String piano

String piano is a term coined by American composer-theorist Henry Cowell (1897?1965) to collectively describe those pianistic techniques in which sound is produced by direct manipulation of the strings, rather than by striking of the piano's keys.

Related Topics:
Henry Cowell - Piano

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String piano compositions can involve a wide range of techniques. Among those employed by Cowell, the first major proponent of the approach, are:

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• plucking (pizzicato)
• flicking back and forth across a string with a fingernail
• sweeping chromatically across the strings with the fingers
• sweeping across the strings with the flat of the hand (producing a tone cluster)
• sweeping along one or more strings with the flesh of the finger(s)
• scraping along one or more strings with the fingernail(s)

Strings may also be pressed at specific points along their length with the fingers of one hand while being played by the other to produce different harmonic pitches. These sounding techniques may be combined with direct muting of the strings with devices similar to those used to mute violins. In string piano pieces that call for the performer to sit at the keyboard, the keys may be depressed and held down silently with one hand to create chords, including tone clusters, that are played by the other on the strings; use of the sustain and soft pedals offer additional variations to string piano playing. For string piano pieces in which the performer stands alongside the instrument without addressing the keyboard, the pedals of the piano (and even, silently, the keys) may also be employed with the help of an assistant or a deadweight. Cowell also wrote passages for techniques involving simultaneous manipulation of the strings?sliding along one or more with the fingers or a metal object?and keyboard sounding in order to produce glissando effects. Other objects, such as bows and brushes, may also be used to elicit sound directly from the strings. According to Cowell biographer Michael Hicks, "The first 'serious' composer to write for piano strings was probably Percy Grainger: at the close of his In a Nutshell suite (1916), he directs the pianist to play on several bass strings with a yarn-covered mallet."

Related Topics:
Harmonic - Pitches - Muting - Chords - Pedals - Glissando - Percy Grainger

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One of Cowell's first important compositions to employ string piano techniques is the solo Piece for Piano with Strings (1923).{{ref|date}} Like A Composition (1925), for piano and string quartet, it combines traditional keyboard sounding with direct string playing. Aeolian Harp (ca. 1923) is Cowell's first composition exclusively for string piano?while keys are silently held down, as described above, all the sounding is done by direct address of the strings. Among his other works purely for string piano are The Banshee (1925) and Sinister Resonance (ca. 1930). How Old Is Song? (1930?31) is for voice and string piano (the accompaniment is adapted from Aeolian Harp). John Cage, a student of Cowell's, was inspired by the string piano concept to pursue his explorations of the prepared piano.

Related Topics:
John Cage - Prepared piano

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Although few composers other than Cowell have used the term "string piano" to describe their use of the piano strings, such techniques were increasingly called upon during the second half of the 20th century, eventually becoming part of the general vocabulary of contemporary pianistic writing and performance. Many composers have used such "inside-the-piano" techniques sporadically, as special effects; a few have made more substantial use of them, such as Carl Orff, Halim El-Dabh, George Crumb, David Tudor, and Stephen Scott, who uses string piano techniques exclusively.

Related Topics:
Carl Orff - Halim El-Dabh - George Crumb - David Tudor - Stephen Scott

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In free improvised music circles, Keith Tippett is renowned for his inventive use of inside-the-piano techniques. Although, like Cage, he places objects inside the piano, Tippett states that he does not "prepare" the piano, as the objects he utilizes are allowed to move about, creating a greater unpredictability in his work.

Related Topics:
Free improvised music - Keith Tippett

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