Latest incomings to the fund:
£55 Bernadette Johnston
£150 Jeff and Ursula Holt
£100 Joe McGory
£150 Mr Strauss
£100 Cerri Gallagher
£100 Mr M & Mrs P Lewis
£50 Mr D C & Mrs D E Barton
£150 Mike Burns
£300 Jason Ellis
£50 Sue Gerrard
£150 Benjamin Satmáry
£20 Lucy and Amelia McKevitt
£5 Anonymous
£50 Joyce Smith
£15 Sarah and Karl Atkinson
£50 Pauline O’Hanlon
£50 Christopher O’Hanlon
£10 Anna Hudson
£30 Kerry Oakey
£50 Bev Sutton
£50 Linda Robinson
£100 Sheila and Les Hunter
£40 Ianthe Pickles
£100 Clare Naughton
£40 Charles Dykins
£300 Katie Rudge
£100 Sue Long
£20 Jean Lewin
£250 Trewan House
Latest outgoings from the fund:
Thank you to everyone that has helped and supported us!
Purchased an A frame which makes the piano more safely and easily moved.
Sent the Hammers for a full restoration
BLUE AND GREEN keys have names:)Community Key C8 has raised £470 so far – Thank you!
Bernadette Johnson
Anonymous
Anonymous
Sarah & Karl Atkinson
Gordon Harmer
Charles Dykins
Anna Hudson
Jean Lewin
Kerry Oakey
Lucy & Amelia McKevitt
Sue Gerrard
Mr D C & Mrs D E Barton
B♭7 Pauline & Christopher O’Hanlon
A♭7 Sheila & Les Hunter
G♭7 Sue Long
E♭7 Clare Naughton
D♭7 Anonymous
A♯6 Joe McGory
G♯6 Mike and Pat Lewis
F♯6 Cari Gallagher
D♯6 Trewan House
C♯6
B♭5
A♭5
G♭5
E♭5
D♭5
A♯4
G♯4
F♯4
D♯4
C♯4
B♭3
A♭3
G♭3
E♭3
D♭3
A♯2
G♯2
F♯2
D♯2
C♯2
B♭1
A♭1
G♭1
E♭1
D♭1
B♭0
C8 Community (£415/£500)
B7 Mike Burns
A7 Martin Strauss
G7 Jeff and Ursula Holt
F7
E7
D7
C7 Community (£500)
B6
A6 Trewan House
G6
F6
E6
D6
C6
B5
A5
G5
F5
E5
D5
C5 Community (£500)
B4
A4
G4 In memory of George Rudge
F4
E4 Thank you to Father Ed Cain
D4
C4 ( Middle C £1,000 – Middle C)
B3
A3
G3
F3
E3
D3
C3 Community Key (£500)
B2 Benjamin Szatmáry
A2
G2
F2
E2
D2
C2 Community Key (£500)
B1
A1
G1
F1
E1 Jason Ellis
D1
C1 Community Key (£500)
B0
A0
The piano was on its way to the scrap yard from a concert hall when Mersey Wave originally found it six years ago. Parish Priest of St Ambrose Church Fr Ed Cain, recognising the value of music making for the whole area, kindly enabled Mersey Wave to give the piano a brand new home at the church and open up the church for anyone to enjoy the music. The church is the largest in Liverpool and the piano served us all so well – it has been an essential part of collaborative music making which has enabled so many people to enjoy the local concerts and experience live music. The piano has been through a lot over 100 years and would now need lots of refurbishment to get it concert ready. We feel it is now the right time for Mersey Wave to restore this piano or invest in a new good condition grand piano that can serve our community and music lovers further.
Having a grand piano within our local area is an asset to us all as a community. It’s what originally inspired and gave us the opportunity to create the music events in Speke with the Community Choir and Young Singers Groups. It is so important that we can all recognise the value of having musical instruments that are accessible for children and adults to experience and enjoy within local communities and the wonderful legacy that it creates for the future. We will do all we can to continue to keep developing creativity and generate enthusiasm for live music making to its fullest potential here in St Ambrose.
But we need some help to get a piano that’s back in action here in Speke so we’ve launched the Mersey Wave Grand Piano Appeal to help raise funds towards this. The target is £15,000 (cost of restoration/replacement) Any potential sponsors for the piano or donations for the appeal will be gratefully received.
Here’s our vision…
A reconditioned or brand new community grand piano here at St Ambrose will enable us to:
FUNDRAISING
We are having a fundraiser and if you or anyone you know; an organisation, sponsor or donor would be able to help here’s some more details..
We would like to recognise any contribution donated through naming the keys of the new community piano – there are 88 keys! If you would like to ‘NAME A KEY’ or know an organisation or group that would wish to be a part of the fundraising to support this appeal please contact us or visit www.gofundme.com/merseywave
We will keep a record of all of the names by listing them online, in our event programmes.
You can even name a key on behalf of someone or as a present!:) We want this project to not only be a record of the generous support we receive, but also a legacy for future generations and a celebration of the commitment this community has to music making which is something we are so proud of and really grateful for. www.gofundme.com/merseywave
NAME A KEY – Here’s how it works!
If you would like to be..
Named as part of a group on a Community – C – Key!
Any amount below £100 we will add your names to our community C keys on the grand piano (raising £500 each in total)
Name A Little Key: £100 or above
Name A Big Key: £150 or above
Each key has a letter and number that corresponds to the notes on the piano and we will write the name given to the key or the names of donors below.
Please donate at www.gofundme.com/merseywave
Or contact us via e-mail mail@merseywavemusic.com or telephone 0151-5591255 if you would like to arrange to donate in a different way.
What’s special about an acoustic piano…
The Keyboard The keyboard has 88 black and white keys. The keys are what you press/ strike in various ways to produce the amazing and original piano sound. Piano House: Grand pianos are beautifully curvy, usually a singer stands within the crescent of the piano called the ‘bow’ so the pianist can see and hear the singer they can respond to each other. Lid: pianos have lids and lifting the lid on grand piano gives you a louder and more resonant sound than when the lid is down. This balances the volume of the sound – it will most likely be propped fully open if the piano is in a space with a large acoustic and playing with other loud instruments and voices. Pedals: Grand pianos generally have three pedals and the sound lasts for longer or becomes softer when you press them. Keys, hammers, and strings: The sound is created by these parts of the piano. Each of the 88 keys is connected to a small hammer which is covered in felt. When you press a key its hammer strikes the string/s; tuned to the appropriate musical note. The string begins to vibrate rapidly (split-seconds) and our ears pick up those vibrations – that’s how we hear music! Dampers: sit over the strings inside the keyboard and are made of cloth or felt that mute the strings by stopping the vibration. When you press a key, in addition to triggering the mechanisms that vibrates the string, a piano key also lifts the damper. When you release the key (without pedal), the damper returns to mute the string, keeping the sounds from clashing together. Piano Stool – usually adjusted to each persons size ensure good posture for playing, which is especially important for long recitals. Legs a grand piano has three strong legs (..and they don’t usually fall off!!)
Although electric keyboards are great modern day instruments, it is still essential to have the chance to play on a traditional acoustic piano. Here’s what renowned pianist Dame Fanny Waterman said in a Guardian article in 2014…“The [future of the] piano is the cause of great worry for all us who love it…First, lots of children are learning it from the electric piano. A waste of time, because you don’t get the speed of the key descent, you don’t get the different sounds.” Electric keyboards are “big business”, she said, likening them to playing the violin but studying the guitar – “different sound altogether!”
A Little History..
The first real piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) of Padua, who had been appointed in 1688 to the Florentine Court of Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici to care for their musical instruments. In the period from about 1790 to 1860, the Mozart-era piano underwent big changes. This revolution was in response to a preference by composers and pianists for a more powerful, sustained piano sound. The Industrial Revolution enabled resources such as high-quality piano wire for strings, and precision casting for the production of massive iron frames that could withstand the tremendous tension of the strings. Over time, the tonal range of the piano was also increased from the five octaves of Mozart’s day to the seven octave (or more) range found on modern pianos (and that gives us 88 keys to name!) In the 1800s piano manufacturing and innovation was developing world-wide and by 1920’s the piano was a really important source of home entertainment, as well as being a sign of status – it was often put in the best room in the house, ready to show the neighbours and even attract suitors – a young lady who was good at playing the piano was often regarded as better marriage material! Piano sales today have more than halved and we want to recognise that the piano holds not only its social value today but also an educational value that is an asset to a whole community. It’s a form of expression that makes so many people happy, the piano was the instrument most used by the great historic composers who are the foundations of the music we know and love today, they are an amazing mechanism, work of art and we hope they will always be a big part of our music making here at St Ambrose!
