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NAMM 2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, January 30th, 2019

NAMM 2019 has been as exciting as ever. There are a few highlights that I need to tell you about. Lots of products are the same as always but there are a few things that are so different that they have to be talked about and noticed.

NAMM 2019 ANAHEIM, CA

Some of the differences are so out of the ordinary that I will try and break them down by brand name to make it easier to understand.

The highlights include Sauter, Steingraeber, Brodmann, Geyer, Gebr. Schulz and Wilh. Steinberg and others, Grotrian gets special mention along with a couple of others.

While I am here I am going to make every attempt to interview each of these companies and get their thoughts of the changes and report accordingly.

Its always great to see old friends and meet new ones, see the exciting products and visit with newcomers. All in all I feel as if NAMM 2019 has been a great success.

Of all the news I have heard, Every single dealer has expressed an uptick in business in 2018 and a bright expectation of 2019. More on that to come.

The show was incredible and as far as I can tell every single manufacturer had the same opinion and that was that the dealers and people “in the know” we happy with the results and optimistic about our future.

Some highlights will follow.

Ric Overton

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Dr. Indrek Laul President of Estonia Piano

Monday, May 21st, 2012

Today I was sent a video that I had never seen although the date stamp points back to a 2008 fundraiser for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.  I was surprised by the performer who was Dr. Indrek Laul .  I consider Dr. Laul a friend or at least a  very good acquaintance and was a little embarrassed that I was not aware of his musical talent to the extent that this video shows.  See the video below.  It is the full composition by Gershwin so it is about 13 or 14 minutes.  Even if you can’t watch the entire video, bookmark it and come back to it – you will want to experience the last 3 minutes.

I am not a professional critic but I will tell you that this was an amazing performance.

Dr. Laul is one of the nicest men in (more…)

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SoCal Pianos – San Marcos – INCREDIBLE SALE

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

Our friends  at SoCal Pianos in San Marcos (just outside of San Diego) has announced a HUGE sale this weekend.  This is going to be an incredible sale that you shouldn’t miss.  Below is the advertisement.  Call, make an appointment and then go find the piano of your dreams, make an offer, wait for delivery and then ENJOY YOUR NEW PIANO.  Tell the folks at SoCal Pianos that you heard about it from Piano Social Directory (PianoSD) and maybe they will do something ‘extra’ for you. See the advertisement (more…)

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It’s a Revolution

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

What a great idea.   I got this link today and after investigating the group I learned that these guys actually choose a place to play, go in and have some pretty cool little concerts and venues.  Of course it’s all classical music and well presented.  Take the time to watch this and if you have the chance to do this, it is a nice promotion.

 

 

I really believe with all of my heart if we all pull together and do things like this in unexpected places.  We all have the power to make powerful influences within our personal circles.

Our piano teacher and piano tuners  also have powerful influences.

Ric Overton

http://pianosd.com

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Births and Graveyards

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

Today I wanted to report on the happiest times and saddest times of our lives.  Birth and death.  Of course nothing is cuter and sweeter than a new born baby.  Babies are so adorable and even smell good ( most of the time) they always make you smile.  Conversely, deaths make us sad and graveyards can be so depressing.

Los Angeles Pianos “Play me I’m yours”

Los Angeles (most of you know is my favorite city on the planet) has just started placing these cool pianos all over the city.  I am not sure how many they are actually placing but, the designs are really cool and make you smile.

In an interview yesterday one of the guys who was behind getting these pianos put in place said that the most important thing in this ‘show’ was to get people playing the piano and get people interested in playing the piano and perhaps getting people who used to play  – playing again.  The statement was also made somewhere that “making music come alive inside of someone” is the primary goal.

I think this is one of the coolest promotions ever.  Take a look at the promotion website http://streetpianos.com/la2012/

Click here to see cool video

Click To See Video

Click To See Video

 

It so exciting to see people getting surprised by seeing a piano sitting in the middle of the sidewalk and then sit down and play.  They just make you smile.

Graveyards

Yesterday I got this email from a friend and was surprised, disgusted and all around sad to see the caption of the picture and hear the story of how people just DUMP these pianos in this one particular place.  It makes me sad that people just discard of these instruments as if they are just old pieces of dead wood that has no life.

I suppose if you look at it through the eyes of a person who doesn’t play, it really is just a piece of dead –  worthless wood.  But, somehow it just breaks my heart to see this and to know how much joy this instrument bought into someones life and how full the piano made the home feel and the people that may have stood around it and sang Christmas carols, well,  you get the point.

Piano Graveyard

Piano Graveyard

 

Not sure how you feel, but, I like the first picture better than this one.

Bring life into your home today – start playing.

Ric Overton

http://PianoSD.com

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Piano Concert with DuoPetrof at SoCal Pianos and marketing tips

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Today’s podcast announces a special performance at SoCal Pianos in San Marcos, CA just north of San Diego.  Duo Petrof at http://DuoPetrof.com will be having a very special concert on March 29th.  More information about SoCal Pianos can be found at http://socalpianos.com   Also, some more marketing tips to help generate traffic and responses to your teaching business.

Hope you enjoy

Ric Overton

http://pianosd.com

 

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Powerful Influences – Teachers

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

Today’s podcast is about influential people in our musical journey.  I also covered the passing of Whitney Houston and my own personal experiences as a student when I was first learning to play.

I hope you enjoy.

Ric Overton / http://PianoSD.com

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NAMM 2012 Highlights

Saturday, January 21st, 2012

NAMM 2012 is almost over.

I spent two days at NAMM in Anaheim.  It is the most exciting and exhilarating trade show that I have ever been a part of.  So here are some of my thoughts.

First Wednesday night Max from http://MaxMorganDesigns.com started the completion of www.pianosd.com. I spoke with him last at 1:00 a.m. Wednesday night.  Then 6:00 a.m. he was still working. BUT its almost completed.  If you go to www.pianosd.com you will see the changes, I am VERY EXCITED.

I saw so many friends and people that I have known for many years and made several new friends.  It was very nice to renew old acquaintances.  The piano selection was down this year for various reasons HOWEVER, Brodmann’s latest AS 275 was incredible.  I mean, yes we do business with them but it was unbelievable how nice the piano sounded and the way it felt.

Brodmann AS 275

Brodmann AS 275

I had the opportunity to play on a Sauter Concert Grand too.  As many of you know Sauter is one of my favorites and I was not disappointed  at all. The sound was absolutely incredible and the look and feel of the piano as well as the incredible.

Sauter 275 Concert Grand

Sauter 275 concert Grand

There were some amazing piano teaching programs along with education materials, etc.  There was every music instrument that you could think of  and then some.  As we begin to make our changes and improvements we will be doing some new things.  I cant wait to show you some new things.

I attended the Yamaha Breakfast on Friday morning and was completely blown away by the new product lines they have and some very cool programs for the dealers, sellers and customers at http://yamaha.com

I will give you more as we move around some.

Ric

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I just heard these guys – WOW

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Last night in a long conversation with a hip-hop artist named Stephen Johnson, I was asked what must someone do to become the very best.  My response was rehearse.  Rehearsal time is the most important thing in the world to an artist of any genre.  The more you are committed the more places you will go.  The more you perfect your craft and hone your skills the more likely you are to fall into exceptional places and opportunities.

Have you ever noticed when a true professional is introduced how they dont hang there head in shame or become very quiet and withdrawn but, walk on stage very proud, with their head up and a smile on thier face and a presence that lets the audience know that they know what they are doing and they are aware of their surroundings and are prepared for what they are about to do.  That makes the difference.

I often review new talent and give suggestions and once worked in some of the studios in and around Nashville with artists who were preparing for a recording or performance.  You could always tell who was prepared and who was rehearsed and ready.

This is the case with this group from Italy.  Take a few minutes to sit back and notice the excitement of 3 well prepared young men and where they come from and where you may think they are going.

IL VOLO-

Incredible IL-VOLO

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

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Maxwell Steer

Sunday, July 10th, 2011

Some of you may remember Maxwell Steer who visited us at PianoSD last year for a teacher workshop and played for us and spoke to us about teaching in the U.K.

I have kept in contact with Maxwell and was delighted to find out that he had put on YouTube a performance with Richard Black.  I felt you would be thrilled to hear this wonderful performance and decided to post this for you to see.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have

Our friend Maxwell Steer

I will be reporting more information about Maxwell and s

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