Tampa Tunes places pianos around Ybor City to spark interest in music

TAMPA, Fla. - Chickens aren't the only sound you'll hear if you drive through Ybor City these days. You might be treated to an impromptu outdoor concert on one of the pianos along 7th Avenue.

They are scattered throughout Ybor City. Local artists have given them a new facade.

The pianos are provided through the nonprofit Tampa Tunes.

"Access to music for people who may not have grown up with pianos in their homes or don't have access to arts programming," explained Janine Quarles Adkins with Tampa Tunes.

Nicholas Peters is a professional musician. He's one of the volunteers with Tampa Tunes who draws crowds in and encourages them to try it out for themselves.

"It's usually full of people waiting to play it, so I know it's definitely working for the community. It gives local artists a spotlight really to showcase their talent and just the normal people of Tampa to have fun and just express their creative music… creative abilities," said Peters.

Aline Trifonov is another professional musician who gives her time to Tampa Tunes.

"I find music to be an incredible part of the city, so I'm very much an advocate for music and mental health and I think music is very important in the life of a busy city because you have people passing by, and it's just a nice thing to be able to hear and be able to listen. It livens the scene and it's also important for a cultural aspect for a town to have live music being performed frequently,", said Trifonov.

"People who don't necessarily want to go to restaurants, bars and clubs, you can still kind of enjoy some culture here," said Quarles.

READ: Ybor City ranked among top 50 places to live in the U.S.

But there's one musician who has tickled these ivories many times. Carlton Burgess has provided music lessons for decades at the Burgess School of the Arts in Tampa. He donated the pianos.

"We just inadvertently walked by, and I said I think this is where they put our pianos, and I wasn't sure. I started playing and I just burst out in tears. Very emotional because I wasn't aware of where they were located in such an open place. You know, I thought it was stuck in a restaurant, but it's out here for the public to walk by and touch and feel and maybe somebody will say, ‘well, I want to learn piano,’" said Burgess.

Tampa Tunes is capturing the experiences of those giving their pianos a try.

"We want to document all those piano players, their stories, how they got involved in this project and what's the meaning of this piano to the society? What's the meaning of the piano to Tampa?," said videographer Tian Liu.

It means a lot to Burgess to know that the keys he provided to students through the pianos at his school could hit the right note to unlock talent and interest in a different way.

"Overwhelmingly positive and happy to know that our pianos are given a new life. A new life outside for the people. For anybody that wants to come and play. If it's just one finger to Beethoven. All fingers. Everyone is getting a chance to become a performer for a minute," said Burgess.

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For more information about Tampa Tunes, click here.

For more about the Burgess School of the Arts, click here.

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