Having played the piano since the age of 5, I always pictured my “grown-up” home featuring a baby grand nearside an oversized window.

What I didn’t realize is that city living on a limited budget does not allow for such luxuries.

Sometime last year I decided that a digital/electric piano would fit the bill. It would allow me to practice in private and would definitely take up less space than an acoustic instrument.

I immediately began saving, and per my usual self, began to do crazy research for the perfect digital piano under $2,000 (thank you, Piano World Forums!).

Unfortunately, my job situation (or lack thereof) put a halt to my savings plan.

Until I received my tax refund, that is.

Having a husband who works for the big G has its benefits. He contacted his employee concierge service and asked where we can get my desired piano, within 20 miles of Manhattan, at the best price. They replied within 24 hours with a referral at almost $200 off the list price.

The very week that my tax refund was deposited into my bank account, we trekked to a local Sam Ash and bought my very own digital piano.

The Roland FP-4…

During my research, I found that the best brands in the sub-$2,000 range were Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, and Casio.

However, I have not had the best experience with Kawais in the past, and Casios felt a bit flimsy to me.

I did more research into the Yamaha vs Roland debate.

What I discovered was that at my price range, it was really a matter of preference.

Yamahas tend to have brighter sounds with “spring-y” keys, more akin to the American style. They are optimal for fast pieces and is the preferred brand for a large majority of professionals.

Rolands are optimized for those who prefer a more romantic sound, similar to those of the old European pianos.

Personally, I preferred the feel of the Roland over the Yamaha.

At first, I was interested in the Roland FP-7, but found that the FP-4 has all the features I need at a lower price. The main difference between the two is that the FP-7 has more electronic features such as a better display and a USB port.

The FP-7 also has better built-in speakers than the FP-4, but I do not need top-of-the-line sound in my little apartment. I also would’ve been happy with run-of-the-mill headphones, but J insisted that we buy a pair of very nice Sennheiser headphones…and I am so happy I did. With the headphones, my FP-4 sounds delightful, much better than the majority of pianos I’ve played in my life.

My piano playing level is nowhere as good as I once was, but I’m starting to get it back. I’ve also been playing in my church’s praise band, something I had done back in high school.

Maybe one day, I’ll be courageous enough to hit the “record” button and upload a piece on this blog.

I’ve had the good fortune of meeting BoA, the Korean/Japanese pop sensation.

My uncle is a very powerful man in the Korean entertainment business. When I visited Korea in 2000, he was the Vice-President of Broadcasting at MBC, which is one of the main broadcasting companies in Korea.

(As a side note, I’m proud to say that one of the very last showed produced under his tenure as the VP of Broadcasting was the hit drama 대장금, or Dae Jang Geum, which still remains one of the most popular dramas in Korean history.)

While he holds an even higher position now, his former title was an impressive one nonetheless. He took me on a tour of the studios and I gaped and gawked, starstruck. My visit to MBC was one where no one dared to refuse and no doors were closed (even shows that were currently live on air). Everyone seemed to cower in his presence – even movie stars and popular singers.

It was in this environment that I met BoA. She had just started to become popular at the tender age of 13. Her first hit Korean single, “Sara,” was about her Persian cat…and I got to hold the said cat backstage while she performed on stage. We exchanged small talk, and I remember thinking, “Wow, she’s so young.”

Since then, BoA developed into quite a star. Dubbed “the Korean Britney Spears” (pre-KFed), BoA became one of eastern Asia’s most popular celebrities.

I read recently that BoA is looking to expand into the U.S. market. I was skeptical – Asian pop culture is vastly dissimilar to that of the U.S. I’m pretty certain that she will not be able to “make it” here.

However, I can’t discredit her for lack of trying. In a couple of weeks, BoA will perform live at the MTV Studios in Time Square. You can even win tickets:

The U.S. is a tough market – I wish you the best of luck, BoA!

Via PopSeoul.

My first boyfriend was a gangsta.

It was the stereotypical good girl-bad boy relationship. Although it was probably the unhealthiest relationship I’ve ever been in, I picked up quite a few things from him. For example, I’ve only tried weed a couple of times, but I can discern between the different strains and can distinguish the “good shit” from the “bad shit” just from smelling the batch. I learned the finer points of high-stakes sports betting and discovered just much hangs with one basket, one catch, or even one inch.

I also learned about gangsta rap. Triple Six Mafia. N.W.A. Geto Boys. He would lecture me on the history of these rappers, politics, grudges, and their ways of life as he blasted their music. And as an avid fan of Junior M.A.F.I.A., he taught me all about Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, or The Notorious B.I.G.

Over time, I learned to appreciate Biggie as well and was greatly saddened to hear of his death. I had read that Hollywood was making a biopic about the life of Biggie Smalls and was interested to see how it would turn out. A few days ago, a teaser trailer was released, and…I’m excited! I’m 100%, authentically looking forward to the movie’s release in January.

Check out the trailer yourself:

(watch in high quality for the full experience)

For more information, take a look at the official site.

Are you a musician? Do you play a musical instrument? Do you know how to read music?

If any of these questions pertains to you, you might be interested in a composer named George Crumb. Crumb is famous for distorting his scores in shapes indicative of the mood he’s trying to set. Case in point, the spiral-shaped score for ”Spiral Galaxy: Aquarius”:

Try playing THAT. I wish I had a piano handy.

A few more examples of his scores can be viewed here. (And if you can read Japanese, maybe you can tell me what the site says.)

Reading about Crumb reminded me of one of my favorite painters, Wassily Kandinsky. Considered to be one of the fathers of abstract expressionism, Kandinsky was fascinated with the emotional response evoked by music. He translated the essence of music as well as his theoretical reflections and insights from listening to music onto the canvas.

Dominant Curve, 1936.

Composition 8, 1923.

(Both these paintings can be viewed at the Guggenheim Museum in NY. Two must-sees for any Guggenheim visit.)

Can you see the music? The beats, the melody, the emotion? I can.

I’ve played the piano since I was 5, and the violin since I was 8. There was one year in elementary school when I decided to try the flute but it didn’t come naturally easy to me as the piano and violin did, so I quit.

Since then, I’ve played many different pianos and violins. But I was always sensitive to each instrument. Maybe overly sensitive – meaning I could never play as well on instruments to which I could not connect.

With each new instrument, I would take at least a few minutes to get to “know” each other. I would test the responsiveness, the sound quality, the build quality. And the instruments would test my limits, challenging me to create and be creative. If I couldn’t connect with a particular instrument in those crucial first minutes, I knew nothing special would come out of the relationship.

I’ve always treasured my violin – crafted in the 1890′s by a lesser-known Italian violinmaker, it certainly wasn’t the best quality or the most expensive violin available for sale at the time. It has numerous nicks and scratches, and had been repaired many times over. But I love that it has this history. And I love that the back body was carved from a single piece of wood, when most violins have 2 pieces that comprise the back body. It has a deep, rich sound, and the dealer who sold it to me informed me that many people did not like it because it is louder than your average violin. However, this is perfect for me because I was never as confident in my violin playing as my piano playing and so I need an instrument to counteract my shyness.

The piano we have in my parents’ house, however, is not my favorite. My mother had chosen it for its looks: she liked the deep mahogany wood. It has pretty good sound and responsiveness, but since the piano wasn’t chosen for its performance, I just like it okay. And perhaps I always knew deep down that it wasn’t mine, since my sister regularly played it too.

My favorite piano while growing up was our friend Annie’s. Not only was it carved beautifully, it had a soft yet rich, melodious sound, with just the perfect amount of stickiness in the keys.

Later, when I attended violin camp as a teenager (yes, there is such a thing as violin camp, and yes I went to one), I came across a Bösendorfer piano. Each Bösendorfer is hand-made, where crafters work alongside walls covered in pictures of beautiful, and often nude, women. They look to these women for inspiration while carving and assembling each piano…how sexy is that?!?

Bösendorfers start at tens of thousands of dollars, reaching hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions, so of course I’m not able to afford one. However, the one I did get to play while at violin camp was wonderful. It was the best piano I ever played.

Do you play a musical instrument? Are you sensitive to each instrument as well?