Atwaterpub: July 2015

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Clown Piano notes

Clown Piano notes:

I have played piano for over 40 years and it was just this morning that I became aware that there were 52 white keys on the piano.

I was reading "The Book of Numbers" by Tim Glynne-Jones and came across the statement that there are 36 black keys on the piano. Knowing that there are 88 keys total, I calculated there are 52 white keys.

This calls to mind a few correspondences:

52 weeks in a year

52 cards in a deck of playing cards

52 white keys on the piano

52 uppercase and lowercase letters in the English alphabet

52 years in a full cycle of the Mayan calendar

The four suits of the playing cards can be mapped onto the four seasons of the calendar.

4 x 13 = 52

Each playing card can me mapped onto a week of the year. The few extra intercalculary days can be mapped onto the Joker! The intercalculary days are the days between "day 364" and the first "day 1" of the next year. This is just one day in a normal year; or two days in a leap year.

The 52 cards could be mapped onto the 52 white keys of the piano. If so, the Ace of Spades might have to be the highest note on the piano because it is the card that trumps all other cards. But maybe, the Ace of Spades would be the lowest note on the piano, because bass notes "rule" the other notes.

If you mapped 52 cards onto the white keys, you could form random chord arrangements by choosing cards from a deck of playing cards. For example, each hand of five card stud would be a unique chord.

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet. If you count upper and lower case separately, there are 52 uppercase and lowercase letters in the English alphabet.

26 x 2 = 52

Each letter could be mapped onto a white piano key. If Capital "A" is the lowest key on the piano, then lowercase "z" is the hightest note on the piano. Every unique sentence in English yields a unique melody. Starting with a Bass note capital letter and then fully embellished with the lowercase melody line that follows.

To further expand the idea, numbers and punctuation could be mapped onto the black keys. The tempo could be at a regular rate with each letter taking a beat and the space between words being a rest.

There are 36 black keys on the piano.

6 x 6 = 36
6**2 = 36

also
9 x 4 = 36
or
3 x 3 x 2 x 2 = 36
3**2 x 2**2 = 36

There are 360 degrees in a circle.

Directions of a compass can be mapped onto the black keys.

Time on the clock can be mapped onto the black keys.

~

There are 236 strings in a piano
There is only one string in my swimming trunks.

William Schaeffer

Sunday, July 26, 2015

The Egyptian Ruler

Egyptian Days

From worldwidewords.org

Medieval calendars precisely identified the days that were to be considered inauspicious, on which no project or enterprise should be begun: 1 and 25 January; 4 and 26 February; 1 and 28 March; 10 and 20 April; 3 and 25 May; 10 and 16 June; 13 and 22 July; 1 and 30 August; 3 and 21 September; 3 and 22 October; 5 and 28 November; and 7 and 22 December. It was considered especially important that doctors should not let blood on these days.

From paranormal-encyclopedia.com

Egyptian Days (dies Aegyptiaci) refer to 24 days of the year that signify bad luck or ill omen.

The Egyptian Days are the following: January 1 and 25, February 4 and 26, March 1 and 28, April 10 and 20, May 3 and 25, June 10 and 16, July 13 and 22, August 1 and 30, September 3 and 21, October 3 and 22, November 5 and 28, and December 7 and 22.

From wikipedia.org

The page "Egyptian Days" does not exist.

William Schaeffer

The Clown Piano

There are 88 keys on the piano

There are 88 named constellations in the sky

The number 88 is good luck in China

There are 12 notes in a chromatic scale

There are 12 months in a year

There are 12 inches in a foot

There are 12 tribes of Israel

There are 12 disciples of Jesus

There were 12 Olympian Gods in Ancient Greece

There are seven notes in a diatonic scale

There are seven days in a week

There are seven colors in the spectrum

There are seven holes in the head

There are seven continents on Earth.

There are seven chakra points in Yoga

There are five notes in the pentatonic scale

There are five fingers and five toes

There are five senses

There are five flavors

There are five Platonic solids

William Schaeffer

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Magic and superstition

Magic and superstitions are not real, they do not exist.

However their influence seems to be very real. Curious…

This is similar to imaginary numbers.

The square root of minus one does not exist. Yet components of complex numbers in the imaginary realm have a measurable influence on the real number component of a complex number in many ordinary numerical calculations,

Likewise, magic, spells, incantations, amulets, icons, fortunes, astrology, tarot, numerology, signs, blessings, e.s.p. and superstitions do not exist. They are not real. They are not measurable, repeatable, or statistically verifiable.

And yet we spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours every year pursuing these chimera and fantasies. This represents a tremendous portion of human endeavor that could possibly be spent in other ways, but isn't. Therefore, the influence of magical and superstitious thought is inarguably real, just by consideration of the other activities it prevents from taking place and the amount of time and money spent.

If the influence is real -- then magic and superstition itself, must in some sense be real.

William Schaeffer

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Six of Hearts

I found this card on the sidewalk while walking to the Store last Friday July 10:

William Schaeffer

Giant Robot

Dictionary

of Love

William Schaeffer

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Capitalism is anti-human

"Capitalism is anti-human" - Mr Atwater

When corporations are formed with the sole purpose of maximizing profit, then all humanity suffers.

There is no accounting for love, compassion, empathy, acceptance, toleration, and fairness. These essential qualities of life are totally ignored in corporate decision making because there is no way to account for them on the corporate balance sheets.

William Schaeffer

Privatization ruins everything

"Privatization ruins everything" - Mr Atwater

When public services are privatized, there is a decline in quality of service and an increase in expense. As the original goals of the institution become changed from public service to increasing profit the efficacy of the system decreases.

William Schaeffer

Thursday, July 9, 2015

The unprepared piano

The unprepared piano

by William Schaeffer

The unprepared piano is an idea that occurred accidentally, but is a natural philosophical consequence of my experience with art and music.

The unprepared piano is a simple concept. You play and record a piano exactly as you find it --without preparing, tuning, or modifying the piano in any way. The recording is a snapshot in space and time of the history of that piano and room.

There are many philosophical reasons why this is a valid musical concept.

1. It is easy and inexpensive. You don't have to pay a piano tuner, or a piano technician. You play the piano just "as it is." If it is perfect in tune, that is great. If it is out of tune, that may be better. If it is broken, that might be the best?

2. It is honest. What you see is what you get. In this age of pitch tuned vocals, digital sampling, and three dimensional sound design, it is nice to hear something that you know is authentic and true. The slight imperfections in any particular piano make it uniquely real and genuine.

3. It is artistic. As a found object exercise it is perfect DADA expression.

4. It is philosophical. In western well tempered tuning systems the 3rds and 6ths are about 25% out of tune compared to just intonation. That is the philosophical trade off that was made. However, if your piano is irregularly and somewhat randomly out of tune, there may be a key, or keys that are more perfectly "in tune" with the just intoned scale. The out-of-tuneness may make a unique rhythmic or timbral accent to the music.

The Japanese have a concept called Wabi that might be translated as "beautiful imperfection." The unprepared piano could manifest that principle.

5. It is fun. Most "serious musicians" are familiar with John Cage and his compositional experiments and his "prepared piano" concept. Many love his ideas, but many only grudgingly accept his work into the corpus of "Classical Music" without really liking it. The unprepared piano is a humorous reference to that work.

6. It is spiritual. A piano might be a psychic recording device that stores up the spiritual or psychic energy that manifests in its presence. A room where much conflict and discord has occurred might cause the piano to go more unpleasantly, or irritatingly, out of tune. A room where more peaceful, altruistic, compassionate, and sympathetic interactions have occurred might cause the piano to have a more beautiful and refined sound over time.

I am reminded of the saints whose bodies do not experience decay after death and are preserved in a strange state of perfection. Occasionally, I play a piano that has remained almost perfectly in tune and is a pleasure to play even if it has not been tuned in years. Those pianos are almost always in a pleasant and still environment that doesn't get much foot traffic or bustle of humans.

7. It just happens.

The first CD that I knowing published with an unprepared piano was "Thirty per cent Blues" with Mark Paulk on percussion and singing. We had not intended on recording music, but it was a beautiful day and we were both unemployed. Mark asked me to play the piano and then we recorded a few jams. More recently, I published "Broken Piano Blue." This was recorded on a piano that was actually broken and missing strings. This certainly would be an unprepared piano, I would think.

Someday there might be concerts of unprepared pianos, where the pianos are carefully aged, or preserved, to highlight their unique "out of tune" characteristics.

So the next time you are recording with an old piano and you cannot afford a piano tuner, or you are too lazy or there is no time, just tell yourself that you are a modern piano artist and you are playing an unprepared piano. I do it all the time.

"Anyone can play a prepared piano --
but it takes a real man to play an unprepared piano." - Mr Atwater

"The piano was unprepared for what I did to it." - Mr Atwater

"I'd rather play an unprepared piano, than an unprepared potato." - Mr Atwater

William Schaeffer

The Piano Mute

The Piano Mute

Boogie Woogie music was invented on the upright piano in the 1930's. Of the three types of pianos (box, grand, and upright), the upright piano is the most recent invention being conceived in the 1800s. The design was refined in the 1870's and it was mass produced in the late 19th century.

Between 1900 and 1920 almost five million million pianos were sold in the United States and most were these "new" upright pianos.

The three most famous practitioners of Boogie Woogie were Albert Ammons, Pinetop Perkins, and Meade Lux Lewis. During this time and in the 1940's a Boogie Woogie craze swept America. Other piano players who were influenced by this craze include Pete Johnson, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino.

After playing piano for a number of years I noticed that Boogie Woogie just doesn't sound "correct" when played on a grand piano. This is due to many factors, including how the strings are placed in three dimensional space within the room and how the sound reflects around the room. Another factor is that the bass notes ring out too much and it is very difficult to get a crisp punchy rhythmic bass line. Personally, I prefer to play a good quality upright piano instead of a grand piano for these and other acoustic and mechanical reasons. To me, the grand piano looks better, but the upright piano sounds better.

One way that I found to improve the grand piano sound was to invent a piano mute. This is a very simple device and amusing to tell people about. Take an ordinary roll of paper towels and remove the plastic wrapping. It is better to use cheap paper towels if you can, especially if you have a very expensive piano. The desired diameter of the roll should be about four to five inches. If the roll of towels is bigger than that, unroll it to about the correct diameter.

Then, place the roll of paper towels inside the piano directly on the bass piano strings. Align the roll so it is approximately centered horizontally on the strings and does not interfere with the piano action. THIS is the Piano Mute.

Now, play any rocking Boogie Woogie or highly rhythmic and fast left hand bass line. It sounds more crisp and none of the timbre of the notes has been compromised, There is no appreciable loss of the higher partials. However, now the notes don't ring out for as long a duration of time.

So, if you like to play fast and loud and hard and you are tired of playing on boomy, mushy, stuffy old conservative grand pianos. And, if you cannot find a good quality upright piano to play, then try using the Piano Mute. It will improve the sound of your grand piano and make it better at performing those Rock and Roll, Boogie Woogie Bass lines. Try it yourself. You will be amazed.

The Piano Mute -- make it yourself.

(drawing not to scale)

William Schaeffer

reference:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/1900/filmmore/reference/interview/morath_piano.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#The_modern_piano

Monday, July 6, 2015

Will you dance at my funeral?

Will you laugh and clap and sing?

Will you be happy that you are "victorious"

and that I am finally dead?

William Schaeffer

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Pie hole

"Pie hole" is a slang phrase for the mouth that has always disturbed me.

I am not sure why.

Do you suppose that people who use this term have a Scatalogical obsession?

William Schaeffer

Beating a dead piano

I once performed on a piano in the basement of a church that had been through a flood. The damper was broken and the bass notes rang out like the sustain pedal was continually held down.
It was not possible to perform on this piano.
The lower third of the piano sounded like, "A sea of mud."

What to do? The concert was in half an hour and the piano was broken.

Solution:

Duct Tape! I got duct tape from my car and taped over the strings just above the dampers. This prevented the strings from "ringing out" and sounded very percussive -- perfect for boogie woogie. I performed on the modified piano and everything went as well as could be expected.

William Schaeffer

Friday, July 3, 2015

Three Cybernetic Haiku

Space Lab

Hamburger

Marionette

Flash Light

Pig's Bladder

Delicatessen

Monkey Wrench

Banana Peel

Ink Blot

William Schaeffer

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Ancient Scriptures as Proof

An Examination of Ancient Scriptures as Proof that these Might be the Final Days, or Armageddon, as Described in the Book of Enoch and the Revelation of St. John the Revelator.

By William Schaeffer

This paper briefly examines the possibility that the final Battle of Armageddon has already begun. As remarkable as it seems, the proof is right there in the Scriptures. There is no disputing the facts that the numbers reveal.

First, we assume that it has been well established by history that the world was created on October 23, 4004 B.C.E. See Appendix A. We take this to mean the planet Earth and the Entire Universe.

Secondly, In Appendix B we see a list of Birth dates and other dates. These numbers vary slightly between different translations of Genesis. The numbers used here are from the traditional Hebrew Bible or Torah. We assume that these are the accurate and truthful values; and any other values are due to errors of translation or copying.

Next, a reading the ancient Book of Enoch reveals the curious fact in chapter 9. It tells of God sentencing fallen angel Azazel, or Semjaza, to Seventy Generations in prison for fomenting an uprising against the rule of God and corrupting humankind. We assume that Azazel is another name for Satan, or The Devil. See Appendix D for the complete text.

In that same text, it is apparent that Azazel is punished at the same time that God sent the deluge for Noah to build the Ark. Since Noah’s three sons and their families were on the Ark, the date must have been 1658 years after the beginning of the Earth in 4004 B.C.E. This would be about 2346 B.C.E.

Finally, estimating the length of a generation is a real challenge. This is the calculation that the prediction relies on, therefore it must be accurate. In Appendix C we see that our best guess is sixty two years; the earliest age of retirement in the United States of America.

Therefore, based on our calculations and providing that all our assumptions were correct: Azazel was released from bondage of seventy generations in 2003 C.E. If so, then both he and his minions have returned to Earth and are fomenting a supernatural rebellion against the rightful rule of God. It is likely that the final Armageddon has already begun. This could easily explain The Gulf War, 911, the Stock Market Crash, Ebola, ISIS, MERS, Bird Flu, Crop Circles, GMO, HMO, The Housing bubble, EDM, and the Occupy Wall Street fiasco.

You have no time to wait.

You have to act NOW to save your life, and possibly your immortal soul.

Here is our suggestion. Make a generous contribution to this blog and affiliated youtube channel. We will keep you informed. Read more books on the subject. Economize.

Also -- start stockpiling food. Memorize the words to your favorite songs. Buy an extra supply of paper towels and clean socks. Remember to turn off the lights and conserve water. It may be a dark and stormy Winter and the next Spring season that comes – might take a long, long time to get here.

Good Luck.

Appendix A

From Wikipedia:

According to the Bishop of Usher the world was created on October 23, 4004 B.C.

Appendix B

From Wikipedia:

From the Masoretic (Hebrew) text of Genesis:

Patriarch Birth Son remain Death

Adam 0 130 800 930

Seth 130 105 807 912

Enosh 235 90 815 905

Kenan 325 70 840 910

Mahalalel 395 65 830 895

Jared 460 162 800 962

Enoch 622 65 300 365

Methuselah 687 187 782 969

Lamech 874 182 595 777

Noah 1056 500 - 950

Shem 1557 100 500 600

Arphaxad 1658 35 403 438

Cainan -- -- -- --

Appendix C

1. Azazel or Semjaza is imprisoned and bound in chains
for 70 generations.

2. How long is a generation? 100 years? 49 years? 62 years?

A decade is 10 years – too short

A Jubilee is 49 years -- a jubilee is not a generation!

One can register for retirement at 62 years

A Century is 100 years – too long

Assume a generation is 62 years -- that sounds reasonable.

3. Math

0-4004+1557+100+10 = -2337 (Noah’s son must be an adult; or
approximately 100, and his grandson

must be at least ten years old)

2015 +2337 = 4352 (Number of years since the deluge)

62 * 70 = 4340 (Seventy generations of 62 years)

0 – 2337 + 4340 = 2003 C.E. (2003 C.E. the year that Semjaza or

Azazel was released out of bondage

and returned to Earth)

Appendix D

The Book of Enoch chapter 6 – 10

[Chapter 6]

¹ And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto ² them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men ³ and beget us children.' And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not ⁴ indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations ⁵ not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they all together and bound themselves ⁶ by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn ⁷ and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, ⁸ Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaqiel, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens.

[Chapter 7]

¹ And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms ² and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they ³ became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed ⁴ all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against ⁵ them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and ⁶ fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.

[Chapter 8]

¹ And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all ² colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they ³ were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .

[Chapter 9]

¹ And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being ² shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. And they said one to another: 'The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryingst up to the gates of heaven. ³ And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause ⁴ before the Most High."' And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ⁵ ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all ⁶ things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which ⁷ men were striving to learn: And Semjaza, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the ⁹ women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. And the women have ¹⁰ borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are ¹¹ wrought on the earth. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'

[Chapter 10]

¹ Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, ² and said to him: 'Go to Noah and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come ³ upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape ⁴ and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.' And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening ⁵ in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there forever, and cover his face that he may ⁶^,7 not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the ⁸ Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted ⁹through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.' And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in ¹⁰ battle: for length of days shall they not have. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal life, and ¹¹ that each one of them will live five hundred years.' And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjaza and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves ¹² with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is ¹³ for ever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and ¹⁴ to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined forever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all ¹⁵ generations. And destroy all the spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers, because ¹⁶ they have wronged mankind. Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth' shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore.

Appendix E

Note the wording of Chapter 10 verse 16:

“…and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth' shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore.”

It is possible that this verse is a reference to cannabis, or Ganja, the sacred herb of the Rastafarians in Jamaica.

Appendix F

These calculations are only best guess approximations

Before you get TOO worried, remember that the length of a generation is not certain. A generation of even a year longer or shorter than our best estimate will change the result by at least 70 years. In that case, we all are safe by at least sixty years; and sixty years is a long time to plan appropriately. So relax and enjoy yourself, there is probably nothing to worry about; right now…

Reference:

The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament
H.R. Charles Oxford: The Clarendon Press

Courtesy: http://www.ccel.org/c/charles/otpseudepig/enoch/ENOCH_1.HTM

William Schaeffer