Gibbons said most people have their pianos tuned about once a year.
“It varies,” he said. “I did some every couple of weeks for a while at a club in Chicago, and I’ve gone to tune for people who haven’t had their pianos tuned in 10 years. The quality of pianos has increased considerably over the past 10 to 20 years.”
Gibbons said tuning is affected by seasonal changes.
“The temperature outside affects the environment inside,” he said. “It’s really the humidity that has the biggest impact on the tuning. How often you play really doesn’t have much of an impact on the tuning, although it can matter if you’re really banging things out over a period.”
As is the case with many things, technology has resulted in the biggest changes over the years in piano tuning.
“It’s still basically the same process, but there are some electronics that are relatively new,” he said. “They haven’t replaced the tuning fork; they have supplemented the tuning fork.”
Gibbons even has a couple of apps on his cellphone that are designed specifically to aid in the tuning of pianos.
“A good technician has to be conscientious and can’t be in a hurry,” he said. “Good customer relations is very important, too.”
Gibbons must be doing something right, as he has had some clients for several years.
. 1895 ~ Waltzing Matilda, one of Australia’s best-known tunes written by bush poet Banjo Paterson, was first publicly performed at a hotel in the remote northern town of Winton.
. 1913 ~ ‘Pappy’ Wade Ray, Country entertainer/musician with the Grand Ole Opry
. 1917 ~ George M. Cohan wrote Over There, which became the chief marching song for World War I
. 1924 ~ Mimi (Miriam) Benzell, Opera singer, mezzo-soprano
. 1931 ~ Little Orphan Annie, the comic strip character developed by Harold Gray, came to life on the NBC Blue network. About 5 decades later, the comic strip inspired a Broadway play and a movie, both titled, Annie.
. 1937 ~ Merle Haggard, American country-music singer, songwriter, fiddler and guitarist, CMA Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year (1970)
. 1944 ~ Michelle Phillips (Holly Michelle Gilliam), Singer with The Mamas and the Papas
. 1956 ~ Capitol Tower, the home of Capitol Records in Hollywood, CA, was dedicated. The building was the first circular office tower designed in America. It is 13 stories tall and 92 feet in diameter. At night, a light at the tip of the tower blinks the letters “H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D” in Morse Code.
. 1971 ~ Igor Stravinsky, Russian-born composer, died in New York. One of the 20th Century’s leading musical figures and most famous for his ballets “The Rite of Spring” and “Petrushka.”
. 1971 ~ Rolling Stone Records was formed to promote the hits of The Rolling Stones. The famous Stones trademark, the lips logo, became widely used. Brown Sugar was the first hit by the Rolling Stones on the new label, followed by Wild Horses, Tumbling Diceand Start Me Up.
. 1973 ~ The Stylistics received a gold record for their ballad hit, Break Up toMake Up. The Philadelphia soul group placed 10 hits on the pop charts in the 1970s. More of their gold record winners include: You Are Everything, Betcha By Golly Wow, I’m Stone in Love With You and You Make Me Feel Brand New.
. 1974 ~ The first concert film featuring a soundtrack in quadraphonic sound opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre.
. 1985 ~ The country group, Alabama, went five-for-five as the album 40 Hour Week grabbed the top spot on the Billboard country chart. The group had a number one album for each of the previous five years. The popularity of the quartet (three are cousins from Fort Payne, AL) continues today.
. 1994 ~ Dick Cary passed away. He was an American jazz pianist, trumpet and alto horn player, and prolific arranger and composer.
. 1998 ~ Tammy Wynette, known as “The First Lady of Country Music” and world- renowned for her hit Stand by Your Man, died aged 55.
. 2001 ~ Daniel J. “Danny” Gaither, the original tenor voice of the former Bill Gaither Trio, died after a five-year battle with lymphoma. He was 62. He joined the Bill Gaither trio when he turned 18. His brother, Bill, led the group, and his younger sister, Mary Ann, was the group’s original female singer. Danny Gaither traveled with the family trio for about 10 years until the early 1980s, when he started doing solo work. Problems with his vocal chords forced him to give up his solo career about 10 years later. Danny Gaither won several Grammy and Dove awards for his work. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in April 1999.
Easter Parade is a 1948 American musical film starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, featuring music by Irving Berlin, including some of Astaire and Garland’s best-known songs, such as “Easter Parade”, “Steppin’ Out with My Baby”, and “We’re a Couple of Swells”.
. 1724 ~ Giovanni Jacopo Casanova de Seingalt, Italian violinist During his life he was also a seminarian, a secretary to a cardinal, a Venetian ensign, an abbe, a gambler, an alchemist, a spy, a lover, adventurer, and a librarian.
. 1784 ~ Ludwig Spohr, German violinist, composer and conductor
. 1940 ~ Tommy Cash, Songwriter, Johnny Cash’s brother
. 1946 ~ Vincent Youmans passed away. He was an American Broadway composer and Broadway producer.
. 1958 ~ Johnny Mathis’ album, Johnny’s Greatest Hits, on Columbia Records, made it to the pop music charts for the first time. The LP remained on the charts for a record 490 weeks (nearly 9~1/2 years!) The record began its stay at number one (three weeks) on June 9, 1958. Mathis studied opera from age 13 and earned a track and field scholarship at San Francisco State College. He was invited to Olympic try-outs and chose a singing career instead. He was originally a jazz-style singer when Columbia switched Mathis to singing pop ballads. Johnny would chart over 60 albums in 30 years.
. 1982 ~ After eight years of publication to the radio and recording industry, Record World magazine ceased publication and filed for bankruptcy protection.
. 1985 ~ Broadcasters banded together to play the single, We Are the World, at 10:50 a.m. E.S.T. Stations in the United States were joined by hundreds of others around the world in a sign of unification for the African relief cause. Even Muzak made the song only the second vocal selection it has ever played in elevators and offices since its inception.
The concert piano, known in classical music circles as CD 503, was chosen specifically for Horowitz and presented in 1941. It was in his home until it was shipped to Russia when he made his triumphant return to the homeland he left in the 1920s.
Without Horowitz, the piano has traveled to from Fort Worth to Philadelphia and Florence, Ky. It’s made stops in London, Vancouver, Kansas City, Pensacola, Fla., Cleveland, Berlin and scores of other cities, large and small. There is no official estimate of how many individuals have played it, only a guess of “thousands.”
“It’s scheduled to be in our Chicago studios for just six weeks,” said Rhapsody Snyder, a Steinway employee and manager of this portion of the tour. “I’m not sure where it goes next, but don’t worry: It weighs between 700 and 800 pounds, but we move pianos every day.”
It is tuned for every performance, but there are standing orders that the piano’s “voice” will never be altered. It sounds today as it sounded when Horowitz played it.
. 1859 ~ Daniel Emmett introduced I Wish I was in Dixie’s Land (later named Dixie) in New York City. Just two years later, the song became the Civil War song of the Confederacy.
. 1875 ~ Pierre Monteux, French conductor, famed for his interpretation of early 20th century music, he conducted the first performances of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” and Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe.”
. 1891 ~ Distinguished American actor Edwin Booth made his final stage appearance in a production of Hamlet at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
. 1915 ~ “Muddy” Waters, American blues singer and guitarist
. 1922 ~ Elmer Bernstein, Composer of Academy Award-winning film scores: Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967); Sudden Fear, The Man with the Golden Arm, Ten Commandments, Sweet Smell of Success, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Walk on the Wild Side and The Magnificent Seven
. 1938 ~ After seven years of singing on the radio, Kate Smith began a new noontime talk show.
. 1939 ~ Glenn Miller recorded his theme song, Moonlight Serenade, for Bluebird Records. Previously, the Miller theme had been Gone with the Dawn and, before then, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.
. 1939 ~ Hugh Masakela, Trumpeter
. 1946 ~ Serge Leiferkus, Russian baritone
. 1954 ~ Maestro Arturo Toscanini conducted his last concert with the NBC Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Toscanini ended a 17-year association with the orchestra.
. 1964 ~ The Beatles set an all-time record on the Top 100 chart of Billboard magazine this day. All five of the top songs were by the British rock group. In addition, The Beatles also had the number one album as Meet the Beatles continued to lead all others. The LP was the top album from February 15 through May 2, when it was replaced by The Beatles Second Album. It was estimated at the time that The Beatles accounted for 60 percent of the entire singles record business during the first three months of 1964. The top five singles by The Beatles this day were:
1) Can’t Buy Me Love
2) Twist and Shout
3) She Loves You
4) I Want to Hold Your Hand
5) Please Please Me
. 1968 ~ Bobby Goldsboro received a gold record for the single, Honey. The poignantly sad song charted for 13 weeks, spending five weeks at number one. Goldsboro produced a total of 11 hits on the pop charts in the 1960s and 1970s. Honey was his only million seller and only number one hit.
. 1994 ~ Ginny Simms passed away. She was an American popular singer and film actress.
. 2000 ~ Blues singer Mary Smith McClain, better known to fans as “Diamond Teeth Mary,” died in St. Petersburg, Fla. She was believed to have been 97 or 98. McClain was a teen-ager posing as a boy when she hopped a train in her native West Virginia to begin a new life as a traveling blues musician more than 80 years earlier. She went from singing at carnivals with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels to the Chicago Blues Festival, New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Europe. She sang with such music greats as B.B. King, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. McClain, who once had diamonds set in her teeth, was considered the world’s oldest-performing true blues musician, appearing at local clubs until two weeks before her death.
At this year’s VBS, kids will embark on an icy expedition where kids overcome obstacles with God’s awesome power. Anchor kids in rock-solid Bible truths that will guide them through life’s challenges.
In addition, each day kids will rotate through music, recreation, snack, craft, storytelling and even some “laboratory” time!
Basics:
July 6-10, 9:00 to 12:00 each day at Pender UMC, 12401 Alder Woods Drive, Fairfax, VA 22033
Music Camp will be from 12:30-3:30 the same dates. Registration information coming soon.
Kids age 3 through 6th grade are welcome – note all children must be potty trained, teachers will NOT change diapers
Fees this year are $30 per child, $60 max per family. This includes the price of the music CD. Pay $30 each for the first two children in your family. Other children are no additional charge.
After you have registered 2 children, use the form VBS 2015 (Family) so that you are not charged more than $60 for your family.
. 1895 ~ Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-born American composer
. 1897 ~ Johannes Brahms, German composer and pianist, died. He wrote four symphonies as well as concerti for piano and violin and highly-esteemed chamber works.
. 1924 ~ Doris Day, Singer
. 1942 ~ Wayne Newton, American singer of popular music
. 1944 ~ Tony Orlando, Singer, Tony Orlando and Dawn
. 1948 ~ Garrick Ohlsson, American pianist, winner of Poland’s Frederic Chopin piano competition in 1970. More about this competition.
. 1949 ~ Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis debuted on radio in an NBC program that ran until 1952.
. 1950 ~ Kurt Weil, German composer, died, best known for his “Threepenny Opera” and for his collaboration with actress and singer Lotte Lenya whom he married in 1926.
. 1952 ~ Harry Belafonte recorded his first songs for RCA Victor at Manhattan Center in New York City.
. 1952 ~ Hugo Winterhalter backed up the singer with an 18-piece orchestra. Among the sides recorded were Dogs A-Roving and Chimney Smoke.
. 1955 ~ Fred Astaire appeared on television for the first time on The Toast of the Town, with host, Ed Sullivan. Already an established dancer in films, Astaire was quick to become a TV sensation as well.
. 1965 ~ Bob Dylan appeared on the pop music charts for the first time. Subterranean Homesick Blues entered the Top 40 at number 39. The song stayed on the charts for eight weeks. Dylan would chart a total of 12 singles on the pop charts between 1965 and 1979. He appeared in the films Don’t Look Back, Eat the Document and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. He made the film Renaldo and Clara in 1978. Dylan co-starred in the film Hearts of Fire in 1987. He became a member of the Traveling Wilburys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Dylan won the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.
. 1986 ~ For the first time in six years, major record companies decided to raise prices – between three and five percent.
. 1986 ~ Peter Pears, British operatic tenor, died. He was a collaborator with composer Benjamin Britten and first interpreter of many of Britten’s works, notably “Peter Grimes.”
. 1999 ~ Lionel Bart, British composer of the musical “Oliver!,” died aged 68.
. 2001 ~ Lester “Big Daddy” Kinsey, a blues singer-guitarist known for his croaky voice, died of prostate cancer. He was 74. Kinsey and his sons, Kenneth, Donald and Ralph, became known as “Big Daddy” Kinsey and His Fabulous Sons. The sons now form the Gary-based Kinsey Report and record for Alligator Records, a Chicago blues label. The Kinsey Report has toured with the likes of the Allman Brothers Band. In the early ’90s, the elder Kinsey experienced one of his career highlights with I Am the Blues, a major-label release on Polygram. The album boasted a host of blues standouts backing up Kinsey, including Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Sugar Blue and Pinetop Perkins.
2015 ~ Andrew Porter died. He was a renowned music critic and scholar and translator of opera.
THE BLACK AND white keys move so fast it’s hard to tell if Jenny Lin is even touching them. Lin, a classical pianist known for virtuosic speed, is sitting at a grand piano in Steinway’s New York offices, as the rest of the room listens intently, focused on the keyboard.
No, she’s definitely not touching the keys. Not this time. Minutes earlier, Lin played a hyper-speed arrangement of George Gershwin’s “I’ve Got Rhythm.” The same song is playing now, except this time Lin hands are on her lap. It’s uncanny, really: The exact same keys are pressed, the exact same trills are heard, the same dynamics are present. It’s a little magical—or “almost scary” as Lin puts it—as though you’re witnessing a prodigious ghost mimic her every move.
It’s not a ghost, of course. It’s technology. Which, considering Steinway’s old-school legacy, is nearly as unlikely an explanation as a poltergeist. Lin is demonstrating the Spirio, Steinway’s newest and first self-playing piano.
When you buy a Spirio—not you, necessarily; they run upwards of $110,000—it comes with an iPad loaded with a Spotify-like app. This app communicates with the piano via Bluetooth, prompting the piano to play any one of the 1,700 songs recorded specifically for the instrument. New songs will sync every week. By itself, an iPad-controlled piano is nifty, if not exactly a technological marvel. What makes Spirio different is that it can play songs with an unprecedented level of accuracy and nuance.
. 1826 ~ Charles-Valentin Alkan made his public performance debut at the piano, in Paris
. 1851 ~ Adolph Brodsky. He was a Russian Empire violinist
. 1905 ~ Kurt Herbert Adler, Austrian-born American conductor and opera director
. 1912 ~ Herbert Mills, Singer with The Mills Brothers
. 1939 ~ Marvin Gaye, American soul singer and songwriter, inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987
. 1941 ~ Leon Russell, American rock singer songwriter and instrumentalist
. 1942 ~ Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded American Patrol for Victor Records. The jitterbug tune became one of Miller’s most requested hits.
. 1947 ~ Emmylou Harris, Grammy Award-winning singer for Elite Hotel in 1976 and Blue Kentucky Girl in 1978.
. 1963 ~ Best Foot Forward opened in New York City. Liza Minnelli was the lead actress in this off-Broadway revival of the show which enjoyed a run of 224 performances.
1929 ~ André Previn, German-born American pianist, composer and conductor, Known as a classical orchestral conductor, notably of 
MaryO'Studio 