Free-To-Play Pianos Are Popping Up Around Chicago

**Patrick Smith** (0:08)
Hey Chicago, I'm Patrick Smith, in for Sasha Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.
Stick around to the end of the episode to get a rundown of the latest news. But first, if you're going to do something to improve spirits around Chicago, what would you do? For one Chicago man, his first thought was music. And he's behind a local non-profit putting pianos in public places. It's called Chicago Plays.
One of the pianos recently went up here at Navy Pier. That sound you're hearing now is producer Micah Yasson playing, and later we'll talk with the artist who decorated that piano. But first, here's John McCarthy, the founder of Chicago Plays.

**John McCarthy** (0:50)
Great example, Micah. I mean, it's amazing how people's hidden talents just kind of come out.

**Patrick Smith** (0:55)
I know. I did not know that Micah could play piano, and we get to hear her beautiful playing there. Where did this idea come from to put pianos up in different parts of the city?

**John McCarthy** (1:04)
So this came about, so I mean, my wife and I are kind of in the stage of our lives where we can do a little travel. And we tend to travel around different cities, and you just go places and you see cool things. And we found ourselves just consistently finding cool things in different cities.
You go to Europe and you just see cities that are just dominated by bikes and bike infrastructure and great bike lanes. You go again in Europe and you'll see places that have traffic-free downtowns and old towns and pedestrian zones and that sort of thing. You see public markets, and it's just a great experience. And one of the things was public pianos. So many airports, so many train stations, and not only Europe, but the US. I mean, they're around, so we didn't make up the idea. I had a buddy who was traveling for work and was in Tokyo and sent me a picture of a public piano in front of a pharmacy in Tokyo. Really? This is great, and they're beautiful. So I actually have a list on my phone, a little notes app on my phone.
And the title is Great Things We Need to Bring Back to Chicago. And so it's a long list. And last summer, we came back, and on the top of the list was public pianos. And I just said, you know, this is something we can do. This is something we can get done. I'm a little bit of a musician myself, so it was a little bit of a passion project. It jumped to the top of the list, and we started.

**Patrick Smith** (2:21)
You're a piano player?

**John McCarthy** (2:22)
I am a piano player, a little bit of a musician. I'm in kind of a bungalow basement band, I guess I like to call it. Get together with some friends and play music as often as we can. That's awesome.
So yeah, so it hit home for me.

**Patrick Smith** (2:35)
Okay, so we just mentioned there's one here on Navy Pier, WBEZ on Navy Pier, so is this piano, not a far walk from our studios. Where are the other pianos? Where was the first one that you placed?

**John McCarthy** (2:45)
We started last season, was our first season, we were new and we started locally. So I live in the Beverly neighborhood and we started there. I approached a couple of business owners and see if they wanted to participate in and support it. And they said yes, and they were thrilled with the results. So we kind of started small. You know, honestly, it was a grocery store and a coffee shop.
And the layouts were great. They were fairly high traffic areas. And we got the pianos in. It was a pretty quick turnaround. And we learned a lot. You know, I mean, what's the best way to present them?
You know, if you do signage, you place them in good spots. And so we learned a lot. So this season, we are really looking to expand around Chicago.
We want to, you know, ultimately, big pie in the sky goal would be to get a piano in every neighborhood in the city. But you know, I mean, we're a ways away from that. So, but we're gaining momentum quickly.

**Patrick Smith** (3:34)
88 Keys, 77 Neighborhoods, you know. Nice, nice. Okay, what's the reaction been like? You know, you put them locally, so you probably get to check on them a lot.
How are people reacting when they see these pianos?

**John McCarthy** (3:45)
It's great. I mean, you know, we all share music. We all, a lot of people love music. And to see the people interact, you know, it enhances social interaction, right?