I’m just back from a trip to London where I spent some time loitering at the big stations, listening to people play pianos and talking to some of them about their experiences.
This is a new project I’m working on which brings together my previous expertise in music psychology and understanding what motivates people to engage with music, my work on happiness and wellbeing (as everyone says it’s fun and makes them feel better!), and my writing and interviewing skills. It was a bit daunting to start with approaching strangers in stations, but I couldn’t have had better luck in meeting some very enthusiastic players who were willing to share their stories with me.
St Pancras has the best pianos I heard being played in London. Or I should say piano, as although there are two, one of them has definitely seen better days and is in need of some maintenance and tuning. The one by the Eurostar exit is by far the best, so if you happen to be in the area, head there for some lovely music as it seems the better players know this and choose accordingly. I also found pianos at Euston and Waterloo.
I’m happy to hear of more pianos either in the UK or France. I’ve learned there are some at motorway service stations (Leicester Forest East on the M1), some outdoors (Liverpool was mentioned), and many that used to be there but have since disappeared (I spent a few fruitless hours chasing down pianos that I remember seeing when I lived in London but are no. more). In France, Gare de Montparnasse and Gare du Nord both have pianos, although they’re pretty quiet and don’t resonate around the halls quite like the St Pancras ones.
I’m also keen to speak to anyone who plays these pianos, or who’s always wanted to but never dared – do get in touch!
For more information about the project have a look at my dedicated page.
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