juggling and playing the piano..

[hodi]

i hope it wasn't posted before
https://personal.stevens.edu/~schurchs/movies/pianoplayingjuggler.wmv

[donjuan]

yeeeahh actually it was posted before..at first we were all like, 'wow, this guy's awesome!' and then eventually we decided it was fake beause where the ball lands really doesnt correspond to the tone produced.

still, a great show however! 
donjuan

[Brian Healey]

Actually, as far as I can tell it's not fake. Where the balls land seem to match up to me. That dude doing it seems like a complete tool, so I have no trouble believing that he actually spent the time to learn how to do that. I would imagine that once you master the juggling part, it wouldn't be that difficult. I mean, the guy wasn't playing the Rach 3 or anything.

[cziffra777]

As a juggler and pianist, I can shed some light on this. The performer is a guy named Wally Eastwood. As far as I know, the keyboard acts as a trigger to play the next note in a preprogrammed sequence. Hitting the right note isn't necessary, but he is providing the rhythm. I think it is still reasonably impressive even though he isn't actually playing the pitches.

[jlh]

Now that's something I can believe.  I have a digital piano that can function the same way.  Each note on my piano is programmed with a different song, and when you select a song, all you have to do is provide the rhythm and dynamics -- the piano supplies all the notes.  non-pianists playing my piano get a kick out of it.

[athykay]

Hmmm - I recently learned that juggling helps ward off Alzheimer's and dementia.  I wonder if it helps piano technique.

[timothy42b]

Hmmm - I recently learned that juggling helps ward off Alzheimer's and dementia.  I wonder if it helps piano technique.

No, but juggling pianos does ward off osteoporosis and can develop impressive muscular strength. 

Start with small Casio keyboards from garage sales/flea markets and work your way up. 

I will be very impressed if you get much farther than small spinets. 

[cziffra777]

I wonder if it helps piano technique.

I've found that it helps some. Many of the same skills are required. For example, you have to have a high degree of independence between the hands for both juggling and piano. Juggling is also a good way to warm up before playing piano. It gets the entire arm loose.