Piano Duet

Several weeks ago, Mary and I attended a performance in the Cabaret Series we subscribe to at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.  A young married couple played two pianos in a classical recital, including works by Tchaikovsky and Mozart.  While the themes were familiar, the husband’s duet pieces were unique and very complimentary.

When they finished, the wife asked for questions and I asked, “Being someone whose knowledge of piano duets begins and ends with Heart and Soul, I wonder if your husband has a written score or if he improvises?”  She responded that they write his parts together because it would be unfair to him if he had to improvise.

Hoagy Carmichael

When I got home I wondered where did my reference to Heart and Soul come from.  When I thought about it, it came from when my sister and I were taking piano lessons; she about 12 years old and me about eight.  I did some research and found out that the song was written by Hoagy Carmichael in 1938, and remained popular well into the 1960s because, among other reasons, it was an easy way to introduce students to using the left hand.

You may remember it.  It starts with the A key and progresses up and down to the words, “Heart and Soul, I fell in love with you.  Heart and Soul, and no one else will do.  Madly, that’s how I feel when I am around you.”  The left hand (or the partner) meanwhile is playing, “Dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee. Dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee dumdee. Dum.”

I probably can fault my sister for two things; encouraging me to quit lessens when she did, and never developing a left hand.  However, when I was courting Mary, I scored points by showing her I could play Claire de Lune” with one hand, while most people needed two.

When I was in the Corporate World after retiring from the Navy, I worked for at least two companies where the Holiday Party was Black Tie and special.  At one WellPoint event in downtown LA the hotel we stayed at had four or five different areas for entertainment.  A popular one was “Dueling Pianos” with a lively sing-along.  I still remember the most popular song they played, which was to the Sound of Music song, Doe, a Deer”.  The words went like this,

“Dough, the stuff that buys me beer. Ray, the guy I buy beer from.  Me, the guy I buy beer for. Far, a ways to go for beer. So, I think I’ll have a beer.  LA, the place I go for beer. Tea, no thanks, I’ll have a beer. And that brings us back to Dough.”

If you can imagine about 100 people, many of whom had a few beers, singing at the top of their voices; well, you get the idea.

Of course, the song also fit very well into the Hash House Harrier On-On celebrations.

I suspect I’m not the only one who still gets solicitation letters for charities.  I may be more bothered than most by repeat requests from those I to whom I donate.  In my next post, I’ll tell you about what I did to stop that and how successful my program was.  I hope you’ll find the time to join me.