[CAUT] Prepared pianos

[Jim Busby]

You're a wildman! <G>

JB

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Horace Greeley
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 6:35 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Prepared pianos


Hi, Jim,

At 05:21 PM 1/31/2011, you wrote:
>Fred,
>
>Actually, I think that touching the strings was 
>the problem. Crayon and dirty fingers? I can't 
>see how else they could make the strings that 
>dirty. You're right about the word usage though. 
>It could be better. Thanks for the suggestions. 
>And yes, I guess I was overreacting, as usual. 
>But what I would have LIKED to have written 
>would involve removing fingers and putting them up certain orifices.  :-)

Don't think so narrowly!!

If you're into non-terminal (e.g., "corporal") 
punishment, do something creative!  Secure their 
greasy little paws to a table where they can 
watch, put their fingers into thumb cuffs, then 
tighten the cuffs...over time, the bruising will 
heal; and, if you can get the tension just right, 
bones with neither break nor crush...so, they 
will live to offend another piano another 
day.  Removing fingers is so...permanent...

...even Caligula usually stopped at 1,000 
cuts...of course, the eyelids never grew back....

Cheers!

Horace (whose son has fully functional eyelids)


>
>Jim
>
>From: caut-bounces at ptg.org 
>[mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Fred Sturm
>Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 3:25 PM
>To: caut at ptg.org
>Subject: Re: [CAUT] Prepared pianos
>
>On Jan 31, 2011, at 2:44 PM, Jim Busby wrote:
>
>
>You might be interested to know what 
>precipitated this "problem" we have at BYU. I 
>have been finding sticky notes, and have noticed 
>"coloring" on the strings. I came to find out 
>that this was crayon someone was using to mark 
>nodal points. (Anyone know how to clean that 
>off?) So.... I put notes in every piano with the 
>sticky notes that said "Please don't touch the 
>strings or dampers of this or any BYU piano. If 
>you want to do some "inside the piano" 
>compositions please let us help you."  The 
>teacher took umbrage with that note and wrote a 
>nasty letter to the Director about "how dare 
>we..." etc. so, now the debate and fight begins.
>
>             Hmmm, I guess I'd have to say your 
> note was a bit of an over-reaction. Not that 
> the results of what the students were doing 
> isn't annoying and at least cosmetically 
> damaging, but better to address it as that: 
> "What you have done has made this pristine 
> looking piano look like crap" is the message to 
> convey, and so I'd offer alternatives and 
> suggest they come to you for additional 
> suggestions and help. "Crayon is not a good way 
> to mark nodes, it is hard to get off the 
> strings. Please do X instead." "Please remove 
> your sticky notes when done." That sort of 
> thing. Prohibition is not an effective policy, 
> it just causes resentment and tends to be 
> ignored anyway. And "touching the strings or 
> dampers" was not really the issue, was it?
>Regards,
>Fred Sturm
><mailto:fssturm at unm.edu>fssturm at unm.edu
>http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/FredSturm
>