A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter T

Tickle the ivories

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An idiomatic slang phrase meaning to play the piano, referencing the ivory keys traditionally used in pianos, often used with playful or nostalgic connotations in musical contexts.

Detailed Definition
Tickle the ivories means to play the piano, usually with lightness, charm, or informal skill. In poetry, the idiom brings musical texture into scenes of parlours, bars, theatres, family gatherings, or nostalgic memory. “Ivories” refers to piano keys, though modern awareness of ivory’s ethical history can add complexity. A poet may use it warmly for sociability and song, or ironically for superficial entertainment. The phrase is useful for exploring music as touch, performance, atmosphere, and emotional release.
Example
Example in poetry:
A jazz poem might invite the old pianist to tickle the ivories as rain taps the roof; In comic verse, a ghost tickles the ivories at midnight and wakes the portraits; The phrase means to play the piano; A poet can use it for music and playful sound.
Additional Notes
Tickle the ivories means play the piano, with ivories referring to the white piano keys, historically made from ivory. In poetry, the phrase has a lively, old-fashioned, musical charm and can evoke parlours, jazz bars, music halls, or domestic entertainment. Students should note the ethical historical resonance of ivory while recognising the idiom’s figurative life. It pairs well with fingers, keys, laughter, lamplight, and the intimacy of live music.
Also Known As
play piano
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