To have reported the shouty self-appointed piano police to the actual police?

[PeppermintCrayon]

I am half-expecting to be told I'm being U for posting a thread of the "please validate this thing I already did!" variety...

Recently I was at St Pancras Station. There are several pianos for public use there. They're a bit knackered; one of them has a few keys that don't work.

Some kids were playing one of the pianos, about eight or nine maybe. They were having a fun trying to play different tunes. They were banging the keys quite hard. A man of maybe 55, 60, suddenly appeared and started yelling: "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU NEVER BANG A PIANO."

I went over and said I didn't think yelling at children was very nice and that these kids probably didn't have a piano at home and did he want to put them off music? He started huffing and puffing about how the pianos had to be tuned because of people messing about. I said perhaps he could have said: "Look, this is how you play a piano," and explained nicely instead of yelling. He then started yelling at me.

He then went back to sitting at a nearby cafe table glowering at anyone who went near the pianos, so I went and found a transport policeman and told him this man had been shouting at children for playing the piano and he went to have a word.

I don't think I was being U, but...

Is anyone else imagining hiddenhome to look like Professor Trelawney?

Calm down Sybill.

sooty, yes quite frankly

worra i am for kids and so many do not have a chance to be kids these days

in this instance they were told off for something that didn't even warrant it. the old codger had no place to tell the kids anything

mn is far removed from the world i know too worra

it's an old piano in a public place for public use. how do you expect kids to learn about instruments worra?

So you expected these children to be treated with respect but casual ageism is fine with you.

I have understood that correctly then.

I think that the idea that a 9 year old thumping a piano with their fist can match the force of a concert pianist playing Mendelssohn or whatever is hilarious. Or maybe mners would stand up halfway through a concert and shout 'not too hard! You'll break it!' Pianos are designed to withstand a lot of force!

yes sooty i am fine with casual ageism report me to the appropriate police why dontcha

They can learn about them without banging away at them.

Can't make up my mind whether the man was reasonable or not to tell the kids off, but he certainly was not right to shout at them. Calmly explaining maybe, preferably a proper explanation of why not to do it, but absolutely no reason to shout at kids or OP.

it's an old piano in a public place for public use. how do you expect kids to learn about instruments worra?

Well, playing a public piano for public use would be a fantastic start.

Bashing the keys, not so good.

Therefore being told off for doing it, not a problem in any way, shape or form.

This is such a non event and I imagine the Police had a good laugh back at the station.

it's an old piano in a public place for public use. how do you expect kids to learn about instruments worra?

How exactly would they learn by bashing it?

I went to a regular primary and secondary school and we had access to many different instruments.

What is it hadn't been a piano? What if it had been a violin and they bashed it until it broke? Would they still just be learning in your eyes?

Lol I'm not as good looking as professor trelawney

yes sooty i am fine with casual ageism report me to the appropriate police why dontcha

You ok with casual racism too? Casual disabilism? Casual sexim?

Just curious.

*sexism

yes of course completely, how do kids learn in your world?

this is a silly thread. i can only think the people who are opposed to musical instruments being accessible to all had an education where they had music lessons and it's a privilege to have that now. (more's the pity hence the crap popular music we churn out now).

Lots of things are there for 'public use' but we don't let bratty kids get away with vandalising them because 'kids will be kids' do we!?

No one said they were opposed to accessible musical instruments.

Do you fancy answering the question Worra asked?

What on earth was the police officer supposed to do with a report that "a man has shouted at some children"?

perhaps we should anyone

play deprivation is a well researched condition for today's kids. there is a reason why kids are 'bratty'

FGS, where do people get all this stuff about destroying the piano, abusing it etc? All that OP describes is the kids banging it "quite hard". The piano really isn't going to fall apart as a result of that. These pianos are put in a public place, those responsible know perfectly well that they will be played and played with by children, adults who have no clue how to play, and drunks. It really is ludicrous to start holding your hands up in horror at children doing what children do.

Oh I see. You aren't prepared to.

"What is it hadn't been a piano? What if it had been a violin and they bashed it until it broke? Would they still just be learning in your eyes?"

Oh god. What if it had been a priceless Stradivarius and they burned it? What if it had been a talented soprano and they were kicking her? But it wasn't. It was a piano. A very ancient, out of tune piano. Good luck breaking a piano (any piano) with your fists on the keys. It's annoying to listen to people piss around on a piano, but the piano doesn't give one shit.

what am i not prepared to do?