What is Digg?53 Comments
- megaton, on 12/02/2008, -1/+23Is it my imagination, or did the samples sound like... a normal piano?
- ksgant, on 12/02/2008, -2/+17Couldn't the headline just be "Modded Pianos Delight Audiences"? Why does it have to be broken down into "Indie" and "Classical" audiences?
- xiggelee, on 12/02/2008, -0/+9Check out this piece by John Cage for prepared piano:
http://www.last.fm/music/John+Cage/_/Mysterious+Ad ... - Ojannen, on 12/02/2008, -3/+10Why is prepared piano impressive?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepared_piano - TheNik, on 12/02/2008, -0/+6I was going to say the same thing.
Welcome to experimental music - we've been around a while, don't know why you haven't noticed yet. :( - Crazysticks, on 12/02/2008, -2/+8Because it is a nicer way of saying this music is not for the average radio listener. It is for music buffs, specifically ones that are very familiar with classical and indie music.
- bimtott, on 12/02/2008, -0/+5The "Honky Tonk Piano" sound everyone has on their Casios is the same idea. A century ago, old pianos, esp. out West, would have nails or thumbtacks put on the hammers to make this distinctive sound. A cheaper and more durable solution than having to replace dried-out and crumbling felt.
- paiguy, on 12/02/2008, -1/+6Ben Folds played around with this on his last tour. He prepared the piano just by adding some altoids tins and a distortion pedal. It's pretty cool to see and hear the effect in concert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoaSTl8atU8 - xpinchx, on 12/02/2008, -0/+4People have been making prepared pianos for a while now...
- Crazysticks, on 12/02/2008, -0/+4These songs are really cool. The piano definitely has a more crisp sound like a harpsichord would.
- asgardshill, on 12/02/2008, -0/+4"Ten-year-old Volker Bertelman couldn't afford a synthesizer, so he modified the family piano to sound like a harpsichord by pressing metal tacks into its hammers."
I've got a Steinway concert grand (Model D if it matters) at my place. You know its a Steinway because the action is as stiff as a rusty iron gate on the Titanic. There would be one instant retroactive abortion and I would be up on murder charges if this EVER happened at my place. (But no jury would ever convict me - some crimes call for nothing short of plain ol' murder). - bimtott, on 12/02/2008, -1/+5Just produce a high quality album with a MIDI keyboard. So much worse sounding.
- Millsee, on 12/02/2008, -1/+5Because most people (in England) think that X Factor is the be all and end all.
R.I.P. Music - Millsee, on 12/02/2008, -0/+4If anyone liked the music here I'd strongly suggest that they listen to The Penguin Cafe Orchestra ..... oh, and and Steve Reich!
I collect vintage synths but sometimes I have to admit that real instruments like this sound so much more incredible..! - genconkeeper, on 12/02/2008, -0/+3That is a really old piano hack. I knew acouple of guys who did that in high school in the 70's to a old piano at church. So what is the big deal.
- bobcrotch, on 12/02/2008, -5/+8Shocked that this isn't a 'hack'
- DeFex, on 12/02/2008, -0/+3this has been done almost since the days there were pianos and tacks. it is not new at all.
- JustLetGo, on 12/02/2008, -2/+5Aphex Twin doe this too. I love it.
- Millsee, on 12/02/2008, -0/+2BUT midi controlled info is quite crude in comparison to accoustic... i.e the velocity on hitting a piano key volume wise is limited to 128 different volumes in midi, but of course in real life, there are infinite degrees between 0 and 128....
Apply that to pitch and every other factor, and that is why hitting a key twice will never sound the same twice - and all the better for it..
It doesn't matter nowadays what sequencer you use; you're much better off recording the real thing if you were a purist/music nerd - GerudoX, on 12/02/2008, -0/+2Wouldn't want to be innovative now would we.
- ksgant, on 12/02/2008, -1/+3Interesting that you would say that. I know quite a few vintage synth collectors too and they themselves balk at the people using digital instruments compared to their analog moogs and what-evers with the same "why don't they use a real instrument like a moog instead of a fake ROMpler".
I know...they're goofballs. - krnldmp, on 12/02/2008, -0/+2A little hard on the copper wounds dontcha think?
- Chickenlip, on 12/02/2008, -1/+3What a great way to ***** up a nice piano
- whitej, on 12/02/2008, -0/+2Listening to his "Blue Bicycle" and asking myself how many times can someone hit A# and C before their fingers get tired?
- krnldmp, on 12/02/2008, -1/+2It is a hack. Nobody needs to tell you.
- rossisdead, on 12/02/2008, -0/+1Anyone who likes this type of music would definitely like the album "Systems/Layers" by Rachel's.
- Millsee, on 12/02/2008, -0/+1I suppose it's taste - I also have a stack of old digital synths as well - they still have a dusty quality to them though, because they're 12bit etc...
A real instrument isn't digital though - my point is that real instruments have infinitely more nuances than an electronic instrument... and although I love my wooden beasts, I doubt they will stand the test of time against a traditional acoustic instrument..
Today's digital is great on one hand because you can have everything perfect.. especially from a recording point of view..... but then the downside is that perfect doesn't necessarily mean right....hmmm..
Yep, I'm a goofball... ;-) - mag3b, on 12/02/2008, -3/+4Ben Folds does stuff like this too. I know he's done the tacks in the hammers trick. You can particularly hear it on Ben Folds Five's "Mess".
He's also got some kind of pickup installed in his piano, so more recently he's done some weird trick with tin cans and a distortion pedal... not sure what exactly it is, but it makes the odd effect in "Free Coffee". - DrZmobie, on 12/02/2008, -1/+2Harpischord
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgeTIe19p_c
Baby Grand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uApwFF1Uz8c
Can you tell now? - Enchorito, on 12/03/2008, -0/+1I've been playing piano for almost 30 years. I've been playing synths and keyboards for 23 years. Even if I had a spare piano that was ok to trash with pieces of junk I wouldn't do it. I can do so much more with a 20 year old synth than this guy can ever do taping plastic and bits of metal that are likely to ruin the action of the piano forever.
Can't afford a keyboard? But you can afford to ruin a working piano? What a bunch of hooey. - jsindal, on 12/03/2008, -0/+1I saw him in Providence back in September and he did this, it was pretty awesome!
- hotsauzz, on 12/02/2008, -5/+6Meh
- consterXnation, on 12/02/2008, -1/+2Because by calling it "Indie" it gets the attention of a whole culture of self-important wankers looking to add another obscure notch in their discography's bedpost, graduating themselves to the highest tier of the Indie-music scene: the guy who listens to music that no one has ever heard of--not even that creepy David Cross-looking dude who lurks in the shadows of the local record store. For they are the Maharishis, the Gurus and the Sensei of Scene. Much sex will be achieved.
Were it instead not given a label people would be forced to listen to it and judge it by it's own merits, rather than have their minds already made up for them, and what a waste of time and energy that could turn out to be. - mrinsanity, on 12/02/2008, -0/+1I wish I could digg you up more. Too bad there's too many people don't know that using a "Prepared piano" has been a standard musical practice in modern composition since what, the 60's?
- spaceyraygun, on 12/02/2008, -0/+1sometimes i put a strip of paper in my acoustic guitar...
i thought sounded like a snare drum. didn't know the technique had a name though!
http://spaceyraygun.net/mp3/spaceyraygun_-_snare.m ... - Angostura, on 12/02/2008, -0/+1Yeh, I did it to the school piano in the early 70s to give it a honkytonk feel. They were a bit amused.
- ifoundgodot, on 12/02/2008, -0/+1Prepared piano is clearly _impressive_ (if done well), its just not really new.
- mrinsanity, on 12/02/2008, -0/+1I'm listening to it right now.
and possibly, so are a lot of people reading this! - IronChef81, on 12/02/2008, -0/+1PCO FTW
- bicyclethief, on 12/02/2008, -2/+2low tech awesomeness
- guiltyblade, on 12/02/2008, -1/+1DIY hack piano?
- TheNik, on 12/02/2008, -1/+1No matter how hard I try I cannot convince my friend that John Cage's compositions are music. :(
- gospe1337, on 12/02/2008, -1/+1MIDI isn't indie.
EDIT: in before Girl Talk. Girl Talk sucks. - bimtott, on 12/02/2008, -1/+14:33 is better
- 2of8, on 12/02/2008, -1/+0Are you assuming that MIDI strictly referring to the 128 sounds sound cards emulate with wave synthesis? It doesn't have to. In a professional music setting, MIDI is used to transfer audio commands. The MIDI keyboard can tell your computer to play some notes, and those notes can be played using any variety of ways - such as playing recorded samples, or high-quality soundbases. It would sound the same with a $50 or a $5,000 MIDI controller.
- Shaggy3, on 12/02/2008, -2/+1Well the article is more about his music than his modified piano, unlike the description says. The recordings were just a regular piano.
- J3TTY, on 12/02/2008, -4/+2good for him!
- jakash, on 12/02/2008, -7/+2The samples sound nice, but not all THAT synethesized.
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