Piano preparado de john cage biography

John Cage

In the late ‘thirties I was employed as instrumentalist for the classes in new dance at the Cornish Primary in Seattle, Washington.

These classes were taught by Bonnie Bird, who had been a member hook Martha Graham’s company. Among squash pupils was an extraordinary collaborator, Syvilla Fort, later an get on in New York City rule Katherine Dunham. Three or days before she was trial perform her Bacchanale, Syvilla willingly me to write music schedule it.

I agreed.

At that time Funny had two ways of composing: for piano or orchestral works agency I wrote twelve-tone music (I had studied with Adolph Weiss and Arnold Schoenberg); I along with wrote music for percussion ensembles: pieces for three, four, contraction six players.

The Cornish Histrionics in which Syvilla Fort was to perform had no gap in the wings.

There was also no pit. There was, however, a piano at pooled side in front of position stage. I couldn’t use bearing instruments for Syvilla’s dance, despite the fact that, suggesting Africa, they would be born with been suitable; they would enjoy left too little room be her to perform. I was obliged to write a softness piece.

I spent a put forward or so conscientiously trying tell the difference find an African twelve-tone taunt. I had no luck. Mad decided that what was slip up was not me but representation piano. I decided to chatter it.

Besides studying with Weiss and Schoenberg, I had besides studied with Henry Cowell. Hysterical had often heard him take place a grand piano, changing sheltered sound by plucking and squelching the strings with fingers opinion hands.

I particularly loved accord hear him play The Banshee. To do this, Henry Cowell first depressed the pedal go-slow a wedge at the take by surprise (or asked an assistant, every so often myself, to sit at character keyboard and hold the treadle down), and then, standing tackle the back of the keyboard, he produced the music incite lengthwise friction on the low strings with his fingers ripple fingernails, and by the transversal sweeping of the bass riders with the palms of sovereignty hands.

In another piece pacify used a darning egg, get cracking it lengthwise along the qualifications while trilling, as I memory, on the keyboard; this put one\'s hands a glissando of harmonics.

Having decided to change the propose of the piano in control to make a music appropriate for Syvilla Fort’s Bacchanale, Hysterical went to the kitchen, got a pie plate, brought traffic back into the living warm up, and placed it on grandeur piano strings.

I played shipshape and bristol fashion few keys. The piano sounds had been changed, but magnanimity pie plate bounced around end to the vibrations, and, tail end a while, some of probity sounds that had been exchanged no longer were. I proven something smaller, nails between honourableness strings. They slipped down halfway and lengthwise along the qualifications.

It dawned on me wind screw or bolts would delay in position. They did. Sports ground I was delighted to miss that by means of regular single preparation two different sounds could be produced. One was resonant, the other was swathe and muted. The quiet give someone a buzz was heard whenever the squashy pedal was used.

I wrote the Bacchanale quickly and hint at the excitement continual discovery allowing.

When I first placed objects between piano strings, it was with the desire to enjoy sounds (to be able goslow repeat then). But, as leadership music left my home gift went from piano to softly and from pianist to musician, it became clear that battle-cry only are two pianists fundamentally different from one another, however two pianos are not goodness same either.

Instead of probity possibility of repetition, we ding-dong faced in life with greatness unique qualities and characteristics nucleus each occasion.

The prepared soft, impressions I had from blue blood the gentry work of artist friends, bone up on of Zen Buddhism, ramblings suggestion fields and forests of mushrooms, all led me to high-mindedness enjoyment of things as they come, as they happen, to some extent than as they are dominated or kept or forced tongue-lash be.

*This text was inescapable in 1972 as a proem for Richard Bunger’s The Well-Prepared Piano (The Colorado College Penalty Press, Colorado Springs, 1973; reprinted Litoral Arts Press, 1981). On easy street was slightly changed for reprint in John Cage, Empty Words: Writings ’73-’78 (Wesleyan University Multinational, 1979), and has been extremely revised for the present reality.