A prepared piano is a piano whose sounds are temporarily changed by placing objects like bolts, screws, mutes, or rubber erasers on or between the strings. The invention of the prepared piano is often credited to John Cage, who used this technique in his dance music for Bacchanale (1940), written for a performance in Seattle where there was not enough space for a percussion group. Cage was influenced by Henry Cowell, who explored ways to manipulate the strings inside a piano instead of using the keyboard. In Cage’s work, such as the Sonatas and Interludes (1946–1948), each piano key produces a unique sound, and the original pitch of the strings may not be easily recognized. The una corda pedal can also be used to create more variety in the sound.
Between 1950 and 1980, Ferrante & Teicher used partially prepared pianos in some of their songs on their albums. Other musicians, such as Denman Maroney, have also used prepared pianos in their performances. Cor Fuhler and Roger Miller developed their own methods for using prepared pianos in their music. Additional musicians who contributed to the development of this style include Lou Harrison, Pauline Oliveros, James Tenney, and Christian Wolff.
When a properly prepared piano is returned to its normal state, no one should be able to tell it was ever prepared. However, some changes may cause permanent damage, which is why instruments like the tack piano are sometimes permanently altered for this purpose. Other techniques related to prepared pianos include the Acoustisizer.
Historical precedents
John Cage often said that Henry Cowell was the main influence for creating the prepared piano. Cowell developed special methods for playing the piano, which he called "string piano." These methods involved touching the piano's strings directly by reaching inside and plucking, sweeping, scraping, or tapping them, instead of using the keyboard. He used these techniques in works like Aeolian Harp (1923) and The Banshee (1925). Some early 20th-century compositions required pieces of paper to create a buzzing sound, similar to a special part on old pianos called the "parchment 'bassoon' pedal." In his work Ragamalika (1912–1922), French composer Maurice Delage asked for a piece of cardboard to be placed under the B♭ in the bass clef to reduce the sound, mimicking the sound of an Indian drum. In Chôros No. 8 (1925), Heitor Villa-Lobos instructed the second pianist to place paper between the strings. In L'enfant et les sortilèges (1920–1925), Maurice Ravel called for a special instrument called the Luthéal, but allowed a piano with paper to be used instead.
John Cage
The invention of the "prepared piano" is often credited to John Cage. Cage first prepared a piano when he was asked to write music for Bacchanale, a dance by Syvilla Fort (the date is listed as either 1938 or 1940). Before this, Cage had been writing music only for a group of percussionists. However, the hall where Fort’s dance would be performed did not have space for a percussion group. The only instrument available was a single grand piano. After thinking about the situation, Cage realized that it was possible to give a single pianist the ability to play music that sounds like an entire percussion orchestra. He explained that with just one musician, many different sounds could be created inside the piano if the keyboard was removed and rearranged.
Other composers, arrangers, performers, and compositions
Ferrante & Teicher were an American piano duo. They created over 100 albums of light classical and popular music called "easy listening" during their careers from 1947 to 1992. Between 1950 and 1980, they used partially prepared pianos on some of their songs to create percussive sounds.
On the song "All Tomorrow's Parties" from The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), John Cale prepared his piano by attaching a chain of paper clips to it.
On his 1968 album Blues Roots, Dave Brubeck prepared a piano by placing copper strips across the strings. This gave the song "Blues Roots" a honky-tonk sound.
Denman Maroney plays on a piano he calls "hyperpiano." This method involves stopping, sliding, bowing, plucking, striking, and strumming the strings with copper bars, aluminum bowls, rubber blocks, plastic boxes, and other household objects.
Cor Fuhler developed many inside piano techniques during the 1980s. In 1995, he released his first prepared piano solo album, 7CC IN IO, on GeestGronden. He also recorded The Hands of Caravaggio with John Tilbury and M.I.M.E.O. on the USA label Erstwhile Records. In 2007, he released Stengam on the French label Potlatch.
Since 1982, Roger Miller has used prepared piano techniques in his work. He first used this method on Mission of Burma's single "Trem II." Miller has released many albums (on labels including Ace of Hearts, SST, New Alliance, Atavistic, and Matador) that include this technique. His concert hall compositions since 2009 often use prepared piano.
On his 1975 album Another Green World, composer Brian Eno used prepared piano on the track "Little Fishes." He also used prepared piano on David Bowie's Lodger (1979) album.
Hauschka, also known as Volker Bertelmann, used prepared piano techniques in his 2005 album The Prepared Piano.
Several songs on the 2001 Aphex Twin album Drukqs use prepared piano.
The third movement of John Mackey's wind symphony, Wine-Dark Sea, uses a piano prepared with glass rods. The glass rods and a spoon scraped over the strings create a dissonant sound, similar to "fingernails on chalkboard," which sets the scene of Odysseus in the underworld.
Kristin Hayter, while performing under the name Lingua Ignota, has played on a piano prepared with forks, clothespins, fishing wire with heavy rosin, bells, chains, and a clamp lamp.
Kelly Moran, an American composer and producer, uses prepared piano techniques extensively on her 2017 album Bloodroot.
Related techniques
A tack piano is not considered a prepared piano because:
• Objects are placed between or on the strings or hammers of a piano;
• The original sounds of the piano strings can still be heard; and
• The changes made are not fully reversible.
Although the tacks can be removed from the hammers, placing them there causes lasting damage to the felt. For this and other reasons, piano technicians usually advise against using tacks.
The Acoustisizer is an electroacoustic musical instrument made from a small grand piano. It includes built-in speakers, magnetic guitar pickups, PZMs, and prepared piano strings. It was created as part of a graduate thesis project at California State University Dominguez Hills by Bob Fenger (1983), who studied under Richard Bunger (author of The Well Prepared Piano). Speakers are placed at the bottom of the instrument to bounce its amplified sound back onto the sounding board. The strings and magnetic pickups create a loop that increases sound intensity, which then causes suspended kinetic oscillators (groups of vibration-sensitive materials) to vibrate. Additional controls allow sound and vibration from the oscillators to be captured using proximity microphones and PZMs (piezo-electric contact mics). An article about the instrument was published in Experimental Musical Instruments Magazine in April 1991, Nicasio, California. It includes images of the kinetic oscillators, construction stages, and a view of the speaker system inside the instrument.