From the Bronx to Brooklyn, pianos take over New York

A man in New York's East Village runs his hands down the piano keys and reveals the secrets of the blues to a young boy - a scene in one corner of New York that can now be found across the city, thanks to a unique art project.

"Do it in any order, it's gonna sound good. That's the blues!" exclaims 47-year-old David Higgins to his newest playing partner Khalil, 11.

The public art movement taking over New York, which began on June 21 and runs until July 5, is bringing 60 working pianos to parks and public spaces throughout New York.

The "Play Me, I'm Yours" pianos call on anyone and everyone to play, with even Mayor Michael Bloomberg exalting all New Yorkers to kick out some jams.

"It doesn't matter if you're a world-class virtuoso like Beethoven or a guy who took one year of lessons like Bloomberg, just sit down and let your fingers do the talking," said Bloomberg said when the project was launched.

The East Village's Tompkins Square - once a hotbed of drug dealers and squatters in the 1970s and 1980s, but with now a more up-and-coming, vibrant scene - welcomes the patchwork of music that the piano project brings.

"This park has a mixture of people; this neighborhood is under gentrification," Higgins told AFP.

"You have the highbrow people that don't like the lowbrow people, you got the white, you got the blacks - and the piano cuts through," he said.

The young musical convert Khalil is convinced: "I wanna learn more," he said with a smile.

Six blocks away on bustling Astor Place, Michelle Mazzarella, a 26-year-old student at Columbia University, ignores the honking and revving of cars, and revels in the joy of playing outside.

"I've been playing piano since I was eight. I am so excited about this project," she says, sitting at the brightly painted green, purple and orange piano, playing "Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness" by iconic rockers the Smashing Pumpkins.

Pianos are springing up from uptown and the Bronx, through the tourist haven of Midtown and the Village. Street players are tinkling the keys even further downtown in the canyons of the Financial District and the outer boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Some people are making it their mission to play every piano in the city.

"Actually I have a map," grins Scott Griswold in the crossroads of Times Square. "These are all the pianos in New York... And I'm gonna hit all of them before this thing's through."

Another player, Manny Simone, sits at one of the public instruments further south near the Brooklyn Bridge, and speaks of his love for the opportunity the project supplies.

"How often do you get to sit in front of the Manhattan skyline and the water and you know, get to play?" he asks in wonder.

The unique installation piece is the brainchild of British artist Luke Jerram, who kicked off the work in 2009 with installations in London, Sao Paulo, Sydney and a number of towns across Britain.

With the blessing of the mayor's office, the charity Sing For Hope was able to bring the "Play Me, I'm Yours" pianos to the city, and it says after their two-week residency on the streets is done, they will be given to local schools, hospitals and community organizations "to be enjoyed for years to come."

Grammy award-winning musician and singer Alicia Keys hailed the charity's efforts, saying she believed "in the creative potential of New York City, and I applaud Sing for Hope for everything it does to develop that potential."

"It's things like this that make me extra proud to be a New Yorker, and the endless possibilities represented in these streets," she said.