Art should comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable.

What a blessing it is to enjoy music – on both listening and performing ends – at public pianos.

Let me recount some memorable encounters while I was plonking away at the keys.

“my father is dead”

• Venue: National Library Building, Singapore. Level 1, Lobby
• Song request: “Golden Hour” by JVKE
• Requester: a young lady, age-wise, maybe in her late twenties

“My father is dead. Before he died, he used to play this song for me. Can you play it?”

“sure, I can't play it fluently, as I'm unfamiliar with it, but I can try.”

“Thank you.”

A few months ago, I met a few pianists at public pianos. Then, I saw that the National Library Board was offering a free-of-charge venue to stage a music performance.

1. performed on a Shigeru Kawai grand piano. (Music: “Forbidden Love” by S.E.N.S., the theme music of a Japanese television drama “Nisen-nen no Koi”, or “Love 2000”). 8 December 2021, approximately. Location: No. 176, Orchard Road.
2. performed on a Bechstein grand piano, and an Bechstein upright. (Tchaikovsky's Nocturne, Op. 19, No. 4). 14 November 2023. Location: Block 3014, Bedok Industrial Park E.
3. performed inside a ballroom of a hotel,

Slowing exploring this great heritage that previous songwriters have left for me to enjoy.

But, may glory be to God, and not to men. God gives skills, talent and craftsmanship to wretched, unworthy creatures like myself.

1. O what a friend we have in Jesus

Today is the 1241st day since 1st March 2020 A.D.

I've been stumbling upon publicly available pianos, and practising on them.

There is a movement of public pianos, in Singapore. And I have heard pianists performing these. (Not an exhaustive list).

I don't know when I started noting the musical compositions that have been featured in what little I've read of the manga-series 'Nodame Cantabile',