[CAUT] Prepared pianos

[Ed Sutton]

Actually, I meant this as a class in a music school.

Ed

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jim Busby 
  To: Ed Sutton ; caut at ptg.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 2:27 PM
  Subject: RE: [CAUT] Prepared pianos


  Indeed! I'll ask my colleagues on the 2012 WESTPAC team and if we can make it work well there it might go to the annual. Thanks for the idea.

   

  Jim

   

  From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ed Sutton
  Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 11:47 AM
  To: caut at ptg.org
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] Prepared pianos

   

  How about a class or seminar in which piano technician, student performers and composers collaborate to explore old techniques and invent new ones?

   

  Ed S.

    ----- Original Message ----- 

    From: Charles K. Ball 

    To: caut at ptg.org 

    Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 11:45 AM

    Subject: Re: [CAUT] Prepared pianos

     

    Dear CAUT-- 

     

    I have been servicing university and college pianos since I was an undergrad over 40 years ago. It took me quite a while to accept that "inside-the-piano", "prepared piano", "extended techniques", etc. were here to stay, and that my reactive and oppositional responses were not helpful in any way.

     

    Many have responded to this thread citing various documents and guidelines, and these can be an excellent and helpful resource.

     

    Here is what I have learned over the years on this subject:

     

    --These techniques are here to stay and in academia have moved from being regarded as nihilistic and iconoclastic assaults on pianos and the ears, to being regarded as established, time-honored, valid, and respectable artistic and creative uses of the instrument. I know that many of us will resist accepting this and will cite the damages and defacement that sometimes results, but I should mention that normal use of musical instruments causes wear and tear. Probably the regular concert tuning that professional instruments receive contributes notably to their wear and tear, including string breakage. And who among us has never inadvertently broken a hammershank or nicked the finish? I have a hunch that inexperienced, careless, and inadequately trained piano techs cause more damage than all the Crumbs and Cages and their performers of this world--I certainly have!

     

    --I think that many here have touched upon the best approach and response: education and training.

     

    --In order for this to be accepted, we need to establish open and respectful lines of communication with our composition teaching staff and composition students, piano teaching staff and students, including collaborative pianists, and ensemble directors (our Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and New Music Ensemble make the most use of these techniques).

     

    --And there will always be the mornings that we find that someone has done something harmful or careless to the piano, despite our blandishments. My advice is to resist going into a rage, as I have many times, and overreacting; and do not blame all the composers and users of extended techniques for the carelessness of a few. In the end, the instruments are impermanent and are gradually "consumed" over the years by use and abuse and are eventually replaced by new instruments, which helps to keep the manufacturers in business, and provides work for many people. Ours is a balance among preservation and maintenance, restoration, and replacement. 

     

     

    Charles

     

    On Jan 31, 2011, at 3:41 PM, Fred Sturm wrote:






    On Jan 31, 2011, at 12:21 PM, Horace Greeley wrote:




    It seems to me that we had something like this thread a while back and that DavidI (RIP, David), had some source for either additional copies of Bunger's book and/or PDFs of it.



    I was the one: I got a copy through interlibrary loan and photocopied it. I made copies available to anyone on the list who contacted me and sent enough to cover the expense of copying and mailing, probably 15 to 20. That was 2006, I think, before the Rochester convention where Alan Eder presented a class on preparing pianos. I still have it (a couple copies), and could probably scan to pdf (didn't have that capability at the time, at least not conveniently). I think either David I or Alan Eder expressed the opinion that Bunger probably would not mind having bootleg copies created, since it has been long out of print and with nobody planning to print it. I just looked on the web, and I think what I got was the original edition, 1973 Colorado College, and he revised it in 1981 and published with Litoral Press. The 1981 edition is available from him through his web site at $75 (it says he has a few copies). But I think Alan's video is much more useful as a tool for educating pianists.
    With respect to potential damage, there are a lot of prepared piano procedures that can cause a lot of damage. One of them is putting tacks in hammers, pretty widespread at one time. The devices John Cage used do not necessarily cause damage if done with care, but they have that potential. Screws placed between strings need to be chosen VERY carefully for size. They have to be wide enough to hold between the strings securely, but not so wide as to cause damage when they are slid close to the bridge or to wedge felts of dampers, as one example. In the process of preparing, it is quite easy to drop a screw or other foreign object, possibly causing a buzz on the soundboard or a malfunction if it gets into the action.
    Inside the piano techniques like those George Crumb used are also not necessarily damaging, but still have that potential. Banging on various case parts can cause visual furniture damage, obviously. Strumming of strings and similar finger/hand actions can easily displace damper felt or misalign a damper head. The result is not "permanent damage" by any means, but the piano is not functional for the next concert, or the next piece on the same concert. All it takes is one non-functioning damper to make a piano useless for performance.
    So, in answer to Jim Busby's original post, above are some thoughts, but I would also consider re-visiting a little bit of your policy document. I think it is quite reasonable for the most part. But I don't think it matters what material screws are made of, as long as they are carefully threaded ("screwed in") between the strings (plain, not wrapped). And I find that marking nodes on strings with a thin (1/8" or so) strip of the gummed part of a sticky note, wrapped around and stuck to itself, is an acceptable compromise. No residue to speak of, not enough weight to throw the unison, easily visible and stays in place. A little hard to remove without it falling onto the soundboard, but that's no big deal (blow it out). You might also want to address other "inside the piano techniques," if there is enough need: ie, students and faculty doing a good bit.
    I try to keep one of the recital instruments "mostly out of bounds" for inside the piano and prepared stuff, just so that there will always be a functional piano available (I'm not always there to do the - usually - minor fix). But I really can't enforce an absolute ban that way, because so many recitals will have a piece where something is done inside, whether it is a bit of strumming, touching some nodes, or similar. So that kind of stuff I don't sweat (although the official policy is pretty plain). If it happens to cause a problem, then the faculty and students can fight amongst themselves about it: if somebody's action has a negative impact on somebody else's performance, that makes the whole issue far more real to them, and they actually learn something, as opposed to hearing me give a sermon about it.
    Regards,
    Fred Sturm
    fssturm at unm.edu
    "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination." - Einstein





     


    Charles Ball, RPT

    Head Piano Technician

    The Butler School of Music

    The University of Texas at Austin

    1 University Station, E 3100

    Austin, Texas 78712

    512-471-0763 (office)

    512-923-2311 (cell)

     

     

     
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