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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
I have a rather conservative friend in the US (who also plays piano). He is a member of an organization that wants to have English as the official language of the US.
He was in Germany a few years ago and was upset that all the train information was in German. Imagine that? You're in Germany and the train information is in German of all languages!
After having lived in Europe for over 16 years I have much more empathy for those folks who don't speak the native language so well.
I remember once, after hearing a Korean saleswoman saying two dollar for the price of something (in the US), thinking to myself, learn the %^&*()__$ language. Now my thoughts would be more generous.
Yamaha AvantGrand N1X | Roland RD 2000 | Sennheiser HD 598 headphones
Actually thats 2 different issue's. My simple view is - Learn the language of the country you live in. On the other hand, some American who is telling that signs in Germany should be in English, has ALOT of history reading up to do!
Currently working on: Perfecting the Op 2/1, studying the 27/2 last movement. Chopin Nocturne 32/2 and Posth. C#m, 'Raindrop' prelude and Etude 10/9 Repetoire: Beethoven op 2/1, 10/1(1st, 2nd), 13, 14/1, 27/1(1st, 2nd), 27/2, 28(1st, 2nd), 31/2(1st, 3rd), 49/1, 49/2, 78(1st), 79, 90, 101(1st)
I have to give the Dutch credit. Schipol has all signs in English and Dutch. It was also one of the first airports where you didn't have you insert a coin (local currency) to rent a cart to push your luggage. I remember flying into NYC and not having US currency to use the carts.
This is getting further off topic but the Dutch just revamped their public transportation system. You don't need to buy a ticket or a strip card to use the train, bus or tram. You load money into a card and simply wave the card at a sensor before you enter and after you leave. I used that for the first time a few weeks ago while attending a concert in Amsterdam. It was excellent and so easy.
It's always the transportation system that is intimidating and now the Dutch has made it simpler for everyone to use.
Yamaha AvantGrand N1X | Roland RD 2000 | Sennheiser HD 598 headphones
Currently working on: Perfecting the Op 2/1, studying the 27/2 last movement. Chopin Nocturne 32/2 and Posth. C#m, 'Raindrop' prelude and Etude 10/9 Repetoire: Beethoven op 2/1, 10/1(1st, 2nd), 13, 14/1, 27/1(1st, 2nd), 27/2, 28(1st, 2nd), 31/2(1st, 3rd), 49/1, 49/2, 78(1st), 79, 90, 101(1st)
One of the best way to learn German is from another American visiting there. To the great disappointment of many, Germany is more visited by Americans than would be anticipated. Don't expect to run into each and every school pal, but the occasional ex-girlfriend may just sit across the corner bench in a bemuetliche Gasthof.
Insider tip: after the second beer none of these concerns don't seem to matter much...
Pimsleur audio course (often available from your library - as someone above mentioned).
Michel Thomas audio course http://www.michelthomas.com/ (again, also available from libraries - his german course is better than some of his other courses due to his accent. Pimsleur uses native speakers.) Very similar structure to Pimsleur except you have to pause the tape / cd to make your response. Pimsleur gives you time for the response.
FSI Language courses - available from http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php . These were developed by the US Government, so they are public domain. These take a lot of effort to use and they are also a bit dated.
There are also plenty of free websites for learning german:
I'm so looking forward to this trip. I hope more of our members decide to join the tour, it's going to be a great time.
In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here is a quick list of the itinerary:
Some Highlights from Your Itinerary (not in date order and not complete):
Hamburg Steinway Tour (Hamburg, Germany)
Steingräber u. Söhne Tour (Bayreuth, Germany)
Blüthner Tour (Leipzig, Germany)
Bösendorfer Tour (Vienna, Austria)
Meet & Greet and Concert with Robin Meloy Goldsby (Author of The Piano Girl )(Cologne, Germany)
Visit the Beethoven Museum in Bonn PM City tour of Leipzig with Thomas Church Mendelosohn Museum Music Instruments Museum Dinner at famous Auerbach-Keller
Germanisches National Museum, historic music instruments (Nuremberg, Germany)
Visit Wagner & Liszt Museum (Rothenburg, Germany)
Visit Deutsches Museum (one of worlds largest musical instrument collections)
Visit National Museum (possibly with behind scenes visit)
Visit Mozart Haus, the birthplace of Mozart
Castle Schonbrunn Visit
Musical Vienna Tour (a city tour connected with composers and music) We've also scheduled free time to explore on your own
Plus ... ~ Panoramic Scenic Drives with Photo Stops ~ Walking Tours ~ Breakfast & Dinners Included ~ Lovely Hotels ~ Free Time to Explore on Your Own
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
The BBC link seemed the most promising. Lessons are in different contexts, and there is a variety of speakers with clear enunciation. The American site's pronunciation is fuzzy, as though they used native but untrained speakers. "Guten Tag, Frau Kunzel" comes out as "Gu'ntach, Frau Kunze". I wouldn't worry about German grammar and syntax. If you learn some common phrases like those on the BBC web-site you'll absorb some of those things. It's a bit like learning music by rote imitation and discovering that you've picked up other things.
When you listen to whole phrases, you also pick up the rhythm of the language. This is what makes foreigners hard to understand, when they put the emphASis on the wrong syLAble. If you listen to the flow of the language and imitated it, you pick up something else that helps you understand and be understood.
Most Germans speak English, but anyone loves it when you make an effort to speak their language. I was hired once by a businessman who wanted to be able to introduce his product in German, before continuing in English. 90% of his learning he did on his own. I could help him with pronunciation and understanding the nature of the language.
You might want to get a bit of a piano-related vocabulary. The easiest is to find bilingual texts saying the same thing. Linguee resource - (piano hammer example) is a really cool resource.
You zig-zagging quite a bit between North and South...
Norbert
Hi Norbert,
No, the actual full itinerary in order is:
June 5, 11 Sun Arrival Hamburg, city orientation tour, no entrance Welcome cocktail, welcome dinner, o/n Hamburg Hotel Hafen June 6, 11 Mon Morning Tour of Hamburg Steinway, PM free Dinner at local restaurant, o/n Hamburg Hotel Hafen June 7, 11, Tue Full day drive to Bonn via Cologne, to visit the Cathedral (also join up with Robin Meloy Goldsby – the Piano Girl) Dinner at hotel, o/n Bonn Rhein Hotel Dreesen June 8, 11 Wed Morning visit to Beethoven museum, PM free, dinner at hotel, o/n Bonn June 9, 11 Thu Full-day drive to Leipzig, dinner at hotel, o/n Leipzig Radisson Blue June 10, 11 Fri Half-day Tour of Blüthner Piano with Dr. Blüthner, PM city tour with Thomas Church, Mendelsohn Museum, Music Instruments Museum, Dinner at famous Auerbach-Keller o/n Leipzig Hotel Radisson Blue June 11, 11 Sat To Bayreuth, arrival around lunch time, Tour of Steingräber u. Söhne Piano Dinner at Hotel, o/n Bayreuth Hotel Ramada Residenzschloß June 12, 11 Sun Full-day excursion to Nuremberg (Germanisches National Museum, collection of historic music instruments), continue to Rothenburg, walking tour Dinner at hotel, o/n Bayreuth Hotel Ramada Residenzschloß June 13, 11 Mon Morning visit to Wagner and Liszt Museum, afternoon drive to Munich, prior check-in a panoramic city tour, photo stops, no inside visits, dinner at local restaurant nearby hotel, overnight Hotel Kings First Class Hotel June 14, 11 Tue Morning visit to the Deutsches Museum (which houses one of the world’s largest musical instrument collections, with a performance of the music of Mozart on an original piano of his time and comparative demonstrations on instruments from subsequent time periods) and the National theatre (where we have applied for a visit behind the scenes). Afternoon drive to Salzburg, upon arrival we have a 2 hour walking tour with a local Salzburg guide (local guide is compulsory) and visit the Mozart Haus, the birthplace of Mozart. Dinner at local restaurant nearby hotel, o/n Salzburg Hotel Austrotel June 15, 11 Wed Morning drive to Vienna, arrive around lunchtime, afternoon sightseeing incl. Castle Schönbrunn inside visit, dinner and overnight at centrally located Hotel (name coming up) June 16, 11 Thu Tour of Bösendorfer Piano Afternoon “Musical Viennaâ€, a city tour connected with composers, with music, of which there are many in Vienna. Farewell Dinner at local restaurant, maybe in Grinzing, where you dine with local wine and music in a wine village nearby Vienna o/n Vienna June 17, 11 Fri Transfer to Vienna Airport. Auf Wiedersehen
Package includes:
All accommodations listed Breakfast buffet and 3 course dinner daily 1 glass of welcome cocktail upon arrival pre dinner Deluxe motor coach with A/C, fridge, bathroom and reclining seats English tour escort Local guides Entrance fees on tours included Porterage at hotels and airports of once piece per person Government tax, parking of coach, service charge at hotels and restaurants
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
It's been fifty years since I've studied German, but I'm looking forward to being immersed in it, if not in any great likelihood having to use it very much. Since that time I went through US Army language school (DLI/Defense Language Institute), learning another language, and gained a lot of respect for their teaching method, the foundation of which is memorization of dialogues. So I'd recommend the FSI German course listed by DragonPianoPlayer above (which uses the same techniques) for anyone who's got a couple of hours a day to put into it. Hiring a native speaker, if there's one in your area, would also be helpful, after you've got everything downloaded and printed out. Also, the Goethe Institut offers group courses in some cities in the USA (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC)
Just realize it's next June right? Still time to climb onboard? Could save on interpreter and tour guide fees.... Reserving seat right besides Larry Fine. Norbert
Just realize it's next June right? Still time to climb onboard? Could save on interpreter and tour guide fees.... Reserving seat right besides Larry Fine. Norbert
Yes, next June is correct. Still plenty of time Norbert, would love to have you join us. The first payment isn't due until Dec. 1st.
We can hoist a cold one or two in Germany (they do serve cold beer, right?)
Larry hasn't added his name to the list yet :-) We are hoping for a few industry people to join us though (waiting to hear back from a couple of them as we speak)
You can see a list of those who intend to join the tour (and those who want to but haven't been able to commit yet)...
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
Hey, I have been taking german lessons for 4.5 years. Im fairly fluent and can get myself around town.
Send a ticket and Ill be your guide!
I absolutely adore Germany. Such a gorgeous country. Beautiful countryside. Nice nice nice people, wonderful food, great speed limits on certain highway systems.
And what historic landmarks that are still original, are just incredible. The large churches where Bach, Buxtehude, and so many others performed, on fantastic historic organs like Gottfried Silbermann, and Arp Schnitger.
Oh my I am drooling. Id give anything to visit Germany again.
Hailun HU7P 1799 John Broadwood and son square 1800 George Astor London square 1810 Gibson and Davis New York square 1830 John Broadwood and sons square
Aeolian-Hammond BA player organ Conn 652 theater organ 1922 Kotykiewicz two manual harmonium 1880s karn pump organ
We can hoist a cold one or two in Germany (they do serve cold beer, right?)
Not overly cold though.
Beer is considered "food" in Germany and it's never served with ice cubes.
Just nice and cool to go with
Prost!
Norbert
The myth on germans drinking warm beer is so false. I asked my grandpa that when we got there.
PS... Kann man Spielen die pfeifenorgel im Deutschland auf der Reise? Ich Liebe Baroque orgeln, und dieses Deutches orgelns sind die besten.
Hailun HU7P 1799 John Broadwood and son square 1800 George Astor London square 1810 Gibson and Davis New York square 1830 John Broadwood and sons square
Aeolian-Hammond BA player organ Conn 652 theater organ 1922 Kotykiewicz two manual harmonium 1880s karn pump organ
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