One of the many important legacies left by John Cage, the twentieth century composer and innovator from USA, is the prepared piano. This is a standard piano to which has been added a number of preparations. These can be anything from a couple of screws, rubbers, pencils, etc. inserted into a couple of strings to complex set-ups effecting each note on the instrument.
This project is to investigate why one might consider doing this and what one might consider doing.
Firstly, you should listen to some prepared piano pieces. The most obvious ones are Cage's own Piano Sonatas. Links to a couple of typical ones are included here. For copyright reasons you will need an extra password to access these. Please email me for this if you don't have it and are registered on the course. You should also have a look at any scores that are available.
Make a note of any sounds or figures that you find interesting.
Here are some images of various piano preparations:
Experiment with various objects and substances. Do not force anything into the piano and be careful with it! Keep a note of your preparations. Ultimately, You will need to prepare a diagram of these. The following is one I made earlier, for a piece called Haiku:
Good materials are screws, nails, blu-tack, tape, rope, etc. Try moving the materials up and down the string. You will get radically different sounds using different parts of the string. Also, the closer the contact between preparation and string, the more effect you will get. You don't have to cover the whole instrument - you might want to try leaving certain notes free;
You don't have to leave the preparations stationary during the piece, but bear in mind the sound they might make when you move them;
You may use more than one performer - for instance, you could use two players to play the keyboard and one player to adjust the preparations/play inside the piano;
You should use at least three different types of preparation on at least one quarter of the piano (about twenty of the notes, not the individual strings!), and this area should play at least a reasonably prominent part in your piece;
You are allowed to pluck or hit the strings of the piano directly;
This composition should be hand-written;
Compose the piece with the preparation in mind. DO NOT compose the piece and then add the preparation. Plan the piece first, perhaps using a combination of prepared passages/areas and 'natural' parts.
Duration should not fall outside the following formula:
average tempo * approximate number of beats > 4800 and <20000.
Notes from previous occurrences
remember to give your pieces proper titles (not Piece);
remember to bring a copy of the score for me to look at during the piece;
try sliding blu-tak along rosined strings;
you don't have to write John Cage-like music!;
use electronics if you can and want;
experiment with the balance between style and preparation and composition - try composing first and then preparing, then the other way around;
think about using Graphic Notation;
try to avoid repeat marks, da capos, etc.;
try using marbles!
Finally...
You might also want to review the rules of the Piano Project to help you with ideas. (Alternatively, you might not).
