I just 'prepared' my 'piano'...

Setun

What with it being the rainy and dull day that it is, I decided to prepare my 'piano' (using the word piano liberally - it has definitely seen better days). Basically it was out of tune, in some cases strings are missing. So I decided to Cage it up a bit - using thumbtacks on the hammers. It now sounds like a harpsichord in the mid register, some kind of weird tone-percussion in the upper, and just plain weird down in the lowest notes.

I like it!!!

Anyone else ever tried modding an instrument?

cornbb

Oh class! Any chance of some pics or recordings? I've looked into preparing my guitar, it would be fun enough I think, as long as I don't damage the thing...

Setun

Yeah I'll try post up a few pics later on tonight, maybe a recording if I'm not too lazy...

It's really nice with the thumbtacks actually, cos if you hit the keys at a low velocity the hammers bounce a few times off the strings. Also with the left pedal pressed down it sounds like some kind of weird eastern stringed instrument in a way.

If you have an old guitar lying around you should go for it, if you don't mind too much that you might destroy it...

John

I've thought of doing something to my spare guitar but I don't know what I'd do. Plus I don't have the time. However, I'd be interested in hearing your piano Daddio, have you a way of recording?

Undergod

I've been interested in prepared piano since I first heard of it, but never really had an opportunity to try it out. Though technically my piano is in A, and a relative of mine has a piano that is wonderfully out of tune and broken, get some really bizarre sounds off it. Wonderful stuff.

I third the recordings suggestion, it'd be cool to hear what it sounds like.

Setun

Yeah, I'm gonna try and upload it to somewhere so I can link ye all to it.

John

Deadly.

Alice Junge

I poured milk into my piano and now its all sticky, it gives it a grungy feel oh yeahhhhh

cornbb

Daddio wrote: »

Yeah, I'm gonna try and upload it to somewhere so I can link ye all to it.

Box.net is a decent hosting solution... would love to hear this, prepared piano is awesome. I don't know much about the Cage or Satie pieces but Aphex Twin used a MIDI-controlled prepared piano (Yamaha Disklavier) to great effect on the drukqs album. This is my favourite example (crappy video though - skip to 30 secs in)

John, can you recommend any good Cage prepared piano pieces (does one of the Imaginary Landscapes pieces use prepared piano? I can't remember)

John

cornbb wrote: »

I don't know much of the Cage or Satie pieces

Satie didn't use the prepared piano, it was one of Cage's ideas. You can get loads of his prepared piano stuff quite cheap. Naxos do two volumes of his prepared piano works but if you can find recordings with David Tudor as the pianist, go for them.

As for Aphex Twin, I love the versions of his prepared piano stuff on the Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters CD.

Setun

Didn't realise aphex used prepared piano in some of his tracks.

Will definitely put some up later, I'll check out box.net.

ogy

cage's sonatas and interludes is great for prepared piano
sonata no. 5 is my favourite

Setun

K putting it up now, excuse my playing

clicky.

Basically it's an (audacity) mix of various preparations - paper, thumb tacks, and plucked piano strings, and recorded with the mic built into my macbookpro. So not a nice sennheiser or anything, but the quality isn't too bad. The first part is the paper - it's not distortion believe it or not!

cornbb

That sounds amazing! There are some fantastically wierd sounds going on there, the thumbtack hits especially are creating some lovely harmonics. Lovely natural reverb from the piano too. Thanks for sharing.

Setun

Cheers yeah, glad I did it actually, it's fun playing when you don't know what any of the notes are going to sound like!

John

That's great, the thumb tacks in particular sound cool.

Undergod

Deadly buzz, that's really cool sounding.

John

Undergod wrote: »

Deadly buzz, that's really cool sounding.

It IS a deadly buzz!

Undergod

John wrote: »

It IS a deadly buzz!

I see what you did there!

Setun

Everybody should snap some instrument up from the freebies section of adverts or the buy and sell etc, and mod it

An old circuit bended casio keyboard anyone??

John

Or a prepared keyboard with a chain thrown inside the battery compartment!

Undergod

I've occassionally put my clarinet together without the middle parts, just the mouthpiece, lower joint and the bell- get some crazy notes, very out of tune but quite interesting sounding.

Setun

Yeah that does sound interesting. There's not much you can do with a sax apart from blow overtones, altissimo and multiphonics, although multiphonics sound great if done right. That's about as prepared a sax sound as you'll get really.

Undergod

Multiphonics are tough, I've found. Especially trying to sing while playing and getting chords and weird resonance that way.

There should be an extended technique thread on this forum, anyone agree?

mike65

Could'nt you just buy a well used string section? Like the Koto-esque sounds.

Mike.

John

Undergod wrote: »

There should be an extended technique thread on this forum, anyone agree?

Make one!

Undergod

Support enough for me. Done.

Shanannigan

sounds good daddio.. i'd love to make a sound bank of that piano for reason...
did you add reverb with audacity or is that the natural reonance of the piano?

Setun

Shanannigan wrote: »

sounds good daddio.. i'd love to make a sound bank of that piano for reason...
did you add reverb with audacity or is that the natural reonance of the piano?

Natural resonance. it's an upright piano with a huge chamber, so the notes really hang around after you play them. I like it