Musical Gunfire

Madison was learning plenty of Italian words this afternoon in piano class.  Or should we say, the piano forte class, if you want to go by the official name of this musical instrument.  Madison learned about the original name, and some other information as well - such as its ability to play soft notes or loud notes based on the pressure applied to each key.  The harpsichord, the piano's predecessor, could not do this. This is mainly because it was played by only one person who did not know how to do that.  His name was Lurch.  He's the only guy who played the harpsichord that I know of.

Madison has no idea who Lurch is, but she does know what a harpsichord sounds like.  That's a setting on her keyboard, one we use from time to time.  It has a period sound to it, but it is certainly better sounding than the "gunfire" setting on the keyboard.  Seriously, why do we need to hit the keys on a keyboard to hear different tones of gunfire?  This must have been one of those marketing things designed to appeal to guys.

SALESMAN:  "This keyboard here has all the bells and whistles in it, with a pitch bend feature and a six track sequencer that allows you to record your own music."

CUSTOMER:  "Sounds great, but I'm honestly just not to sure about it right now."

SALESMAN:  "It has a mode where you can change every note to the sound of gunfire."

CUSTOMER:  "I want it.  Now."

So today it rained.  Which has been a general trend of late.  Rain and cold.  This is the less attractive weather that gives January a bad name.  Even worse, there are nits.  This would be the third time that Madison has had tiny nits in her hair, and once again we were giving her a bath with the special medicated shampoo and brushing her hair and combing for tiny little nits.  And the sheet change, and the unfriendly thoughts about whoever it is that keeps inviting these accursed bugs into the school.

Happier thought:  we met about Summer Xtreme today.  For two hours.  We talked about all the things the kids will be doing, and it looks like it should be a lot of fun.  Madison will be with the Gladiators this year, the second graders already.  She's gone from Vikings to Pirates, and now she'll be a Gladiator.

Madison has been doing her homework online lately, a new trend which of course will probably be the norm for the future.  Right now, it's a novelty and we're all pretty impressed.  But some day soon, people will be longing for those good old days when we had to handwrite all the homework assignments.  Sort of like fifteen years ago when people got an email, it was awesome.  Nowadays, if you get a handwritten letter, it's astonishing!

Madison has had her Monster High dolls out for a  few weeks now, living in the nice house Ye-Ye built for them.  They are in the hallway nearby the front door just about, all of them lined up and dressed rather smartly.  Madison plays with these dolls quite a bit - you can hear her having these active conversations as the dolls talk with one another.  Laguna was the recent new member of the family, and all the dolls have apparently welcomed her in with open arms.  Playtime is a lot of fun to eavesdrop on, listening in to how Madison's imagination rolls.

She said goodnight to her friends though, because it was bedtime earlier tonight.  We're attempting to get things back on schedule somewhat.  We said our prayers, and read from the Bible - this time talking about Abraham and Isaac.  Tough topics to discuss, but we're going through the Bible a little more in depth than we usually do with Madison, and she's interested in knowing all the details.

After she went to bed, it was time for Mommy and Daddy to get to the 40's television show, "Agent Carter."  Just like when they used to have to get to the radio at a certain time each week, we head upstairs to the television to watch our Marvel television series while in bed.  Mommy makes tea, and we're off and running.  It's a nice weekly ritual after piano practice.

Speaking of which, Daddy has to go practice himself.  I think I'll go play a little Mozart in the key of submachine gun.