Prepared piano

A piano whose sound is altered by objects placed on or between its strings. The objects change the instrument’s timbre, producing sounds unlike those of an unmodified piano.

Piano action: The mechanism that transfers a pianist’s key presses to hammers striking piano strings. Its hammers still strike the strings, though inserted objects alter how they vibrate.
John Cage: An American composer and artist whose experimental music challenged conventional ideas of sound and performance. Cage developed prepared piano as a way to create percussion-like sounds with one performer.
Prepared piano repertoire: Compositions written for a piano whose strings are altered by inserted or attached objects. The repertoire shows how widely composers adapted Cage’s instrument and its preparation method.
Inside-piano technique: Performance methods that involve touching, plucking, striking, or otherwise manipulating a piano’s strings and frame directly. It changes the sound during performance rather than by leaving objects in place between strings.
Piano string: A tensioned wire that vibrates to produce a piano’s pitched sound. Prepared objects change a string’s vibration, damping, or contact with neighboring strings.
The Banshee: A 1940 composition by Henry Cowell for piano strings played directly by the performer. Cowell’s string techniques preceded Cage’s preparations and helped expand the piano’s sound world.
Sonatas and Interludes: John Cage’s cycle of sixteen sonatas and four interludes for prepared piano. This major work uses a carefully specified preparation to sustain a long-form musical design.
Una corda pedal: A piano pedal that shifts the action so hammers strike fewer strings or a different part of them. It alters tone through the piano’s built-in mechanism, not through inserted objects.
Timbre: The perceived tone quality that distinguishes sounds with the same pitch and loudness. Prepared piano is defined by changing the timbre of ordinary piano notes.
Henry Cowell: An American composer known for experimental works that use unconventional piano techniques. His direct manipulation of piano strings influenced the context in which Cage developed preparations.

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