Fifty Plus (50+) - I'm Cheating on My Bike With a Cheap

piano keyboard. Sometimes when I should be on my bike, I sneak into my back room at home spending hour after hour with a $150 Yamaha keyboard I bought last month. All I've gotten out of it is a mean "chop sticks" and a semi-recognizable "Ode to Joy." Part of me wants to stop, but another part of me says, "It feels oh so right." Maybe it's a passing fling, but I'm not sure....

Even worse, I'm spending more and more time on a piano message board and less and less time here.

Even worse, I'm spending more and more time on a piano message board and less and less time here.You'd better get those priorities straightened out! You know where you belong!:D

piano keyboard. Sometimes when I should be on my bike, I sneak into my back room at home spending hour after hour with a $150 Yamaha keyboard I bought last month. All I've gotten out of it is a mean "chop sticks" and a semi-recognizable "Ode to Joy." Part of me wants to stop, but another part of me says, "It feels oh so right." Maybe it's a passing fling, but I'm not sure....

Even worse, I'm spending more and more time on a piano message board and less and less time here.

Some of us combine a music world with a biking world quite successfully! Thursday, my XY Zingers (http://www.xyzingers.info) did a presentation to a nursing home in Boulder. Saturday night we sang for the Christmas dinner for a local non-profit. This Saturday we sing for a breakfast club of about 125 folks. Practice every Thursday. Also sang the Messiah Sunday with practice on last Saturday. Yet, I walked 4 miles yesterday and rode 20 miles. It can be done (if you don't work, that is!:D)

Well done, Fox! My goal is to have enough Christmas carols in the bag to play some nursing home gigs (is there such a thing as a nursing home "gig"?) next year.

Well done, Fox! My goal is to have enough Christmas carols in the bag to play some nursing home gigs (is there such a thing as a nursing home "gig"?) next year.

My wife has also started a singing group, and they have done a couple of nh gigs. Also, every Wednesday, she and I go to the same nursing home where we work with Alzheimer's patients on a continuing "music" program. The activities director strongly believes that music is one way to get through the haze. Certainly, we are able to get a response.

There is no reason you can not do both,,,in moderation... if you get real good you can mount the keyboard on your handlebars and have a musical ride.

That's Ok, I've been spending my time on a grand piano we bought this summer. Sometimes it is hard to choose between it and my bike. I gave myself lessons for my 50th Bday and it's been great fun if not frustrating at times.

JT - you should switch to the harmonica, then you can take it on your rides to play at stops.

Sounds as though you are just a beginner to the keyboard. Hate to say it but I am a beginner too. I used to play a 12 string guitar in the folk clubs and was quite popular in the local clubs and pubs- so I must have been fairly proficient at it- or was it that I did not charge much. However- I got a 12 string last year and attempted to get back to playing it. After all- It's just like riding a bike- bit of practice and I will be back. Like H*ll. Brain hasn't got round the chord and fingering- fingers hurt like hell and wrist tendoms are strained.

Get your prioritied right and cycle all you can- Practice on the keyboard on those dark evenings and on wet windy days when you should be indoors getting bored. Saves you kicking the cat.

Cheater!!!!

I took piano for 5 years when I was young and fought it everyday. Now I wish I'd stuck with it. I can still bang out a tune or two but just think about what it might have been.......I'm a lot better with one hand than two though.

We did recitals and I have two older sisters. We did a trio with me sitting on the piano bench in the middle of my two sisters. Lots of people in the auditorium. My first experience with stage fright!!!!

JT - you should switch to the harmonica, then you can take it on your rides to play at stops.

...and annoy the heck out of a lot of people. Don't ask how I know this. :o

I really do wish I could play killer blues on a piano. Missed that one. bk

Teach yourself three-finger A, D, Em chords, set the keyboard for "electric piano", and then you can bash out Louie, Louie.
The great thing about electric keyboards, compared to pianos or guitars or bicycles, is that there is absolutely no maintenance required.