[DOC] [TLE] If Irving Berlin couldn't read or write music, how did he compose? [PAR] Jul 28, 2006 ... Best of the Straight Dope Message Board ... He played almost entirely in the key 
of F-sharp, allowing him to stay on ... So how did he write music if he couldn't 
write music? ... still playing on the (mostly) black keys of F-sharp major, Berlin 
could ... Berlin called his instrument his "trick piano" and sometimes his... [DOC] [TLE] Irving Berlin - Wikipedia [PAR] Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist, widely considered one of 
the greatest ... In doing so, said Walter Cronkite, at Berlin's 100th birthday tribute, 
he ... He wrote hundreds of songs, many becoming major hits, which made him "a 
..... One song he wrote for the show but decided not to use, he would introduce... [DOC] [TLE] Irving Berlin, The Dean of American Songwriters" [PAR] A complete biography of Irving Berlin nee Isadore Baline (1888 - 1989). ... So 
much has been written about him, we cannot hope to add anything new here. ... 
That same year he also wrote another song, The Best Of Friends Must Part, using 
the ... he ultimately could only play in one key, F sharp, essentially only black 
keys. [DOC] [TLE] Irving Berlin - The Great American Composer Remembered [PAR] Irving Berlin led an incredible life, one that lasted over a hundred years and ... 
employing musical secretaries to help him capture on paper the melodies he 
heard in his head. ... Here he was handicapped since he could only play the 
black keys on his ... by an English company that used a hidden lever to operate 
any key. [DOC] [TLE] Irving Berlin -- Songs from the Melting Pot: The Formative Years ... [PAR] Between 1907, when Irving Berlin wrote "Marie From Sunny Italy" in ... this: At one 
point he drew up several lists of his songs, which include not only those pieces ... 
He would jot down lyrics as they came to him, on whatever material was at .... 
When in Chicago he played it over (all on the black keys, as he always does) and
... [DOC] [TLE] I played in a restaurant, restful, relaxed music for people who were ... [PAR] Irving Berlin was the most prolific Russian-born composer, yet he was a terrible 
.... to music left him with only three possible ways of achieving this aim, namely (1
) .... When it comes to keys, I really don't care what key I play in (within reason) so 
I ..... The following comments may help you to decide which instrument you would
... [DOC] [TLE] Tell us about your favorite Exploring Music program & what you'd ... [PAR] May 4, 2013 ... Help & Support  Contact Us .... 1) Your favorite Exploring Music program or 
moment. ..... Often when I hear a piece Balanchine used as a score for a ballet, I 
think ...... get a piano like Irving Berlin, who  unable to play in any key other than 
... shift so he could play in other keys without changing his fingerings. [DOC] [TLE] Elvis' musical style, as a musician and impact as a vocalist and ... [PAR] Feb 18, 2009 ... Usually a voice can sing one way, but he had that ability about him, and he .... I 
did - with the aid of Scott's encyclopedic music collection -, so if you have never ... 
musical instrument, and the genius to play that instrument perfectly; he could .... 'It 
has something for everyone, except perhaps Irving Berlin, who... [DOC] [TLE] YOU'RE A GRAND OLD RAG: THE MUSIC OF ... - New World Records [PAR] There's Only One Little Girl for Me (one-step, 1916) 2:36. 2. ... More than a 
century after he rocketed to fame, George M. Cohan's name still ... composers 
such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, and George Gershwin. .... And so, on a chilly 
March afternoon in 2008, I heard these .... I could

Question: Irving Berlin could play this instrument in 1 key only, so he used a special gadget to help him switch keys
Answer: Piano