What do You get when You mix fishing line, Popsicle sticks, plumbing tape, ten musicians, and a grand piano? Stephen Scott's Bowed Piano. For centuries the piano has been treated as if--Eureka!--the perfect instrument had been constructed, no changes necessary. It is an unchallenged entity, like gravity. Thus people who look at the world in new ways, who challenge the existing conditions/uses/theories, excite my imagination--the hope of What Could Be trumps the concrete That Which Is.
The variance of sounds in Mr. Scott's bowed piano is amazing: there is a pure adherence to the pitch fundamental usually found in electronically manipulated wave lengths, yet the instrument remains a sustaining percussion piece that reminds One of the classical Chinese qin.*
In other words, it is veryveryvery cool, and I dig it.
*Hop on over to the NPR site for a video clip and 3 music clips of one of only 2 instruments in the world that requires a team to play it. Challenge: if any one can tell me what the other instrument is, I will bake them brownies.
The variance of sounds in Mr. Scott's bowed piano is amazing: there is a pure adherence to the pitch fundamental usually found in electronically manipulated wave lengths, yet the instrument remains a sustaining percussion piece that reminds One of the classical Chinese qin.*
In other words, it is veryveryvery cool, and I dig it.
*Hop on over to the NPR site for a video clip and 3 music clips of one of only 2 instruments in the world that requires a team to play it. Challenge: if any one can tell me what the other instrument is, I will bake them brownies.
1 comment:
nice pun there. i expect no less from you. (although i'm sure we both know that i can surpass many a mere mortal with my velveeta phrases. not that i'm suggesting you're a mere mortal. baby, you're a star!)
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