Prepared piano

[BobDavis88@aol.com]

Les Smith writes:
> Not only doesn't it matter HOW one marks
>  the strings for a prepared piano, neither does it matter IF they marked at
>  all, the noise and nonsense which follows will be equally as bad.
--------
It is not the preparation of the piano which makes the music good or bad.
Just as there was good and bad music in Bach's time, there is now, and part
of the joy of hearing contemporary music is the adventure and mental
stimulation. The better stuff challenges us to hear in new ways, and the bad
stuff eventually drops off, just as it always has. I hope you will someday
hear some of the better music which includes less traditional uses of the
piano. There is a wonderful piece for two pianos and percussion by George
Crumb I just heard for the first time a few months ago, to my delight.

Anyway, this music will still be performed, and we need to develop ways of
protecting the instrument while giving the composer and performer what they
need. The original question on this subject asked about marking strings,
especially bass strings, without using chalk. Most of the replies suggested
using tape on the damper heads, but often what is being marked is the
location of a partial anti-node. One respondent suggested Magic Marker, which
comes off with alcohol. I like it too, but the piano tech ought to be the one
to put it on and take it off. Maybe it's not a bad idea to have the piano
tech present at all piano preparation.

Bob Davis