A piano is a funny thing.
It sits in the corner, seeming to be solid, hulking, static; but it is not.
Somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty tons of pressure are contained in each one, strings stretched tights by the plate, pressing down on a bridge across a soundboard; If the pressure of just a few strings were suddenly released the imbalance could fracture the huge cast iron plate in a catastrophic fashion reminiscent of a grenade.
Yet, we let our children play them, bang on them, watch TV right next to them, it is a testament both to how well they are made and how little most of us truly understand about them.
When you press a key, it actuates an incredibly precise sequence that strikes a string or strings with a felt hammer just so yet it uses woof, felt, buckskin and other materials you might not associate with precision.
That old piano in the corner lives and breathes after a fashion. The lightest change in humidity and all of its wooden bit start subtly shifting, moving, altering its pitch and regulation, yet for the desired tone, you can't use anything but wood.
This means a properly cared for piano requires service a minimum of twice yearly, and this requires a registered piano technician.
My daughter has been taking classes to be a piano technician, and what she has been bringing home has been fascinating!
This girl is 19 and knows what she wants to do, and is ON FIRE for this field.
She is the 'possibility' part of my post title, as she is all possibility at this time.
When she turned 18, we got her auxiliary cards on all our credit accounts, and she already had a job at Target, she paid her bills, worked hard, and got offers of her own.
Now she is in school and had paid in full be credit card for her courses, and got a deal through AmEx that gives her a better interest rate than student loans.
Her school had a couple pianos, she had another card, she charged 'em. Ridiculous low price she paid, she will use 'em for practice, refurb 'em, and sell 'em for more.
Smart girl.
This really old fellow, 95 years old, is retiring from piano tuning so he offered his tools up for sale.
Another card had enough, she brought 'em home. We priced 'em in the schaff catalog, they would cost twice what she paid.
I really have a good feeling about this, I really think she can make it. I was a little worried when she wasn't the slightest bit interested in the family business, but this is good too.
Pianos are kinda like cars, immense destructive energy channeled into something constructive, intricate workings most either do not completely understand or couldn't safely tinker with, yet when it all works it can be a thing of beauty.
This is a good field, she's ambitious, talented, and smart.
I think she will excel because when you do what you love, you never have to "work" a day in your life, you get paid for fun.
I'm a happy dad.
RD