Music for Senior Tastes

While being set in my ways, I do know what I like, and technology helps me get it.when it comes to music. 

First of all, let me explain myself.

I don’t like most TV music.    I have my own tastes.  For example, I like the piano when played right, that is out of love for the music.   No pyrotechnics.  No smashing down the keys.   No tinkliness.   And it better be a good piano.

I view the piano as a big bell with tones that need to radiate out.  Tinklytapping on it or banging on it just destroys it.  I also like to hear the whole piano not just the middle keys.  OK, well.  Enough.  Onward.    We seniors want what we want when we want it.

Often I enjoy Jerry here from our WV Maintenance when he plays here what he loves at noontime on one of our fine grands.    And Meg and Anna, residents, when they give a concert.

I happen to like ragtime, which nobody plays for the money.  But I missed the big ragtime festival in Sacramento this year.  You probably have your own tastes, and it is probably NOT ragtime. 

I also like to sit comfortably with my tablet and read mail, dictate notes, check the news, AND read a book.     All of this while listening to---you guessed it—ragtime.  I like to sit in a nice place in a nice chair.   But I don't like earbuds all the time.   

I set it up my tablet to play through a big wireless speaker.    These are usually $200-300, but I found a nice wireless stereo plugin one at under $50. though with limited volume.    Just as well.

I can get all my old 78s and CDs, almost anything I ever heard, on Spotify, and stuff I have never heard but my preferences suggests I might like, on Pandora.   (My own music is all on the “cloud” so I can get to it anywhere.) 

The icing on the cake came last week with new tech.    YouTube got reworked.     The trouble with YouTube is that, on TV or tablet, had been that it was a pain to type to search for something. 

Now Google makes it easy to play on TV via tablet.  The tablet must support output to TV, of course, and most do not.   The Kindle HD does, but it is too limited in apps for my tastes.   Remember, I am set in my ways. 

Well, turns out that the Matrix One will do the job, a $60 tablet, with keyboard adding $10.   Wow!  (I did need good wireless for it.  Too far away it could otherwise cut out.  I don’t like internet dropouts, so I have chosen a good wireless router.)  

Now I can sit in my favorite chair at the balcony overlooking our courtyard, watch TV, or swivel to view the garden, and especially watch the new HD TV music recorded at Sacramento, using my time to do multiple things at once. .You can also “pair” a tablet with your internet connected device, such as compatible TV or TIVO. 

If your newer TV runs internet, you won’t even need the tablet, except to access comfortably from your chair, though the tablet makes it easier. 

Now I can hear what people love to play and watch them, too, even selecting the piano.  I like Sue Keller playing the  Steingraber.   Also, check out Valentina Lisitsa playing any piano.  

  Choose the latest new performances made with the latest though now cheap equipment.   Now anyone can record astounding sound and superb HDMI high quality video with a tiny inexpensive camera and put it on YouTube.  Artists can make a living, or part of it, at least, on YouTube.     

And I can do all this without Windows and its bevy of complexity and annoyances.  When a tablet comes out with HDMI AND speech recognition I won't even need to type.    Actually the Nexus will do that with TIVO.