Ari the Piano Player

By Deaflegacy

I first met Ari at Cape Heron, playing a piano there. As we talked, Ari continued to play the large musical instrument. It turned out that he is known in Second Life as a pianist.

“ I used to be too shy to dance so whenever I would attend a ball I would sit at the piano and pretend I was playing so no one would ask me to dance,“ said Ari. “One day it occurred to me that as long as I was sitting at the piano I might be able to stream some piano music and make the illusion of playing even more real. So I devoted a lot of time to finding the pieces and performance styles which I liked and learning how to stream them.”

When Ari heard that the artificial intelligence was being used in Second Life, he decided to give it a try. From the first day, he fell in love with how Second Life gave him the freedom to interact with all kinds of people from all over the world.

Ari started at the classical music sim Ger Y Lli, which is home to the group "Classical Lovers." Ari first played for the Classical Lovers group and still does. That was when he discovered his love of playing classical music, especially Beethoven. He experimented with several pieces of equipment normally used in recording studios to enhance the sound.

“My inspiration was to use the music to help others. I like to play soothing music and many listeners have told me the music helps them to relax,” said Ari, who had been playing for about a year. “I will definitely continue playing, and using listener's suggestions to add to my repertoire of songs.”

Ari's hobby is Second Life, helping old friends and making new ones. For his favorite music, it depends on which type of mood he's in. “I still like to play classical music for the Classical Lovers group, but also love to play wherever people like to hear me,” Ari said. “The VAI group is a particularly nice group to play for as many in that group are physically challenged and seem to respond quite well to the healing power of music.”

Ari is a remarkable piano player. I have this feeling that he will continue to play the piano for a long time. Ari is good at what he does, which is playing the piano for everyone.

Deaflegacy