The community piano sits in the Doris and Robert Burr Family Plaza outside of  SKyPAC. The piano has lettering that says 'Play Me' to encourage those that pass by to sit and play music. 

Community pianos are not a new concept, they can be found all over the world – but now one can be found in Bowling Green.

Thanks to Arts of Southern Kentucky, area residents have the opportunity to experiment with music or show off their talents on the piano. The community piano can be found at the Doris and Robert Burr Family Plaza in front of SKyPAC.

It has a lettering on it that says “Play Me” to encourage those who pass by or those attending a performance at SKyPAC to sit down and play.

“We (Arts of Southern Kentucky) had a piano that we had tried to get it into good playing condition and it wasn’t possible,” said Jeff Reed, president and CEO of Arts of Southern Kentucky. “We started to look for what we might do with the piano rather than just put it in the dumpster and we decided to put it out on the plaza – even though a few notes don’t work.”

The piano will remain outside of SKyPAC until the elements make it unplayable. Reed is hopeful that the piano will last through the end of summer. The piano made its debut a few weeks ago and has already survived torrential storms and extreme temperatures.

“I saw the other day, somebody with a backpack sitting down playing. I’ve seen groups of people playing,” Reed said about the popularity of the piano. “People are taking advantage of it … I’ve heard some that obviously have had (piano) lessons and others who obviously haven’t. It’s not about how good somebody is, it’s about them having an opportunity to explore the piano.”

If the piano continues to be popular, Arts of Southern Kentucky may look into acquiring more of the instruments.