Best Night(s) Of Your Life

[lichristine]

So, in the LA thread, a conversation was started about starting a "best night/day" thread.
I liked that idea alot.

Me?

1. Taste of Chaos, 07. Life-changing (well, kind of...long story!)
2. Any Relay for Life I've ever been to.
3. Knott's Berry Farm Halloween (and later events at the hotel room.)
4. The first day I was dating this one guy, and the first night


So? what're yours? I think it'd be very interesting to hear stories behind yours as well. I didn't really post mine, cos yeah I figured noone would want to read.


-Alia

[pianistimo]

honeymoon and heading to montreal, canada on an airplane.  there have been a few more great nights.  concerts.  it's hard to beat a really great concert and dinner.  well, unless we're talking about something else. 

right now i am very depressed.  my bedroom is a haystack - books everywhere.

[rach n bach]

Your bedroom is a haystack?  Then you would be... oh never mind.

My best night was the one I described in the best superlative thread... awesome 

[pianistimo]

then i would be what?  looking for a needle.  well, as a matter of fact - i can barely find my husband at night.  i've forgiven him AGAIN for overloading the bedroom like it's some kind of periodicals room in a large library.  journals, books, equipment.  even my digital piano is in there (ok that's my fault).  i mean - originally, we had a nice bedroom.  it looked attractive and made one think of relaxation and all.  but, now, if i think 'bedroom' - it's like more work.  we need a second bedroom or something.   right now, it's an obstacle course.

hmm.  rach n bach.  tell us more.  don't know exactly where to find that thread.  just repeat yourself.  was it some sudden move on her part?  men seem to like it when women take control.

[rach n bach]

then i would be what?  looking for a needle.  well, as a matter of fact - i can barely find my husband at night. 

pianistimo... you really need to choose your words more carefully...

Hold on... I'll find it

RnB

[becca91]

Best nights of my life:
wow, there are a lot:

1) Last May when I went to Battlecry '06 in Phildelphia (actually that was two nights - and days)
2) The second night of Snow Camp at World of Life Bible Institute
3) A few weeks ago when I went to an awesome concert
4) Last April when I was baptized was a pretty encouraging night

There's more, but I can't think of any right now.

[rach n bach]

Pianistimo, look here, about 1/2 way down...

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,22457.50.html

That has to be the greatest effect my playing has had.

RnB

[thalbergmad]

1. World Armwrestling Championships 1986.
2. Losing my cherry.
3. Getting a cuddle from Linzi Dawn McKenzie.
4. Climbing Ben Nevis.
5. Dead lifting 300 kilos.
6. Getting knocked over by Dennis Healey in the Classical Music Store, Charing Cross.

Thal

[pianistimo]

'all you need for the fast ones is a bit of technical practice put in....'  rach n bach - i fear it is you that needs to choose your words more carefully.  or was that arbisley.  in any case.  having a girl pass out in a closet after your playing of the rach c# minor prelude.  wow.  just pass out.  imagine if you had opened the closet and said muhahahhaha, after all.

thalbergmad,  you need to get out more.  and, who, might i ask -is linzi dawn mckenzie?

becca91 - happy to hear that you were baptized last april.  it is a good feeling.

[living_stradivarius]

pianistimo... you really need to choose your words more carefully...

Hold on... I'll find it

RnB

ROFL

[Mozartian]

staying up till ridiculous hours of the night reading LOTR and listening to the Goldberg variations are some of my fondest memories.

(wow am i really that nerdy)

[thalbergmad]

and, who, might i ask -is linzi dawn mckenzie?

You astound me sometimes.

It is you who needs to get out more.

She is one of the truly great English actresses.

Thal

[pianistimo]

she doesn't have to act.  she never really did.  all she had to do was let nature take it's course.  (at 14 double DD)  whew.  when did they stop growing?  that's the question.  you're liable not to get a cuddle - but rather be completely knocked over.  a sort of natural defense mechanism. 

i'm going out this saturday night or sunday - to hear the messiah with the local crack organ player.  it should be really exciting.  don't have tickets yet.  thanks for reminding me that i need to get out. 

just looked on the website.  no rush since the concert isn't until december.  that's excitement for you.  i thought it was this weekend the way it was advertised.

[cmg]

i'm going out this saturday night or sunday - to hear the messiah with the local crack organ player. 

I hardly think being on crack is appropriate while performing "Messiah."  I'm shocked at you, P.

[pianowolfi]

Still thinking. I had sooooooooooooooo many remarkable nights.......(noooo not what you think lol ) I will make a selection and come back to this later 

[pianistimo]

this isn't a poll, pianowolfi.  just pick one quickly.

[pianowolfi]

this isn't a poll, pianowolfi.  just pick one quickly.

But it makes me THINK.   

[rach n bach]

It's ok pianistimo... he's not used to it... 

[pianowolfi]

It's ok pianistimo... he's not used to it... 

Hee hee I' m used to many things you wouldn't expect. (Still thinking.... )

[elspeth]

Quite a few spring to mind!

Lots of concerts. Most recently I heard a young man whose name unfortunately escapes me play the Tchaikovsky violin concerto, he was stunning.

Paying all of £13 to stand at the back of stalls at Covent Garden to hear Placido Domingo sing.

Reopening the theatre I work in after its recent refit, and crying happy tears all the way home after working the first night of the new season. I love my job. Quite unreasonably so.

Dates with the new man in my life. No more whinging about being terminally single from me - for a while, at any rate... hopefully a long while...

Sitting in a hide in a swamp on the Finland/Russia border, watching the mist rise over the lake and catching my breath (and my camera!) as a bear appeared on the far bank and walked round the lake towards me.

[ada]

without giving too much away...

1. Celebrating a 19th birthday in Munich, a sliding window and a German aristocrat on a Kawasaki, somewhere in a forest,  with my best mate Charlie and the stars fell out of the sky like snow

2. An uncharacteristic brief encounter with a perfect stranger in KL, Malaysia

3. The ferris wheel, Luna Park, New Year's eve, Distant Locusts and performance poets. Also one of the most tragic ... something created, something destroyed
 

[ahinton]

without giving too much away...

1. Celebrating a 19th birthday in Munich, a sliding window and a German aristocrat on a Kawasaki, somewhere in a forest,  with my best mate Charlie and the stars fell out of the sky like snow

That sounds like it might have involved a substance or two but, again, almost as though it oughtn't to have done so in the best interests of savouring what it mayhave had to offer...

2. An uncharacteristic brief encounter with a perfect stranger in KL, Malaysia

Bu' did he (this lump o' koala) spik wi' a Scawttish accent?...

3. The ferris wheel, Luna Park, New Year's eve, Distant Locusts and performance poets. Also one of the most tragic ... something created, something destroyed

Ouch. This could have come out of a Mahler symphony - or even a Pettersson one...(though mebbe it wasnae so bad as it might soond)...

Best,

Alistair

[living_stradivarius]

Best Night:
1. Sex in the evening.
Best Day:
2. Sex at noon.

Beat that 

[alwaystheangel]

1) My 19th birthday at the music faculty formal
2) Cuddling with my bf while watching a scary movie and then falling asleep, waking up at 5 in the morning and swinging on the swings wearing our pajamas when it was snowing and we could see the northern lights...
3) tobogganing drunk in the middle of the night

[rc]

Most of my nights are pretty good.

3) tobogganing drunk in the middle of the night

That would be a good midnight adventure - sliding down a hill in the dark,  not like you could see straight anyways.

Reminds me of camping one night with friends.  We got to the spot late, there was about a 1km hike from where we parked on the side of the mountain, which is a long way to be carrying camping supplies and a cooler full of food and beer uphill.  By the time we had our site all set up the sun had set so we got into the food and beer.  It was a clear night, but no moon, pretty dark.  I'd never been there before so some friends decided to show me the cliffs, they showed me where to jump and away I went.

That was something.  I was drunk and because of how dark it was had no idea how far down it was to the water...  Over the edge falling in the darkness thinking "where's the water?  when will it..."  BOOM - underwater   What I really didn't expect was how deep I'd go under.  Once I was under it took a surprisingly long time to reach the surface, I began to panic a bit - I didn't get a chance to take a breath before hitting the water.

It's a lot of fun, I love the freefall.

[mikey6]

Climbing the bell tower at Rothenburg was great - don't know why.
Listening to Beethoven 7 while driving through the Dolarmites, then Poem of ecstasy while looking at a blazing red sunset.
A few long convos with friends have been fun.

[soliloquy]

Best Night:
1. Sex in the evening.


Beat that 

Drunken five-some at night.  I win.

[mycrabface]

So, in the LA thread, a conversation was started about starting a "best night/day" thread.
I liked that idea alot.

Me?

1. Taste of Chaos, 07. Life-changing (well, kind of...long story!)
2. Any Relay for Life I've ever been to.
3. Knott's Berry Farm Halloween (and later events at the hotel room.)
4. The first day I was dating this one guy, and the first night


So? what're yours? I think it'd be very interesting to hear stories behind yours as well. I didn't really post mine, cos yeah I figured noone would want to read.


-Alia

The day I kicked someone's d**k

[rc]

...Poor duck

[sharon_f]

A few that come to mind...

The night my Mom brought my brand new little borther home from the hospital. I was six and I just watched him for hours as he slept. I really wanted a little brother,

Sitting out on the porch one summer evening and getting my first kiss.

Riding the bus to music camp in northern Vermont. I stayed up all night and saw the mountains of New Hampshire gradually appear in the distace as the sun began to rise. I was 15 or 16.

Laying on the beach in Florida with my boyfriend on NY's Eve 1999 watching fireworks over the Gulf of Mexico. It was 68 degrees at midnight! I think that was the night I realized how much I loved him.

Last October, standing on the porch of The Balsams Hotel in Dixville Notch New Hampshire. It was a fairly warm night, around 50 degrees. I was holding my boyfriend's hand, we had just had dinner and we watched as a full moon rose above the treetops of the nearby mountain. It was magical.

Wow, right now I feel so warm just remembering these moments.

[pianowolfi]

Well I have thought about it. And I have come to no definite conclusion. But one night that is remarkable to me is the night when I cycled from Switzerland to Chartres, France, riding an old three-gear bicycle, back in 1991. I couldn't' find an open hotel for one night, so I just rode on and hoped I would be able to keep it up. I saw a HUGE star which seemed to lead me on my path. It was something like a pilgrimage anyway (Chartres has one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world). At 4 or 5 in the morning I got so tired, I just sat down at the roadside and took a little nap. The sky was incredibly clear. Mystical. It was close to a village named "Chateaurenard" ( I am not sure if this has to be translated "castle of the fox" or something like that, I guess so) It was definitely a magical night. The star, the sky, the pilgrimage and me. Very symbolic for my life. And I never forget the feeling of the sunrise in the morning. It was like being reawakened to life. A golden sun, a clear blue sky without a single cloud. And life awakening in the villages. Just legendary 

[pianistimo]

i thought this was leading to a french girl or something.  ok.  best night of your life, alone.  qualifier.   totally understand the facination with nature at night.  sometimes i've ridden close to sunset here in pa.  as soon as it is dark - the fireflies come out and they light up the bike trail.  it's really cool.  but, it's hard to see.  anyways - i still go 80 mph and hope i don't hit a tree limb.  i like the feeling of stealth.  odd i guess.  it feels like you are going faster at night. 

best nights alone for me could be the ones where i have a grand piano to play for hours into the night.  i don't typically like to be alone, though.  i hate being cold.  my husband is a heater.  (among other things).  if it weren't for him - i'd have the gas fireplace on all night and just sleep next to it.

one of three times i stayed up until dawn - was when i drove my kids to visit my bro in arizona from california.  we got there in the early morning as the sun came up over the desert horizon.  it was huge and orange.  never saw so many desert colors as when it first came up over the horizon. 

maybe the facination for nature is high amongst some musicians.  i also loved to see desert rabbits, snakes, tortoises, and coyotes (from a distance) cycling.  it's  just beautiful to see animals in their own environments and doing what they typically do.  here in pa we have deer in the evening and early morning to watch. 

[pianowolfi]

Well as for french girls . But 80 miles an hour, omg are you applying for Tour de France this year or what? lol  I love watching animals. Not specifically Grizzlies though, I am too scared. Do you have advice for me how to deal with them when I go to Montana in the summer?  But don't make me wanty for Montana girls . Fireflies are also great, I love them.

[elspeth]

Most of the time you won't even know the bear's there. I've spent a lot of time out looking for them, and I swear they just hide from me and then sit and laugh... Seriously though, the trick is not to give them reasons to come and find out if you're worth eating. So if you're camping, be very very careful about where you keep your food supplies, and what supplies you take - obviously if you take meat it'll be appealing -  and what you do with any rubbish. And bears don't like to be crept up on. If you're cycling the noise of your bike should be enough to warn them you're about, but if you're walking and not making any noise it's worth whistling or singing or talking to yourself. Depending when you go there might be a few paranoid mother bears about - the cubs will be ready to take their first steps outside the den around May-June if memory serves - but if you accidentally get too close she'll just be interested in making you go away, not eating you.

Do let us know how you get on with any bears you meet! I can't afford to go see any myself this year, so must do it vicariously... I'm off to do a photography project with a big cat conservation project this summer so will finally get to play with a tiger! Well, take pictures of one from close range, anyway. I can't wait, I'm so excited!

[pianowolfi]

Most of the time you won't even know the bear's there. I've spent a lot of time out looking for them, and I swear they just hide from me and then sit and laugh... Seriously though, the trick is not to give them reasons to come and find out if you're worth eating. So if you're camping, be very very careful about where you keep your food supplies, and what supplies you take - obviously if you take meat it'll be appealing -  and what you do with any rubbish. And bears don't like to be crept up on. If you're cycling the noise of your bike should be enough to warn them you're about, but if you're walking and not making any noise it's worth whistling or singing or talking to yourself. Depending when you go there might be a few paranoid mother bears about - the cubs will be ready to take their first steps outside the den around May-June if memory serves - but if you accidentally get too close she'll just be interested in making you go away, not eating you.

Do let us know how you get on with any bears you meet! I can't afford to go see any myself this year, so must do it vicariously... I'm off to do a photography project with a big cat conservation project this summer so will finally get to play with a tiger! Well, take pictures of one from close range, anyway. I can't wait, I'm so excited!

Wow, cool tips, thanks. Tigers? You are very brave actually. I remember seeing your bear pictures. Amazing! 

[pianistimo]

perhaps you should take elspeth along.  i'm scared of grizzlies and i lived in alaska.  black bears are like dogs, kind of.  they roam around and are basically garbage eaters.  grizzlies can grow BIIIIGGG - as you know.  and loooonnnng teeth and claws.  (sorry, the paranoia again)  and if you've ever watched that movie where these two guys are out in the woods and have to start a fire around themselves because a grizzly won't let them go - i'd suggest not watching that until after montana.

as i see it - just as elspeth says - don't bring along things that smell good.  even candy bars.  they love sweet.  i don't know what they say about toothpaste.  maybe bring that baking soda tooth paste.  and, if they smell something in your backpack - just throw them the backpack.  don't make them take it off your back.  consider bears like ganstas.  they just come and take what they want.  i don't know if they like cream cheese - but i'd bring that and some crackers.  lightweight stuff that will give you energy but once eaten doesn't leave much smell.  (could be wrong about this - pass it by elspeth).  anyways, cream cheese and things that have LIDS.   

if i were you - the first thing i'd do when i got to montana would be to go to a shooting range.  then, a saloon.  then, out camping.  i mean, if you get eaten - you may as well be feeling no pain.  montana is wild country.  just like alaska.  you need to know which direction is town.  and, you need to know how to survive in case you get disoriented.  probably the best thing is not to attempt soloing.  the weather changes very quickly in monata and alaska.  one moment is sunny and beautiful - the next can be downright cold (especially towards evening).  and those wretched mosquitos can drive you insane.  bring or buy some mosquito repellant - and find out which ones work for you.  some do not work on some types of skin.  long sleeved shirts.  flannel or something. 

my step-grandpa grew up in montana.  well, he left home at around 16-17 and was a sheep rancher on the aleutian islands.  i guess montana wasn't brutal enough for him.  then, he and my grandma moved to homer, alaska.  i remember all the books they had about western living.  horses are big.  cowboys.  all those stories about train robberies.  criminals.  bad living and a deck of cards.  yeah. bring a deck of cards.  i used to read about lewis and clark and daniel boone (his homestead is out here on route 100) and whoever else was an explorer.  don't be dismayed at the saloon pianos.  i gather you are not going there to play the piano.

are you taking a bike tour there?  that should be really fun.  the wild horses (if they still roam) are cool.  i didn't know they had good bike trails there - but i suppose they do.  this is the way i would do it - count the motels along the trail ahead of time and plan to just sleep at a motel.  much better and more defensible than a tent.  the people might be more dangerous than the bears.

ps  now that i think about this - i think God is a better defense than guns.  who knows - you might end up shooting something or someone you didn't want to.  i think bear guns are pretty high powered.  maybe a can of mace (and the wind in the right direction)?

[thalbergmad]

i think God is a better defense than guns. 

What a great idea, that should go in the Alaskan travellers Guide Book.

If threatened by a Grizzly, don't shoot it, just mention God and it will run away.

Any more bright ideas?

Thal

[pianistimo]

i went back to visit my parents when there was a grizzly loose in the neighborhood.  i spent an entire day inside (and noticed when out driving that noone was out walking).  the next day i though 'fooey...no bear is going to stop me from going outside.'  so, the next day, i walked several miles and then walked back.  nobody was out on the roads or on the bike trails but me.  i didn't have a gun - but i made noise.  when i got about 2/3 of the way back up my own road - everything was silent.  even the birds.  i thought - ok.  i'm telling God - if you made me and you love me - you won't let a stupid bear do anything.  but, i did think - ok 'if i hop this fence to my neighbor's house and the front door is locked - i'm in trouble.'  i got all the way home - but that last 1/3 was kinda creepy.  (they live 1/4 mile back into the woods).

i attribute my safety from bears or prowler's (of which there was a bunch of druggies back in the old neighborhood that occasionally tested doorknobs at night) to God.  i mean, what if you use the gun and just make the bear mad.  i prayed both times - but always have an alternate plan.  for the prowler's, i prayed and at the same time talked to them through the door.  i said, 'i'm on the phone right now to the police.  get the heck out of here - because you're going to be caught in the garage.'  (i've talked to several - and they ran away - i don't attribute it to myself - but God's divine protection).  i may have also gotten out the steel meat pounder.

[jakev2.0]

The best night of my life was the night I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour...and was saved by Him.

Not. I'm ztill j3wb1zh, and don't worship dudes, no matter how rockin' their facial hair. 

[pianistimo]

jake - you really would have the best night of your life - and the best future - if you did this. accepting Jesus Christ truly is the best thing that can happen to anyone.  he is our security.  who can protect us from death?  even if we die - and are ressurrected again...this is the enormity of the power of God.

there have been multiple times in my life that i have felt the divine presence (especially when praying and asking for protection) in situations that were in airplanes, outdoors, indoors, animals, spiders, whatever - and also for my own children.  frankly, if you don't believe in God - it's a worrisome road to have children.  there are so many things that could go wrong or happen to them.  despite how i joke about being paranoid - i actually lately have felt quite at peace when my son goes out driving.  God is so powerful and great that when we pray for help or protection - we can actually rest while others are still worried.

[jakev2.0]

jake - you really would have the best night of your life - and the best future - if you did this. accepting Jesus Christ truly is the best thing that can happen to anyone.  he is our security.  who can protect us from death?  even if we die - and are ressurrected again...this is the enormity of the power of God.

there have been multiple times in my life that i have felt the divine presence (especially when praying for protection) in situations that were in airplanes, outdoors, indoors, animals, spiders, whatever - and also for my own children.  frankly, if you don't believe in God - it's a worrisome road to have children.  there are so many things that could go wrong or happen to them.  despite how i joke about being paranoid - i actually lately have felt quite at peace when my son goes out driving.  God is so powerful and great that when we pray for help or protections - we can actually rest while others are still worried.

Yes, I believe in G-d. I don't believe that G-d needs to manifest himself in the form of a man. If you think he does, fine by you.

In any case, my ancestors survived such nasty things as slavery, persecution, pogroms, and genocide over the last couple milleniae. Why would I, in the year 2007, in Canada, change my beliefs because someone on an internet forum tells me to! Get real!

[pianistimo]

i'm not telling you to do anything jake.  blessings to you and yours.  i don't think that God is so small that he cannot save people that call on His name.  jesus did say, though, i am the way the truth and the life...

also, i don't think God is so small as to not understand our weaknesses and our enjoyments of pleasures when we are 'children' in the faith.  i mean - when we are teenagers/young adults we take risks that we realize later were probably not the best for our personal safety.

having the best night of your life is probably due to some kind of planning on one side or the other - and someone looking out for your best interest.  according to the bible - there is great blessing in planning for that 'best night of your life.'  marry someone you really have the hots for.  and, last advice, use sex for your best advantage.  i mean, my husband has this down to a science.  if i'm really upset - he takes his glasses off and just looks at me like 'i'm really sorry.  let's make up.'  i completely forget what i'm mad about.

[pianowolfi]

perhaps you should take elspeth along.

Well that would not be such a good idea because the new man in her life would probably not be very amused. So I would have to deal with him and the Grizzlies (Sorry just kidding, I can't help it lol  )
 

i'm scared of grizzlies and i lived in alaska.  black bears are like dogs, kind of.  they roam around and are basically garbage eaters.  grizzlies can grow BIIIIGGG - as you know.  and loooonnnng teeth and claws.  (sorry, the paranoia again)  and if you've ever watched that movie where these two guys are out in the woods and have to start a fire around themselves because a grizzly won't let them go - i'd suggest not watching that until after montana.

as i see it - just as elspeth says - don't bring along things that smell good.  even candy bars.  they love sweet.  i don't know what they say about toothpaste.  maybe bring that baking soda tooth paste.  and, if they smell something in your backpack - just throw them the backpack.  don't make them take it off your back.  consider bears like ganstas.  they just come and take what they want.  i don't know if they like cream cheese - but i'd bring that and some crackers.  lightweight stuff that will give you energy but once eaten doesn't leave much smell.  (could be wrong about this - pass it by elspeth).  anyways, cream cheese and things that have LIDS.   

if i were you - the first thing i'd do when i got to montana would be to go to a shooting range.  then, a saloon.  then, out camping.  i mean, if you get eaten - you may as well be feeling no pain.  montana is wild country.  just like alaska.  you need to know which direction is town.  and, you need to know how to survive in case you get disoriented.  probably the best thing is not to attempt soloing.  the weather changes very quickly in monata and alaska.  one moment is sunny and beautiful - the next can be downright cold (especially towards evening).  and those wretched mosquitos can drive you insane.  bring or buy some mosquito repellant - and find out which ones work for you.  some do not work on some types of skin.  long sleeved shirts.  flannel or something. 

my step-grandpa grew up in montana.  well, he left home at around 16-17 and was a sheep rancher on the aleutian islands.  i guess montana wasn't brutal enough for him.  then, he and my grandma moved to homer, alaska.  i remember all the books they had about western living.  horses are big.  cowboys.  all those stories about train robberies.  criminals.  bad living and a deck of cards.  yeah. bring a deck of cards.  i used to read about lewis and clark and daniel boone (his homestead is out here on route 100) and whoever else was an explorer.  don't be dismayed at the saloon pianos.  i gather you are not going there to play the piano.

are you taking a bike tour there?

Yes that's what I plan but if I randomly see a piano I won't resist the temptation to play

  that should be really fun.  the wild horses (if they still roam) are cool.

Ohh I love wild horses. I hope I will see more horses than bears I have read that book written by the "horse whisperer", I have seen that documentary movie about him and I was fascinated. I always wish that I can become a "Piano students whisperer" since then  

  I didn't know they had good bike trails there - but i suppose they do.

I plan to ride the "Going to the sun-road" I have read a legendary journal by a fellow biker here
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=lt&page_id=26439&v=156

this is the way i would do it - count the motels along the trail ahead of time and plan to just sleep at a motel.  much better and more defensible than a tent.  the people might be more dangerous than the bears.

Oopsies? Why that? 

[pianistimo]

ok.  montanta and south dakota - that's gun country.  you cannot fight guns without guns.  so, as i see it - to the shooting range you go.  just say a prayer that you don't have to use it.  although, it might be a bit wierd to attempt to get a gun out from the inside of the top of your bike helmet or pant leg.  just superglue one on both sides of your helmet.  you might have to practice how to hold the helmet (once off) and shoot.  unless you can reach both hands up and pull the triggers with your helmet on.

ps or you could try what i do when i'm feeling brave - and just forget the guns and pray.  it's quite a thrill to be on one side of a gorge or something and see a bear on the other.  if they are on the same side as you - eek.  you could get stuck somewhere's and not be able to get around the bear for a few days.

ps  what is a 'piano student's whisperer?'  that sounds very interesting.  you know - i think that is a great topic for a book.  as i understand you - you take an unbroke/bridled student that has a propensity to mock you and run circles around you  - and turn them into a respectful student that actually sits and listens and doesn't poke the treble keys when you are talking.  i ususally accomplish this in the first lesson.  do you think i am a qualified piano student whisperer?  perhaps the other side of this student whispering - is targeting the right students.  i mean - if some drop by the wayside of their own stubbornness - you haven't spent hours whispering to the wrong one.  although, now that i think about it - never really turned down any student for any reason.  even if i gave them the same lesson twice in a row.  i always thought that if they didn't practice for one week - that it wasn't a mortal sin.

[pianowolfi]

ps  what is a 'piano student's whisperer?'  that sounds very interesting.  you know - i think that is a great topic for a book.  as i understand you - you take an unbroke/bridled student that has a propensity to mock you and run circles around you  - and turn them into a respectful student that actually sits and listens and doesn't poke the treble keys when you are talking.  i ususally accomplish this in the first lesson.  do you think i am a qualified piano student whisperer?

Yes if you can really accomplish this in the first lesson you are. Tell me EVERYTHING about this (if you wish )

sorry i don't want to perhaps the other side of this student whispering - is targeting the right students.  i mean - if some drop by the wayside of their own stubbornness - you haven't spent hours whispering to the wrong one. 

That's exactly the interesting point about the "horse whisperer". there just were almost no "wrong" horses. He would not have spent time on "wrong" ones he just was able to turn them into "right" ones. Means:  he learned to speak THEIR language. He watched them for weeks and weeks in the wilderness and found out how they communicate with each other. Endless subject....

[pianistimo]

as i see it - a piano teacher is much like a parent.  you are pro-active.  you ahve a plan and you are always a step or two ahead of the student.  you expect that they are going to poke the piano.  but, instead of allowing it - you nip it in the bud the first time it happens.  you say - i cannot teach you if you are playing the piano at the same time as i am talking.  i say this to students who are 5 years old to 20.  but, also qualify that i will not speak a long time.  just enough to get a point across and then i reallylike it when they play.  in fact, i think the lessons should be mostly about playing.  so, in a sense, they get to do what they want to do. 

seems to me - and i have watched a horse whisperer, too - that the idea is to give very very gentle nudges and not crack the whip at every opportunity.  and, as you said - to speak their language.  that is really intuitive - because every age has a different language it seems (and vocabulary). 

[elspeth]

Well that would not be such a good idea because the new man in her life would probably not be very amused. So I would have to deal with him and the Grizzlies (Sorry just kidding, I can't help it lol  )

You'd be quite safe from him, he understands about me and bears. Fortunately! And after all, I let him go travelling without me. Fact that he booked the trips before we were an item is obviously not the point... He's rather more worried about the tigers this summer than the previous bears for some reason...

[thalbergmad]

but, also qualify that i will not speak a long time. 

That must be a relief to them.

Thal

[ahinton]

as i see it - a piano teacher is much like a parent.

Ah, so it's not only the fact of my being a non-pianist that would stand in the way of any ambition I might have as a piano teacher, then? (not that I DO have any such ambition, you understand)...

Best,

Alistair

[pianistimo]

as i see it alistair, you are about as qualified to give piano lessons as anyone.  you can actually explain what it is we are reading.  sort of like a docent at an art museum.  there are so many things that piano teachers probably miss and wouldn't if they were composers.  besides - you still have all your fingers.  what's keeping you from taking a few piano lessons?

perhaps we should start another thread 'best piano lesson of your life.'