s clearly not their fault! This is because many cannot read music and have many reasons why it is far easier to just play by ear or fake it.

Excuse-Generators also tend to attract violin strings which break themselves and bows that tighten all on their own. Paranormal activity is also common. A student of mine recently blamed a ghost for his bow suddenly losing contact and sliding off the string. He insisted it had nothing to do with his technique and asked that I have my home inspected and exorcised by a priest.

In college I had an Excuse-Generator violin teacher who, after playing a sour note, would quickly re-tune her violin. The darn fiddle just seemed to go out of tune every time she made a mistake. It was eerie…

10. Neurotic Nelly

This Type-A personality personifies itself in violin students as the Neurotic Nelly, aka Irritating Pain in the Ass. You will see the Neurotic Nelly in a wild frenzy to get to their lesson twenty minutes early. Being late is as simply not an option for the Neurotic Nelly.

Neurotic Nellies make a consistent and painstaking effort to be as anal retentive as possible, thus documenting everything their teacher says and seem to have a better understanding of their teacher’s pedagogy than the teacher has. Don’t bother arguing whether or not he paid for classes or didn’t miss a lesson; he has forms in triplicate and video footage proving the contrary.

Their music is arranged in alphabetical order and is frequently colour-coded. Extreme perfectionists, Neurotic Nellies simply cannot accept compliments as their playing can never be good enough. The plus side is that they always pay for lessons on time and never leave their music at home.

Neurotic Nellies’ nervousness makes them unsuitable for colder climates as they are physically unable to travel during inclement weather. A single hovering snowflake has them pressing speed dial to cancel the afternoon’s lesson, much to the teachers’ dismay as the Neurotic Nellies always request a free make-up-lesson.

It is widely debated among violin teachers and researchers whether or not a Neurotic Nelly and Black Hole sharing the same desk in an orchestra would simply cancel each other out into oblivion or prove to be a winning, symbiotic relationship. In the meantime, the two are kept in strict isolation from each other for the health of the entire orchestra.

11. Black Hole

Also known as Chaos Incarnate, these muddle-minded individuals coax disorder into their lives as an exposed pair of buttocks in the Amazon basin attracts mosquitoes. Black Holes embrace entropy. Entropy, however, secretly longs for a less tumultuous relationship and is considering a career change.

Some Black Hole’s daily routines of pandemonium are garnished with the added burden of a violin lesson every seven days. It’s just too regular a schedule to adhere to and Black Holes miss more than half their lessons due to poor planning or forgetfulness.

Suitable mates of Procrast-Masters and the Chronically Unpunctual, Black Holes also leave everything to the last minute. More interesting to watch however, Black Holes have added the frantic search for coffee-stained sheet music and car keys amidst a disarray of papers and fast food containers only scant minutes before their lesson time. In their muddled, confused hunt they inevitably forget to pack the violin.

One Black Hole I instructed years back became oddly resourceful and folded and wedged her sheet music into the toe of her shoes for “safe-keeping.” The result: a wrinkled copy of Sonata in G with ink running from her preteen perspiration. I even purchased her a binder which was later lost or eaten by her dog, I can’t quite remember which.

12. The Ideal Student: Theoretical classification yet to be discovered

The Ideal Student is a simple beast who listens intently, does everything as instructed to and practices a joyful 5 hours each day. He pays in advance, compliments my appearance and his violin never goes out of tune. She frequently has me over to visit at her Tuncan villa and is compelled to bring Swiss chocolates to lessons.

Now accepting bookings from students who fit this description: inquire within. And bring chocolates.

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MY FACEBOOK PAGE: www.facebook.com … I recorded this video today, three weeks after i recorded the audio from scratch. i had lots of fun, armed with a camera and desk lamp. enjoy!

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Gooseneck Polished Brass Piano Desk Lamp Features Polished brass finish on solid brass construction. Gooseneck for flexibility. Takes one 60 watt bulb (not included). Adjusts from 3″ to 11″ high. 10″ shade.

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Thinking about a new fireplace screen for your hearth? There are more options available now than just a few years ago. Don’t be overwhelmed by the possibilities, though. Here’s a quick guide to fireplace screen shapes.

Fireplace screens vary by the number of panels they have, by whether the panels are straight or curved, by the shape of the top of the screen, and by whether they have access doors. There is also a distinction between fireplace screens and fireplace spark guards.

One panel screens are very popular now. Flat one panel screens fit up flat against your fireplace and are visually integral to the fireplace opening. They usually sit on adjustable “feet.” Curved single panel fireplace screens have a gentle bow in them that allows them to stand without feet. Placed in front of the fireplace, each side edge of a bowed screen is against your fireplace wall, but the middle of the screen bows out a bit from the fireplace opening.

Three-panel and four-panel fireplace screens are piano hinged between each panel. This allows you to position the side panels to fit the width of your fireplace.

Three panel screens are probably the most familiar style. The middle panel is typically about twice as wide as each of the side panels. Three-panel screens are often favored for traditional settings. Some have bowed panels; each panel is gently bowed so the entire screen forms one, continuous bow when placed on your hearth.

Four panel screens, although less common, have a unique appeal. They stand easily and can be adjusted to fireplaces of different widths. In addition, it is easy to fold just two of the panels to tend your fire.

Single panel, three-panel, and four-panel screens all can be had with arched tops or flat tops. Arched fireplace screens are popular not only with homeowners with arched fireplaces, but also with those who want a break from all the horizontal lines of most fireplace setting. The arched screens–whether each panel is individually arched or the screen as a whole has a single arch–can add visual interest and drama to your hearth.

Access doors are a relatively new feature on fireplace screens. Most screens must be moved to tend a fire or add logs. Not so with fireplace screens with doors built into them. Access doors are most common on single panel screens and on the center panel of three-panel screens.

A separate category of screen is the “spark guard.” Spark guards are screens that not only protect sparks from coming straight out from your fire into your room but also protect you from sparks that might shoot up-and-out into your room. Typically, they look much like a three-panel screen with two important differences: First, an additional top section of screening goes from the top of the three panels up to the fireplace wall. Often this top section of screening is shaped like the curved section of an old fashioned roll-front desk. Second, none of the panels is hinged. The entire spark guard is rigid. To tend a fire, handles on the spark guard allow the rigid unit to be picked up and moved away from the fire.

Your new fireplace screen can look just like the fireplace screen grandma used to have. But it doesn’t have to! A fireplace screen with a newer shape, or a classical shape updated, might better serve your decorating and functional needs.

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