Category Archives: Piano

Where were we before Modesto, Botox and Plastic Surgery?

Before Plastic Surgery, Modesto and Botox, we spent met a wonderful retired pianist named Joan Orvis who lived next door.

There’s a lot before Modesto, Botox, and Plastic Surgery.  But today, I was reminded of Dr. Wu (Tammy’s) neighbor – while she was an undergraduate student at Brown University.

Here’s the story which I posted on FaceBook, but I share here:

My story of pianist Joan Orvis, our friend.

I want to spend a moment here to celebrate my memory of my friend pianist Joan Orvis. I met her when Tammy and I were young students at Brown University. Tammy lived off campus on Blackstone Blvd. She had a neighbor (Joan) in her apartment complex who played piano from time to time. She found out that I played violin. She introduced me to piano trio music at the highest level. I had always loved listening to piano trios, but never had the chance to play them. Her sister lived nearby and was a professional cellist. The three of us would get together regularly through my 8 years at Brown University and play trios. This was completely off the grid from Brown University. We even performed throughout Rhode Island as a trio. Some of my favorite classical music is piano trios and quartets, and all this blossomed from the time that I spent with Joan and her sister. Joan was a retired piano professor from University of Wisconsin-Platteville for nearly 30 years. I was just checking the internet to see what has happened to my friend whom I’ve lost contact with. I just found out that she passed away in 2001. My memories of that time were jogged when I saw Chee Yun’s posting about a piano quartet which I’ve always loved. I’ve shared that version on FB this morning (please see that video – it is quite worthy). In this link, the piano is played by one of Joan Orvis’ teacher (Menahem Pressler who is now 90 years old), so I share it here: http://youtu.be/W4_aE1CVr1s.

 

and for reference, here’s Chee Yun’s posting of a rehearsal in Hawaii:  http://youtu.be/V0O7egcMCHg

I have much to be thankful for.  Thank you Joan for your friendship and the wonderful music.

– Calvin Lee

 

Ear Plugs for musicians and hearing protection

I posted this on my personal FaceBook

“I suffer from hyperacusis (sound distortion) in mainly one ear. I’m wondering if there are ear plugs out there that would work with piano or music playing. About 15 years ago, I had an ENT in Springfield Illinois make me a custom ear plug which cut down the sound partially, but I only had it made for one ear. I’m thinking that I might need it for both ears, and I’m not sure if anything is now off the shelf. I could probably just use those foam buds. If anything I could try Botox around the ear for this – it hasn’t been tried yet, I could be a pioneer here. It seems that Botox works for so many other things.”

And I got the response from another fellow doctor who suggested:

“Try etymotic , they reduce DB in a flat style, appropriate for musicians.”

I’ll have to try these ear buds for hearing protection, and I hope to report back.  This would be great in an operating room environment too.  There is a lot of suction and other noises going on in the operating room.  I’ll have to see if these will work.  I have heard that dentists use ear plugs like these, so I think it would work well for surgeons in the operating room as well.

custom ear plugs

My previous ear plugs (hearing protectors) were made by Westone Laboratories, Inc.   – westone style # 49.  These were custom made and I had them made by an Ear Nose Throat Surgeon who made a mold of my ear canal and sent it to the company.  But this was back around the year 2001.  I just visited their webpage and it seems to have Etymotic ear plugs for sale at their webpage as well.

Google search “westone style 49.” for more info.

 

 



My Recording Equipment in Modesto, California

This will hopefully be used for our Modesto Plastic Surgery office for quality recordings.  Or perhaps I could even narrate Botox and Juvederm procedural videos in the future.  Hopefully it will create some nice recordings for Modesto.

My new recording toys

My new recording toys

DAW (Digital Audio Workstation):

Avid Pro Tools 11 (software) on PC

MICROPHONES:

Neuman SKM 184 Stereo Microphone Pair
AKG C414 XLII pair
Shure Beta 57A Microphone
Crown PZM 30D Boundary Microphone
Crown PZM 30D Boundary Microphone

COMPONENTS:

Universal Audio 4-710d PreAmp
Apogee Rosetta 200 A/D converter
Avid Mbox 3 interface
Furman AR 1215 AC line regulator
DBX 160A Compressor/Limiter
DBX 160A Compressor/Limiter
DBX 160A Compressor/Limiter
DBX 160A Compressor/Limiter

COMPUTER:

HP Elite Desk 800 SFF, i7-4770, quad core
32 gigs of ram: 8GB ram x 4
Card readerSamsung
840 evo 2.5 inch 1 TB SATA III internal SSD
500 gig secondary HD
HP Monitor z24i 24 inch display DisplayPort Cable
HP Monitor z24i 24 inch display DisplayPort Cable

SPEAKERS / HEADPHONES

Dynaudio BM 5a MKII Studio Monitor
Dynaudio BM 5a MKII Studio Monitor
M-Audio Studiophile AV 40
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro-80 Closed Studio Headphones

MICROPHONE / STANDS

DR Pro SMS 1BK Wood Studio Monitor Stands (black, Pair)
DR Pro Tripod Mic Stand with Telescoping Boom
DR Pro Tripod Mic Stand with Telescoping Boom
DR Pro Tripod Mic Stand with Telescoping Boom
DR Pro Tripod Mic Stand with Telescoping Boom
Proline Conductor Music Stand

CABLES:

Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 25 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable 3 foot
Mogami Gold TRS patch cable 3 feet
Mogami Gold TRS patch cable 3 feet
50 foot Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable for Studio Neutrik XLR
50 foot Mogami Gold Neglex Quad Microphone Cable for Studio Neutrik XLR
Livewire TRS to Dual 1/4
Livewire SPDIF RCA data cable
Livewire SPDIF RCA data cable

RACK FURNITURE:

Raxxess Black Oak Studio Rack
Raxxess Black Oak Studio Rack
Raxxess Black Oak Studio Rack
Raxxess Economy Sliding Rack Drawer
Raxxess Economy Sliding Rack Drawer
Rack Pack Nut Retainer Clips
Rack Pack Nut Retainer Clips
Regrip cable straps cinch

YouTube “Recordings”

 

Thank you for visiting!

It wasn't easy putting this together! I still have some issues I need to work out.

It wasn’t easy putting this together! I still have some issues I need to work out.

 

Updated: 8-24-14

YouTube vs. FaceBook Video Sound Quality

Piano as surgical dexterity practice

As part of my daily surgical dexterity practice, I play the piano.  But I also need feedback by self-assessing my technique by making videos.  Most importantly the sound created with my fingers, arms, and body is important.  I do load the videos up onto the internet at times to get feedback from others.  I would say that there are plenty of experts out there on the internet who know a lot more about piano playing than I do.  But part of my goals is to have my dexterity improve for my cosmetic surgical practice where I inject Botox, Fillers, Veins and I perform Acupuncture too.

Two social sharing platforms are FaceBook and YouTube.  I had to compare to see which one had better sound quality.  In the end I think the sound quality goes with the video quality.  YouTube won out in my opinion.  But both platforms do change the volume and degrade the quality of the original file which was taken as a quicktime move with a Canon 60D camera which I got from Costco about a year ago.

Head to head comparison: YouTube vs. FaceBook

My initial conclusions are that YouTube’s sound quality degrades less than FaceBook’s. YouTube has a tendency to lower my volume and FaceBook does the opposite – it raises the volume (when compared to the original quicktime file sitting on my hard-drive). Here’s the YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqCNMfsNBvQ

I don’t know if I can share the video from FaceBook, but this would be the link:

I guess you can decide for yourself.

I did the listening through a new beyerdynamic professional headphone.  It’s the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 Ohms.

beyerdynamic professional headphone dt770 pro

The box got crushed in the delivery to me, but I think the headphones are fine.  This is how it arrived (there was an outside box that got beat up too).  The box was torn in several places, but I think miraculously the headphones were flexible enough to take some of the squishing that happened.

Beyerdynamic Headphone specs for the DT 770 Pro, 80 Ohms:

  • Transducer type: dynamic
  • Operating principle: closed
  • Nominal frequency response 5-30,000 Hz
  • Nominal impedance 80 Ohms/system
  • Nominal SPL:  96 db SPL
  • Nominal THD:  <0.2%
  • Ambient noise isolation:  approx. 18 dBA
  • Weight without cable: 270g
  • Cable: 3m/stright cable
  • Connection: gold plated mini jack 1/8″ and 1/4″ adapter

How long does it take to become a Surgeon?

There are many different ways to measure this length of time for surgery training and surgery education.  I was just wondering these same things as I reflect on my surgical experience.  I was also wondering how long it might take me to become a pianist.  Perhaps my musings might help others.  First I should say that I am very grateful to all my teachers.

I currently practice in a Modesto Plastic Surgery setting with my wife, Dr. Tammy Wu, Modesto Plastic Surgeon.

I had posted this comment on my Modesto FaceBook page, but I thought I’d share these educational duration thoughts here:

It took me 10 years of diligent study to become a semi-proficient VIOLINIST. It took me 17 years to become a competent full fledged SURGEON. I wonder how long it would be if I attempted to tackle piano.

Notes: 
1) Violin years determined by age started (7) and age with performance-readiness of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto.  My Tchaikovsky violin concerto – see below.
2) Surgery years determined by starting with the first year of acceptance into Brown University’s Medical Education program and the year where I became a full fledged board certified surgeon. This duration of time is 17 years after high school.
3) I learned piano briefly when I was little, but then switched to violin, dropping all piano lessons. I had to focus. Just like these days I have to choose between Acupuncture vs. Surgery – there isn’t enough time/energy to focus on all things.

Here’s a violin recording/video of my Tchaikovsky violin concerto:

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Calvin Lee