Hard to believe. Emerson was one of the reasons I gravitated back to the keyboard after having taken time off from age 11 to 15.I also appreciate the nod he gave more serious composers (Bartok, Janacek, Mussorgsky, Copland and even Chopin) in his own works through adaptations and... well, outright theft at times.Those who are not familiar with Emerson should do themselves a favor and listen to Tarkus. Reminiscent of Ginastera, this is a totally unique composition to the world of rock and roll.And, on the album 'Brain Salad Surgery', Emerson adapts Ginastera's Tocatta Concertata for Hammond C3, piano, percussion, bass and synths. When he played it for Ginastera, the response he got was 'diabolical'... and Ginastera meant it as a compliment.Rest in Peace, Keith.
Here it comes!!!Is anyone here, who is starting a Cliburn-like memorial to Keith Emerson, going to tell the truth as to why he blew his brains out?! I seriously doubt it.
The point is, as I emailed to Jon Parales of the NY Times last week is:1) When you play standing up, you poke and jab at your piano. This, over time, beats the tar out of your wrist, and eventually causes injuries. The least of which is tendonitis, and the worst of which is Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.
Yes, I spent quite a few years as a stand-up keyboardist and I agree with this after having several severe rounds of tendonitus. However it was not standing up that did it by itself. ( Except for sore feet ! ) It was completley throwing relaxed technique out the window for the sake of being able to grab different keyboards at different heights. Not paying attention to fingering, actually repeating notes with the same finger, too many notes, allkinds of bad things for my wrists. Once I thougt about it thanks to PianoStreet I am very careful how the keyboards are placed in relation to my elbow. IT could be that standing is bad no matter what and I have started sitting down . Plus my feet feel better. just have to remember to bring the bench though
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While I'm no worshiper of Louis, and more often than not will disagree with him on lots of things, this is one where he's right. If you ever bother to play a piano standing up (not an easy task), you'll quickly notice you don't have the wonderful alignment of the forearms and wrists that you do on a bench. This indeed causes tendinitis due to excessive tension in the forearms.
like trollbuster I have a problem with the claim that this is why he shot himself. Not with how he played the keyboard as being good or bad for the hands.that comment was in poor taste Louis -- although it did not upset me to quite the same degree I must admit that insinuation was not necessary to make your point.
Okay, 1) Have you ever played a fake piano which spun upside down in performance? That means that there was no action in the piano, and the music was piped in, (according to a member of his own band).2) Did you, or have you ever considered, jabbing a knife into a key in order to hold down a note? For the record, he used to stab a knife into his "Leslie," and then when people went nuts over that, he decided to take his hype to the next level.The point is, when he could no longer do the "flash and dash," play his lightening fast runs and arpeggios, the "Emperor" permanently lost his clothes. In that the average attendance at any Church in the UK is around 3-4 percent, this is the way they usually end their lives.Unfortunately, these days when, regardless of circumstance, everything is cool, awesome, and PC. Not this time: because the man made millions of dollars, had the best/worst doctors, and he took the convenient way out.Great music, and it musicians, deserve much better, which, in my opinion, should be the best life offers (absent a excruciating/painful terminal disease).Hey, dcstudio: would you advise any of your current or former students to take the "convenient" way out? I very seriously doubt it.Is it that cut and dry? As a philosopher, I know that it is so!
'"pianoplunker""the great philosopher thinks suicidal depression is an act of seeking a convenient way out.Severe and Chronic pain can become severely depressing."Okay, have you ever wanted to blow your brains out because you could not take the daily emotional excruciating pain? Well, I have.Secondly, I practice 3-4 hours a day, but I can't walk like a normal human being because I have severe psoriatic arthritis. Further, due to a recent major flare-up, I cannot regularly pedal when practicing because of my chronic Achilles tendonitis in both heels.Additionally, I have low level Parkinson's Disease, for which if I don't take my daily medication, I cannot play at all due to my tremors. So, don't give my any lectures about depression and daily physical or emotional pain!Mr. Emerson jacked himself up (like Lang Lang) as some kind of keyboard god. When it all went south, he most assuredly took the easy way out.I, myself, truly believe that my God gave me this ability/talent. And accordingly, I believe that I owe him my due diligence in getting my playing ability to its top level, regardless of whatever obstacles may present themselves in any attempt to stop me!