My story

I was born with hearing loss when my mother contracted the German Measles or Rubella while I was still in the womb. This occurred during the Rubella outbreak of the northwest in 1960s. I born with profound hearing loss in my left ear while my right ear was somewhat spared with a hearing loss about 70 dB. I was fitted with a hearing aid at age three in my better ear.

My fascination with music began early on. So, at age 7 I begged my Mom and Dad to get a piano because I wanted to learn how to play the piano. I’m not exactly sure why I did this but I think it’d be fun and cool to be able to play the piano. Of the three of us siblings, my younger sister and older brother, I was the only one who continued to practice on the family piano while growing up. Over the years I had fun performing at piano recitals though I didn’t take much stock in the fact that I was a hard of hearing kid who can play the piano and that I probably stood out from the rest of the people there.

At about age 11 my first piece was a simplified version of “The Entertainer” - a widely popular and recognizable Scott Joplin ragtime piece. And during my early teen years I re-discovered ragtime when my piano skill progressed even more to the point of playing more complicated and original ragtime piano pieces such as Maple Leaf Rag, The Entertainer, The Cascades, Original Rags and so on. It was that weird and intoxicating music that hooked me.

Much of my young life has been rather a musical one. I can play any instruments if I wanted to since I am able to hear all range of musical notes with the help of my hearing aid. I’ve played the violin, taught myself to play the saxophone to the point of being good enough to play in a middle school band, played the drums, and xylophone in middle and high school bands. I was in a marching band in high school and I was the bass drummer where we competed in marching band competitions in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. And at one time I played the piano for an audience on a theater stage while in college belting out Maple Leaf Rag. Ironically, it was at Gallaudet University, a school I attended while as a student. Despite all that my main musical instrument has always been the piano.

My love for ragtime stayed with me even while as I was absent from ever touching a piano during my college days (with on occasion the opportunity to practice but not as much as I have wanted and without the distraction of education) and while raising a family. My time was limited but did what I could whenever I came across a piano. In that absence I read books on ragtime and the people who played ragtime, and collected ragtime piano sheet music whenever I could. What was a big help during my graduate college days at University of Idaho was the availability of pianos on campus and the famous Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival held annually on campus. The internet over the last several years has made it easier for me to learn and experience more about ragtime, the people (new and old), the history, and the music through YouTube. It has given me blogging opportunities, allowed me to become involved in a ragtime discussion forum and provided a way to download lots of free ragtime music sheets dating back to the early 1890s.

My time finally came in December 2008 when I decided it was time to buy myself a new piano and not have a broken down piano to worry about. I decided upon a goal to get back into ragtime with fervor and become the first known deaf ragtime pianist. It will take some time, gradually and slowly for sure as I branch into other well know ragtime composers such as W.R. McKanlass, Charles Leslie Johnson, George Botsford, Holmes Travis, and many other well known and not so well known composers, including the early jazz pieces like Jelly Roll Morton.

Over time I was finally able to get to the point of practicing 4 or 5 hours a day if I wanted to. Though my normal, ideal, amount of time is about 2 to 3 hours a day due to the challenge of finding the time to play when my kids are not around. It will take some time to get all of my piano coordination and skill back on track. I may be a “natural” in some sense but it sure doesn’t feel like it. There is a 25 year gap I’ve got to catch up on. My sight reading is getting easier nowadays whenever I come across a new ragtime music sheet pieces though by no means can I whiz right though them, yet. There are thousands of ragtime sheets out there, many of them available over the internet. I collect them for my growing ragtime portfolio both in electronic format and hard copy. My goal is to play as many of these ragtime pieces and memorize some of them when I can. Someday I'll eventually move into early Jazz pieces (e.g. Jelly Roll Morton) and stride piano (e.g. Fats Waller) but for now it’s all ragtime and lot of catching up to do.

My challenge nowadays is to find other ragtime pianists that I could associate myself with and keep my interest high on playing the piano on a daily/regular basis. When I moved to Washington in June of 2009 from New Mexico I learned about the Portland Ragtime Society group in Portland, Oregon which turned out to be a 45 minute drive from my house. This group meets and plays ragtime together once a month at a public eatery that supports a piano. Currently we play at the Elevated Coffee in Portland. Other challenges include the continuing documentation of my progress in my Ragtime Piano! blog. I am always on the lookout for more deaf or hard of hearing pianists. And when I do find one I try and learn about the person and document it in my blog. Future challenges are to try and attend ragtime festivals like the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri (June 2 - 6, 2010) of which I will be going. A deaf-owned company is sponsoring my trip (see story here). All in all I plan to include more videos for my blog and on my YouTube channel, interviews on ragtime pianists, and anything else I can do to increase my focus and interest on ragtime and piano playing. The internet is a big help and a valuable source of my continued learning. There are lots of strategies I can do to help with my interest in my playing the piano and ragtime. But I sure hope I have lots of fun getting there.

A Purveyor of Pleasingly Pianistic Pyrotechnics of Ragtime Music

My music began at the age of 7 when my fingers first touched the black and white keys on our first piano in my parents’ house. I begged my Mom and Dad to get a piano because I wanted to learn how to play the piano thinking it was cool to have a piano. Of the three of us siblings, my younger sister and older brother, I was the only one who continued to practice on our piano. Over the years I had fun performing at piano recitals though many did not realize that I was deaf/hh. In my early teens I discovered ragtime though when younger my first piece was a simplified version of “The Entertainer” - a widely popular and recognizable Scott Joplin ragtime piece. My love for ragtime stayed with me even while as I was absent from ever touching a piano during my college days and while raising a family that took away much of my time the opportunity to even play on piano on a regular basis. But that didn’t stop me from reading books on ragtime and the people while collecting ragtime piano sheet music whenever I could. The internet over the last several years has made it easier to learn about ragtime, the people (new and old), the history, the music and lots of free ragtime music sheets I can print out. My time finally came in December 2008 when I bought myself a piano. I decided upon a goal to get back into ragtime with fervor and become the first known deaf/hh ragtime pianist. It will take some time, gradually and slowly for sure. I sure hope I have some fun getting there.

It won’t be easy to be an accomplished ragtime pianist. The question I am facing is how accomplish can I become? This goal of mine will certainly take some time since I started my long hours of practicing last year starting January 2009. I’ve been absent from my piano much too long. My fingers and hands would require getting used to playing the piano on a constant basis. Just like when it comes to sports or exercising, one has to build up to it until so you can practice for hours and not have your fingers get tired. At first I was sore and felt clumsy playing it, my coordination was a bit off but with gradual practicing and finger exercises I was finally able to get to the point of practicing 4 or 5 hours a day if I wanted to. Though my normal, ideal, amount of time is about 2 to 3 hours a day. It takes time to get the proper hand/eye coordination in place, have your brain adapt more fluidly to reading piano music sheets, getting the dynamics down correctly, knowing where to place your fingers and hands without looking, learning to listen to the notes and make sure they sound right, get the timing down, using the right amount of application, getting the right melody, and so on…..done automatically. For me, it takes even more practice to get it down right while others are a pure natural at playing the piano. I may be a “natural” in some sense but it sure doesn’t feel like it...yet. There is a 25 year gap I’ve got to catch up on. Though my sight reading on new music sheet pieces are becoming easier nowadays though by no means I can whiz right though them. There are thousands of ragtime songs out there, many of them available over the internet. I collect them for my growing ragtime portfolio. My goal is to play as many of these ragtime pieces and memorize some of them when I can. Someday I'll eventually move into more early Jazz pieces (e.g. Jelly Roll Morton) and stride piano (e.g. Fats Waller) but for now it’s all ragtime and lot of catching up to do.

How to describe ragtime piano to deaf people?

There are certain music I believe that most deaf people, especially those born with a hearing loss or lose it early in life, do not even know it exist or even care for it. One of that music is ragtime. I genre of music that I've come to know and enjoy immensely.

What is ragtime anyway? According to Scott Joplin, the "King of Ragtime," he aptly described ragtime music as "weird and intoxicating" when played right. Yeah, but that doesn't describe it does it? In ragtime on a piano it is the (melodic) syncopation of the right hand with the accented bass movement of the left hand. Chords do not define ragtime but the syncopated style that makes ragtime music recognizable. Which is why it's called "ragged time." Confused? Ok. The bare bones description. On the piano it combines the left hand bass movements (the "oom-pah oom-pah" feel to it) with the deep bass notes that you can actually feel the vibration. The right hand movements play the syncopated movements that produces the melody with an off-beat sound to it. This is mostly the higher notes which is harder to feel and detect its vibrations. With that combination of sound it gives that particular "weird and intoxicating" flavor of music to it.

It's hard to describe to a deaf person on why ragtime is so enjoyable and pleasing to listen to just as it's hard to describe to a blind person why a particular painting is so wonderful and pleasing to look at. Descriptions can only go so far. Other senses must be used help fill in this gap.

First, if you have a good set of speakers for your computer (or to an even larger, stronger external set of speakers) let's go to John Roache's website where he describes what ragtime is all about and a chance for you to feel (and perhaps hear) what it "sounds" like. John Roache is able to break it down into separate, identifiable music and when combined makes it into a ragtime music. In this case, he uses the familiar tune of "Mary had a little lamb" and turns that into a ragtime example.

All I can say is that as with jazz, stride piano, novelty piano, or even ragtime piano, one has to appreciate the musical qualities behind them in order to truly enjoy these genre periods. I don't expect Deaf people to understand why I enjoy and play ragtime piano except that I find it "weird and intoxicating" whenever I play it. It's a musical art that keeps on giving.

Portland Ragtime Society new monthly meeting place

From the Elevated Coffee website, please note the new change of venue for the monthly meeting of the Portland Ragtime Society:

The Portland Ragtime Society conducts their monthly meetings at Elevated Coffee every first Sunday of the month

Everyone is welcome to participate.

DATE: Every first Sunday of the month

TIME: 3:00-6:00

LOCATION: Elevated Coffee, 5261 NE M. L. King Jr. Blvd, Portland, OR 97211 (see map)

Elevated Coffee is located in the Vanport Square, one block south of Killingsworth, and across the street from the Blazers Boys & Girls Club.

Map of location.

Come one, come all. I'll be there once again for sure and have fun with their new, white baby grand piano at Elevated Coffee.

Raggin' my way to the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri (June 2 - 6)

Greetings all. I have great news. I'll be attending the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival which takes place in the historic town of Sedalia, Missouri (see map). This year's festival starts on June 2 and ends on June 6, 2010. A highly popular musical and celebratory event where people from all over the world descend on the quiet town of 25,000. This trip is being sponsored by a communication company, sComm, Inc, based in Missouri, a few hours away from Sedalia, Missouri. I've known the CEO and founder of that company for several years. A great friend of mine. So, be sure to check out their website for their products and services.

I plan to blog about my trip and this ragtime festival with pictures and videos. I'm sure I'll meet many well known (and unknown) skillful ragtime pianists there. Many of them I am envy of their superb skills. Be sure to keep an eye on this blog for more updates and news.