[ARSCLIST] Fw: [MLA-L] VS: RARE Left-hand strung piano

[Steven Smolian <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>]

This is an actual listing from Craigslist.
   William Shank, CUNY Grad Scl (ret.)

RARE Left-hand strung piano

Reply to:
Date: 2007-09-03, 7:53PM

This piano is one of only a handful (probably the left hand full) that were 
built with the high notes "al sinistra" (on the left end) and low notes "al 
rechta" (on right). These pianos were originally built to be sold in 
southern hemisphere countries where, because of the perceived "backward" 
spin of the earth, audio vibrations travel in a counter-clockwise direction.

The reversed placement of the treble and bass keys allows pianists from 
these southern nations to play northern European piano literature without 
having to relearn the notes. It does require that the score be transfered to 
onion skin vellum, laid in reverse on a copy machine and photocopied in 
reverse so that the music flows from right to left on the page. Several 
collections of reverse-hand piano literature might be found on yAbe (the 
southern hemisphere internet auction site, based in Australia.)

This instrument is one of the rare ones located in the U.S. It would fit 
well in a left-handed house, where right-hand pianos tend to stick out into 
traffic flow and look out windows with not necessarily the best views. You 
will need to reverse the hinges on the front door of houses in order for the 
left-handed piano to fit through the opening and fit around the corner to 
the parlor. Instructions for this re-hinging process can be found at 
owa_tajur_kayam.org.



* Location: (Somewhere out there)
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial 
interests

Original URL: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/min/413152288.html
-------------------------------------------------
this craigslist posting was forwarded to you by someone using our
email-a-friend feature - if you want to prevent these, please go to:
http://www.craigslist.org/cgi-bin/te/oN3dr5WYjdGQ1NmLuknb1RWZt
-------------------------------------------------



*************************************************************************
To leave MLA-L, send the command SIGNOFF MLA-L to
LISTSERV@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    or   send    an   e-mail    message   to
MLA-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To suspend mail temporarily, send the
command  SET  MLA-L  NOMAIL  to  LISTSERV@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  The  MLA
homepage is  located at http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/  MLA-L archives
can be accessed at https://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/mla-l.html