Hey, Phil, was that teacher Dr. Burgeson?  Yep, his playing was 
terrific and he was a Godly man.  I think he went home, a few years 
ago.  He had this arrangement he wrote of, Onward Christian 
Soldiers.  At the beginning and end, he played on the lower keys to 
show the soldiers marching.  Sometimes, when he played that song in 
public, the piano would be turned, facing the audience so the people 
could see how he was doing the marching sound.  I had him for intro 
to music and I enjoyed him a lot.

earlier, Phil Scovell, wrote:
>Off Key
>
>
>By Phil Scovell
>
>
>
>      I began playing the piano at age seven.  I had to get up an
>half an hour early so I could get my practice time in before going
>to school.  Many times I remember trying to read the notes and
>see the keys through blurry morning vision.  I played on an old,
>and I do mean old, upright piano.
>
>      My dad, who was still living at that time, was a good
>carpenter.  Over a period of several weeks, he was able to remove
>all the dark ugly chipped black paint surface.  He repainted it
>with a light blonde color and then installed some fancy mirrors
>about six or seven inches tall which went around the entire top of
>the piano.  It was a beautiful piece of furniture by the time he
>finished.  There was only one problem.  As pretty as it looked, it
>sounded terrible.  The sounding board was cracked, we were told,
>and it could not be properly tuned under any circumstances.  The
>piano served its purpose and we owned it for many years and
>thousands of hours of practice were conducted by my older sisters
>and myself as well as my mom.  In all the years we owned it, that
>piano had been moved to four different homes, in two different
>states, and survive.
>
>      As I aged, so did our piano.  by the time I was in my early
>teens, I was taking lessons from a college music professor and
>learning a lot.  I was required to practice a minimum of six and a
>half hours a week.  I enjoyed it and often practiced longer than
>the weekly requirement.
>
>      During these years, the piano was beginning to show its wear.
>Unfortunately for me, one of the keys ceased functioning right in
>the middle octave of the instrument.  It didn't create a problem
>performing all my top to bottom scales, but when I had to practice
>the songs I had learned, the missing key, or the key that wouldn't
>play, caused a great deal of irritation.  So, to solve the
>problem, I began playing all my songs an octave higher.  Try and
>not get ahead of my story here.
>
>      Finally the big day came.  Although I was only 14 years old,
>my piano teacher taught at a nearby Christian Bible college.  He
>requested that I play one of my songs at a Friday night concert
>being held in the school music hall.  I was more than a little
>nervous about it but said I would play.
>
>      When it was my turn, I walked to the piano and sat down.  I
>had practiced on the beautiful grand piano already so I was used
>to its touch and sound.  I am not a musician, I don't have perfect
>pitch, and I cannot just sit down at the piano and play any song I
>hear like my wife does.  I love piano, however, but one thing,
>especially when playing before an audience, that has always been a
>problem for me, is starting out by finding middle C as a
>reference.  I never had this problem at home, of course, but in
>front of crowd?  Every time.  this time would be no different.
>
>      As I began to play, I instantly realized I was an octave
>higher.  This was normal at home but not here, definitely not
>here, and definitely not now with all these professionals
>listening to every note.  I thought about dropping down an octave
>but I already felt ridiculously conspicuous so the last thing I
>wanted to do is draw more attention to myself.  So, I finished my
>piece one octave higher than normal and prayed no one noticed.
>Fat chance!
>
>      After the concert, the other music professor, a much older
>man who could not hear what you were saying to him three feet away
>but could hear a wrong note played in a piece on the other side of
>a massive ampletorium that could seat 30,000 people, came up to
>compliment me.  I knew better based upon his ear for music.  He
>was a very kind soft spoken man and I always admired and liked
>him.  His piano playing was out of this world, too.  Fortunately,
>however, he wasn't the first in line.
>
>      After every other student had come and congratulated me on a
>job well done, tongue in cheek, the old music professor strolled
>up and shook my hand.  He commented on how well I had done but I
>knew the old man knew the truth.  He finally quietly, so no one
>else could hear, said, "You played an octave higher, son.  Didn't
>you?"  I told him I did realize that but was too embarrassed to
>explain my own piano was missing a note in the middle of the piano
>and so I was used to playing one octave higher.  He probably just
>figured it was due to the fact I was blind so that's likely why I
>skipped telling him the truth.  Oddly enough, this same elderly
>man, would later become my piano teacher, when four years later, I
>enrolled in the same Bible college.
>
>      Did this little childhood story strike a familiar cord, in a
>manner of speaking, in your heart?  Have you experienced
>embarrassment but were helpless to do anything about it?  Have you
>made any mistakes that exposed you to chagrin?  Have you screwed
>up so badly that you were embarrassed to tears and crying made you
>feel even worse?  Sit down and list all such events in your life.
>When you have finished, offer them up to the Lord and commit them
>to Him.  He died on the cross with all of those things which He
>bore in your behalf.  This means, of course, you need not carry
>the pain and hurt of these feelings any longer.  Let Jesus do His
>job and you just concern yourself with knowing Him.
>
>He's ready when you are.
>www.SafePlaceFellowship.com

John