Magnus Chord Organ. This is -- in many ways -- the thing that started me My Brilliant Non-Career
When I was little my parents had this toy of a keyboard called a Magnus Chord Organ. Most 1960s homes seemed to have one. It was a two-and-a-half-octave affair, with (I believe) slightly undersized keys, and two rows of buttons that played "chords." Black buttons were minor; white, major. Even as a child I loved the sound of holding down several of the chord buttons simultaneously, layering weird overtones. I had no idea what I was doing from a theoretical standpoint, of course (still don't) but it was oh-so-cool. The Magnus sucked air through the bottom. It had a damper wheel on its underside (to control how much it sucked, so to speak) and I used to like to move the wheel while I played to vary the tone color.

When I was about nine or so, I decided I wanted to be a keyboard player. This was the very early 1970s, and other fads were catching the attention of kids, so my parents were quite wary of buying a piano. I mean, who needs that kind of furniture in their house if it's not being used? So they agreed to pay for lessons, with the stipulations that I had to (a) practice like hell, (b) find other pianos in convenient places upon which I could practice and (c) use the Magnus in the meantime. In other words, if I wanted this, I was going to have to make it work.

The 1908 Rudolf apartment grand. This thing requires tuning every couple presidential administrations or so. I still play it every day. It worked. Within a year or so Mom and Dad bought me an old 1908 "apartment grand" which is essentially a tall upright piano. The piano, built by the Rudolf Piano Co. of New York City, is still in my proud possession. And while it's not especially impressive to gaze upon, it sounds beautiful, stays in tune for years at a time, and is loud as hell. I still have the sales receipt. $325.00.

My lessons were the typical stuff. Learn the scales, learn the theory, play the classics. Eventually I did well enough that my teacher relented and let me learn some "pop" material alongside my serious stuff. I bought some music books, but was horrified to hear (when she played from them) that these were "arrangements," not the keyboard parts from my favorite LPs. The songs sounded like lounge- or sing-along versions, with the vocal line played by the right hand. I was disgusted, but didn't know how to learn the songs the "right" way.

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