We are hosting our Annual Meeting and

Dinner at the Red Lion again this year as

we had so many favorable comments

about the venue last year. Members said

they liked the location because its so easy

to walk to from the convention center.

Mark your calendar for the time and date.

Please RSVP so we can make sure to have the

appropriate amount of food and drink!

SAT. Jan. 15th @ 6:30PM

Red Lion Hotel Anaheim

1850 S Harbor Blvd.

RSVP to dawn.demars@verizon.net

It seems only a short time since the last

NAMM show, but here we are preparing for

another in only three months.

We feel that this last years meeting at the Red

Lion was a good one, well attended and within

walking distance of many of the convention

hotels and the center itself. We hope for even

better attendance this year as we are being

told daily by the media and politicians that the

recession is over. I hope that statement is true

in all respects, that indeed the recession is

over, and that we are on a road to recovery

once again.

This past year has been a challenge for many

of our comrades and the companies they rep-

resent; some of those have been forced to

cease operations due to the uncertainty in the

market place. The rest of us certainly wish

those well in their future endeavors.

I wonder if we had been told all of the things

necessary to succeed in the piano business we

would have had the courage to go forth. No

one told me that I would have to know the his-

tory of each piano company both past and

present, and that I would need to know as much

about those products as my own in order to sell

mine. All of us thoroughly enjoy what we do,

and feel that we have the greatest job in the

world. We need to constantly spread the mes-

sage in order for some younger people to be

elected to join our ranks and continue to bring

music to the masses with joy and enthusiasm.

Election is just around the corner, and most of

us have been through many of them and find

that they are always a cause of consternation.

Once the results are tabulated, whether pleased

or not, most will decide to go on with their nor-

mal activities as they can‘t change anything for a

minimum of another two years and business

usually returns to normal until the politicians

begin campaigning for the next one.

This year at NAMM we will elect a new Presi-

dent for NPTA, Glenn Clutter. Glenn is a long

time industry veteran and a genuinely good guy.

I ask you to give him your support as you have

me for these past two years.

Warmest Regards,

Dick Christian

Inside th i s

i ssue :

President‘s

Notes

1

2011 NAMM

Meeting

1-2

NPTA Road 2

Music Trivia 3

Musical Jokes 3

Industry News 4

Piano Seminar

at NAMM

5

Travel Tips 5

MIM Opens 7-8

Contact Us 9

Sponsors‘ List 9

Spe c ial

po int s of

i nt e r es t :

NAMM Show

Dinner Meeting

Jan 15, 2011

NPTA: The Fu-

ture? Important

Member Vote.

Don’t Miss It!

Musical Instru-

ment Museum

Opens In Arizona

President’s Notes

2011 Namm Meeting & Dinner

The Piano Rag O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 V o l . 1 5 I s s u e 2

BY DiCK CHRiSTiAN

“Because of all of you, the NPTA

will continue for years to come.”

RSVP Requested

National Piano Travelers Association

HAVE

A

LAUGH!

RSVP to dawn.demars@verizon.net

Two very important items need your attention:

1) We need your nominations for this year‘s Lifetime Achievement

Award. Send your nomination, including full name, why you think

they should win the award, and of course your name and contact info.

2) Please see ―NPTA—The Future‖ article in this newsletter. If you are a

2010 paid member, we need you to be at the meeting to vote. If you

cannot attend the meeting in person, we need you to cast your vote by

email, no later than 5 days prior to the meeting. See the article for de-

tails.

NPTA Road Stories

Send in your road stories for future newsletters.

You can change names to protect the

innocent or the guilty.

We know you have more than one!

Email to Dawn DeMars.

Dawn.DeMars@verizon.net

‗

2011 NAMM Mtg/Dinner cont.

T h e P i a n o R a g P a g e 2

“A jazz

musician is a

juggler who

uses harmonies

instead of

oranges.”

Benny Green

“Music is what

feelings sound

like”

Author

Unknown

The first record to sell a million was ―

Chattanoga Choo– Choo, by the Glenn

Miller Orchestra in 1942.

The first US President to own a Steinway

& Sons Square Piano was Andrew John-

son.

When Billy Crystal was a child, his baby-

sitter was the legendary singer Billie Holi-

day.

The Harmonica is the world‘s best selling

musical instrument.

The first to be inducted into the Rock ‗N‘

Roll Hall of Fame was ‗The Coasters‖.

Fun Musical Trivia

A: So you don’t have to retrain the drum-

mers

Q: Why do bagpipers always walk when they

play?

A: To get away from

the noise.

Q: What do you call a beautiful girl on a

trombonist‘s arm?

A: A tattoo

Q: Why was the piano invented?

A: So the band would have a place to set

their beers.

Q: Why are orchestra intermissions limited to

20 minutes?

Funny Musical Jokes

“Alas for those that never sing,

But die with all their music still in

them”. —Oliver Wendal Holmes

“Music

expresses that

which cannot be

put into words

and that which

cannot remain

silent”.

-Victor Hugo

T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 3

advertisement, have corporate sponsors outside our

membership, & much more. One possibility is a pi-

ano lesson scholarship program. Our members

would be the vehicle for getting it set up with their

US dealers where students could apply. (A very

good reason to be a current paid member.) I have

had conversations with some organizations that

would fund such a scholarship program. However,

it‘s impossible to accept their funds without a non–

profit status.

Of course we‘d like to make this decision as soon as

possible. If we are going to go with incorporation

we‘d like to begin raising the $3500 and start the

paperwork as soon as possible.

The structure of our current association does not

require we have a members vote. However, the

board feels the question is so huge, we‘d like the

members to decide the future of their association.

Therefore, we will take a vote at our Annual Meet-

ing & Dinner at NAMM in January. Please see the

special section on our 2011 NAMM meeting in this

newsletter. If you‘re going to attend & vote in per-

son, please RSVP that you‘ll be attending. If you

can‘t attend the meeting please email your vote to

dawn.demars@verizon.net no later than 5 days

prior to the meeting. Your votes will be tabulated

and presented at the meeting. And of course you

must be a 2010 paid member in order to vote.

Dawn Demars, Secretary-Treasurer

We have come to a time to decide the future of our

association. There are 2 very clear paths from which

we need to choose. The need to do so has arisen from

the fact that our association is not incorporated, nor

do we have a non-profit tax status. Frankly, we can-

not continue to exist in our current legal situation.

One choice is certainly the simplest. We merely cease

to exist in the present format. We would not collect

dues. However, we could continue to keep the web-

site open so we could be in communication and I

would volunteer to assist in updating people‘s con-

tact information, etc. We could get together every

year at NAMM and simply meet at a restaurant and

each pay for their meals individually.

The other choice (which I personally would choose) is

we continue the tradition of this association by incor-

porating & filing for a non–profit status. This would

take approximately 6-9 months. The cost will be ap-

proximately $3500 for legal and filing fees. The end

result would be a solid basis from which to run the

association. It would also allow us to sell website

NPTA - The Future?

Industry News

October 6, 2010

How sad it was to hear of Karl Bruhn‘s passing . He was a

great friend of all who loves & believes in the benefits of play-

ing music. He touched many of our lives in so many ways. We

will miss him for his kindness & generosity as well as his

many contributions to our industry. Our thoughts and

prayers go to his family.

To hear Karl‘s own words, you can view his 2008 NAMM Oral

History. The link is on our website. You can also view a

―Tribute to Karl Bruhn‖ on youtube.com.

T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 4

Remembering Karl Bruhn

We Need Your Vote!

MONEY SAVING TIPS

Travel globally, eat locally—and avoid tourist

traps!

1. Familiarize yourself with currency of the

country and Rate of Exchange.

2. Keep your options open: Take your credit

card or ATM card, have a backup plan in-

case of PIN problems

3. Be prepared in case the ATM machine keeps

you credit card. It happens!

♪ Hotwire.com has the ―hottest‖ hotel deals

for US travelers as reported by our members

TRAVEL TIP

UPS has boxes specifically for luggage. You can

ship your luggage and it will be waiting for you

at your destination.

You‘ll save time checking in at the airport.

You won‘t have to wait in baggage claim.

No airline baggage fees

Reusable boxes

Small (55lbs) and Large (85lbs) sizes

Hand delivered to your destination

Certified packing experts can help

Tracking is standard

Travel Tips

Future

Travel

Tips

Coming

From

American

Express

&

AAA

Piano Seminar At NAMM

Special Invitation for Piano Dealers Only

T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 5

―The piano industry has changed, and stores have to change with it. Pi-

anos are still being sold and people are buying them somewhere. It is also

Highly Profitable. That is the subject of the private Friday session on how

to sell one or two more pianos a week than you are currently selling‖, says

Bob Popyk. Four industry experts will be joining Bob. It will be free and

by invitation only. NAMM is limiting the number of people attending.

Mark it on your calendar and talk with your dealers.

To save a seat or get further information, email Bob at RPopyk@aol.com

BOB POPYK

Founder of

Bentley-Hall, Inc.,

Columnist for

Music Trades and

NPTA Member

How to Increase Your Piano Sales by 25%

This Coming Year!

New Website Launched

Read our members’ comments

What a fantastic job on the

web site. In great ta

ste and

well organized.

Bill W

elborn

Wow.

First Class!!

Ruth Phillips

THANK YOU

A huge thank you goes out to Dailen Gunter

who assisted the NPTA with

the launch and configuring our website.

If you or your dealers need consulting or assistance

with creating, editing, uploading websites or blogs,

this is our “go to guy”

Dailen Gunter

4653 Sequoia Circle

Oakwood, Georgia 30565

daileng@gmail.com

404-988-0960

T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 6

The NPTA website is terrific.

Don Glasgow

Very impressive! Keep up the great work.

Dan Del Fiorentino

Wow! Looks lik

e we’re in

the modern world. After

the newsletter and now

this website, I know we

have a great future.

Wilton Sykes

Musical Instrument Museum

Opens in Arizona

April 22, 2010, Phoenix, Arizona– Featured more than 3,000 instruments and artifacts from

around the world, and an opening program of exciting live performances, the Musical Instru-

ment Museum (MIM) opened to the public on April 22, 2010, in Phoenix, Arizona. The open-

ing weekend kicked off with a civic dedication ceremony on Saturday followed by the public

opening, and culminated on Sunday, with the inaugural concert in MIM‘s Music Theatre by

Grammy– winning folk and bluegrass performer Laurie Lewis.

Wilton Sykes & Dan del Fiorentino Visit

on Dedication Day

A $250– million project, MIM opened in a

190,000 square foot building with two floors of

spacious, light– filled galleries and a collection

of more than 10,000 instruments and associ-

ated objects. MIM creates an exciting musical

experience for visitors, immersing them in tra-

ditions from around the world. The museum‘s

galleries feature advanced wireless technology

and high– resolution video screens, enabling

guests to see instruments, hear their sounds,

and observe them being played in their natural

settings– performances that are often as spec-

tacular as the instruments. Select exhibits offer

an insider‘s view of how instruments work,

workshop displays in detail the instrument

building process, and the Experience Gallery

features musical instruments that guests can

touch and play. (Continued page 8)

T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 7

T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 8

Music is something all humans share, a

source of beauty and comfort, a means to give

a voice to joy in times of celebration, and a

powerful force that brings people together.

The museum‘s distinctive global collection

comprises instruments, artifacts, costumes,

audio and visual recordings. MIM‘s curatorial

staff has traveled extensively to collect ob-

jects that convey the diversity of global musi-

cal practices. Each instrument was selected

for fine construction, the reputation of its

maker, special provenance, or connection to

a famous performer. MIM‘s vast collection

will be highlighted in Geo– Galleries that fo-

cus on five global regions, as well as in a spe-

cial Artist Gallery that features noteworthy

instruments played by many of the world‘s

leading musicians.

―The goal of the Musical Instrument Museum is to illu-

minate what is unique about cultures, and also what is

shared and universal,‖ says Bob Ulrich, MIM founder and

Board Chairman. ― MIM will provide an experience like

none other, allowing musical novices and experts, tour-

ists, scholars, children and grandparents to hear, see and

feel the powerful and uniting force of music in an entirely

new way‖.

―MIM will make an important contribution to the interna-

tional museum community, to the study of ethnomusicol-

ogy, to the education and enjoyment of all our visitors‖,

said Bill DeWalt, MIM President and Director. ―The

unique global perspective of our collection, its breadth

and depth, allow us to make connections between coun-

tries and cultures that have never before been expressed

in a museum setting. At MIM, a diverse audience will be

able to experience music that is both surprising and per-

sonal

(Every NPTA member will want to visit. Learn more about

MIM using the link found on our website)

Many Thanks!

2010 Individual Sponsors 2010 Corporate Sponsors

Bob Dove, Steinway & Sons

Wilton Syckes, Syckes & Associates

Kevin Walter, Charles Walter Piano Co.

Thanks to our many 2009 corporate sponsors!

We need your help in 2010!

Please call Dawn or send her your

corporate sponsor‘s check for 2010.

$300 level $500 level $1000 level $1,500 level $2,000 and up

NPTA Board of Directors

And General Information

Dick Christian, President

Glenn Clutter, Vice President

Dawn DeMars, Secr./Treas.

and Newsletter Editor

Address:

442 Glenwood Pl Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

Phone:

(818) 416-4308

(805) 379-9888

Fax:

(818) 735-0188

Email: Dawn.demars@verizon.net

Web: www.pianotravelers.com

The “New” Piano Rag

Pass it On

Send this to another piano traveling friend

and send Dawn his/her name and email ad-

dress.

Let Us Know

What did you think? Email Dawn any sug-

gestions, comments, or other feedback. We

will incorporate

you’re thoughts and ideas.

Contribute

We want your “letters to the membership”,

road stories, and industry news, etc. you

would like reported.

Make this newsletter yours!

T H E P I A N O R A G , P a g e 9