Some add-ons I bet you haven't considered...

[Backcountry]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiMlhOAhW9U

Where did I put my alligator clips and horsehair...hair?

[Wade Hampton]

There's a whole subset of composers who write music for "prepared piano," with all sorts of things attached to the piano strings. It was kind of a fad in academic music circles starting in the mid-1960's or so, though it seems to have faded from prominence as the novelty has worn off.

This woman's guitar piece would seem to be an outgrowth from and/or reaction to that.


Wade Hampton Miller

[devellis]

As if string tapping wasn't annoying enough.

[LSemmens]

If the cat gets any where near my guitars it would have been given a swift kick, she sounds even worse!!!!!!

[Wade Hampton]

Ultimately any musical piece has to stand or fall on its own musical merits. Back in my college days I attended a couple of "prepared piano" recitals, and there wasn't anything musically memorable about them. They sounded like noodling around with some odd, occasional sound effects.

Now, I can see where something like this might be useful as a sound component in a layered recording of some sort. Certainly the Beatles were able to use non-musical snippets to add layers of meaning and texture to some of their later recordings. But the live performances of prepared piano pieces that I attended seemed to be more about testing the audience's patience than anything else. It's not as though I ever had any musical epiphanies while listening to those compositions.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that - from my limited perspective - the use of these techniques seems to be more about exercising the intellect than it is about musical communication.


whm

[dneal]

Wade - I applaud your diplomatic comments.

All I could come up with was a metaphor about art and a jar of urine.