The microtonal piano
Through the project ‘The Microtonal Piano – and the tuned-in interpreter’ I seek to demonstrate, as a performer, how microtonality can increase the expressive possibilities of the acoustic piano. I define ‘microtonal piano’ simply as a piano including intervals not found in the standard 12-TET. Several composers, theorists and performers of the twentieth century constructed new piano instruments focusing on finding ‘the ultimate tuning’: such has often been the case of the developers of quarter/fifth/sixth tone instruments (such as Haba, Carillo, Wyschnegradsky) and just intonation instruments (e.g., Partch). But in a time of widely different aesthetics, many composers/musicians today use microtonality without necessarily searching for such a universal tuning, and with approximately 230 strings on the piano there are still many interesting possibilities, even if the composer/pianist chooses to only de-tune a few of them.
The prepared piano, as we know from the many gamelan-like pieces by John Cage, often results in microtonality, but it also offers great variation in timbre. Composers such as Lachenmann have constantly sought new sounds, often noise sounds. In my project, increasing the amount of possible piano timbres through microtonality is a driving force. By working closely with piano tuners and several composers through a number of workshops, I have sought to overcome seemingly practical obstacles in order to commission successful works for the microtonal piano. The works are written either for solo piano or for my ensemble, Ensemble Temporum. The project depends upon all the composers involved, as the new sounds or extended modes of playing are integrated into the works I have commissioned from them. But as the performer who is in dialogue with the venues/festivals, doing the de-tuning, and performing the works, with all their different aesthetic approaches, I also have a significant say regarding their viability.
Here I present my preliminary overview of different ways of applying microtonality to the piano. (Electronics obviously offer many microtonal possibilities, but in this project I focus exclusively on acoustic sounds.) I hope they may interest composers and performers working with multiphonics, as many of the other possible microtonal sounds, or combinations of them, may be experienced as somewhat compatible in timbre:Footnote 1
Unison string courseFootnote 2 scordatura
Tuning unison strings (whether the string course is a trichord, dichord or monochord) to another unison pitch which is not their original one, such as lowering all the C4 strings to quarter-low C4.
Non-unison string course scordatura
Tuning at least one of the strings within a dichord or trichord course to a pitch different from the others. Not only are the pitches changed, but the timbre changes too. By pressing only one key, one can create beat notes, micro-clusters or even small chords. If one applies similar non-unison string course scordatura to other keys as well, it is as if a ‘second instrument’ emerges within the piano.
Piano harmonics
Many of the nodes on the strings produce microtonal harmonics. Among the lower partials, the 7th, 11th and 13th partials are the ones deviating the most from the 12-TET.
Piano multiphonics
Multiphonics on the piano are in most cases clearly microtonal sounds, because they combine middle/high range harmonics that, in the context of a weak fundamental, sound out of tune with one another. In addition to this they may deviate even more from harmonic tuning, due to the stiffness in the piano.
Prepared piano
This category is of course related to harmonics/multiphonics, since a preparation will touch certain nodes, but there is a great variety in timbre depending on the material, size and placement of the object. If one wishes to produce a number of different percussive sounds, but still let the pianist sit at the keyboard, it is recommended to prepare the piano. I will not go into details about the prepared piano here, but there is a chapter on this topic in Alan Shockley's book, The Contemporary Piano.Footnote 3
Use of the una corda pedal
When depressed, the una corda pedal makes the hammers hit one string fewer within every string course than when it is released. This gives the possibility of changing timbre both suddenly and – due to slight inaccuracies in most instruments – also quite gradually. This works effectively when, for example, the left-out string is tuned to a slightly different pitch than the other string(s) in the same course, or vice versa. If the instrument is not in good shape, however, one will often hear some resonance, though very soft, from the left-out string when the una corda pedal is depressed. The dynamics also naturally decrease slightly when using the una corda pedal.
Glissandi along strings
Bending pitches by, for example, moving a coin along a string or a string course works best on steel strings near the agraffes.Footnote 4 It is also possible to make larger glissandi, and George Crumb, in for instance his Vox Balaenae, suggests a chisel sliding along a string course to even make melodies. For piano safety reasons, the edge of the chisel should be slightly dulled; a suitable object made of brass, which is softer than steel, would be even better. Guitar slides (made from glass or brass) may also be used. With a glass tumbler a double glissando is clearly heard, as pitches from the string on either side of the glass are generated. In Juhani Vesikkala's thesis on multiphonics, he mentions a work by Santiago Diez-FischerFootnote 5 where moving plastic boxes with thin edges creates an effect reminding of a very harsh version of the seagull-glissando of the string instruments. Especially on the copper-wound strings, something softer than steel is highly recommended. A short, cylindrical piece of hardwood works for bending, and one can raise the pitch more than a whole tone, by rolling it onto the string(s) with a decent amount of pressure.
Glissandi by tuning while performing
Tuning intervals smaller than a quartertone is fine, at least if the tempo is quite flexible. With slightly larger intervals, and if one has to tune many times during the piece, the tuning glissando soon turns into a radical mode of playing that should be avoided on the most expensive instruments, as it may later cause destabilization of the tuning. Tuning a string back to its original pitch is generally safer than the other way around.
Playing on loose strings
This mode of playing is also recommended only for use on cheaper instruments. Depending on how loose the strings are, it is possible to make several degrees within a pitch-noise continuum; but note that the loose strings sound much softer.
All the above-mentioned modes of playing can be performed by pressing a corresponding piano key. However, scraping the string, plucking it with a nail, plectrum or similar, can in most cases be applied too, without losing the microtonal aspect. The following sounds are not initiated with a piano hammer by pressing a key:
Superball mallet
A superball can be dragged on almost any piano surface, whether on the inside or the outside, some resulting in moaning-like bending tones, others having a higher noise content. Dragging a superball along the string(s) creates glissandi with unstable pitches. With the sustain pedal depressed it works very effectively, though it is always very hard to sound specific pitches. The range changes with the size of the superball (and the surface), but also the speed and amount of pressure effects the sound. The superball friction itself creates the sound, so pressing a corresponding key is not necessary, unless one is looking for a quite different sound.
Short stringsFootnote 6
These are the areas of the strings between agraffes (or similar) and tuning pins. The pitches of the short strings have a narrow range, but every single string is slightly different. If one happens to be looking for micro-intervallic random pitches, this area may be of interest.
Piano resonance
Singing, or playing with another instrument, a rather loud microtonal pitch into the piano, with the sustain pedal depressed, will often result in a microtonal piano resonance.
Electronics obviously offer many microtonal possibilities, but in this project I focus exclusively on acoustic sounds.
Multiphonics
The Finnish composer and pianist Juhani Vesikkala has written an extensive thesis on piano multiphonics. Multiphonics is one of several modes of playing that most often results in microtonality. There are, however, several ways in which multiphonics can be modified when used in combination with some of the other microtonal modes of playing listed above:
Unison string course scordatura
This results in new sets of harmonics and therefore also transposes the multiphonics. Such a de-tuning is necessary if one wishes to use multiphonics with fundamentals not belonging to the 12-TET. In Audio Example 1Footnote 7 the G1 strings are lowered to quarter-low G1: first, I play a multiphonic with the fundamental G1, then the same multiphonic with the quarter-low G1.
Use of the una corda pedal (preferably on dichord strings) in combination with double multiphonics
Two different multiphonic nodal points are touched on neighbouring strings belonging to the same string course, while playing on one key. Depress/release/depress of the una corda pedal makes a sudden or gradual change back and forth from a single to a double multiphonic when pressing the same key. In Audio Example 2 I alternate between the B@1 and C2 keys (dichord string courses) with one hand while the other hand touches the same multiphonic nodal point (on one string) in each string course. In order to get parallel double multiphonics in this example, the remaining multiphonic (on the remaining string) in each string course is prepared with an eraser with a metal clip attached to the top of it. This metal clip is used simply to give the eraser some more weight, in order to get rid of some of the multiphonic's fundamental. The depress/release/depress of the una corda pedal is added while playing (see Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1: The piano strings, with the una corda pedal depressed, and the preparations (seen from the side)
Figure 2: The piano strings, with the una corda pedal depressed, and the preparations (seen from above)
Use of the una corda pedal in combination with non-unison string course scordatura
The same multiphonic nodal points are touched on neighbouring strings belonging to the same string course, while playing on one key. In Audio Example 3 the depressing, releasing and depressing of the una corda pedal, when the una corda string is tuned a quartertone lower than the other string(s) of its string course, makes a gradual change back and forth from a ‘clean’ to a ‘dirty’ unison when repeatedly pressing the same B@1 key.
‘Fake multiphonics’
These are produced by simultaneously touching several harmonic nodes (up to 3 nodes is already very demanding) in order to construct a specific chord with/without the help of unison or non-unison string course scordatura, while pressing several keys. The pitches making up the chord will be more dynamically balanced but will therefore not resemble a typical multiphonic. This may, for instance, be used to vary a prominent multiphonic in a piece/section. In Audio Example 4 a ‘fake multiphonic’ is created from pitches in common with a certain (prepared) multiphonic. One hears the alternation between the two sounds. In this example, the multiphonic is performed on the B@1 key and the harmonics are the 10th partials of C2 and E2.
Use of the una corda pedal in combination with preparation of selected sting(s) in a string course
A multiphonic nodal point is touched on 1–2 strings belonging to the same string course, while the remaining string(s) are prepared with a material that results in a different sound. Another option is that both the two different sounds could be a preparation (of two different materials) touching the nodes of two different multiphonics, or even the same multiphonic. If one of the preparations causes the string to stop vibrating, a more noisy sound is heard. In Audio Example 5 the una corda pedal is depressed, released and depressed when the string(s) which is not the una corda string is damped/muffled. A multiphonic nodal point is touched on the left-out string, making a gradual change back and forth from a noise sound to a noisy multiphonic when repeatedly pressing the same key (B1).
Glissandi along strings
If a multiphonic node is prepared so that it speaks properly, pressing the corresponding key while adding a good deal of pressure to an object sliding along its string/string course near the agraffes makes it possible for the multiphonic to bend. However, the change in pitch will be less than a quartertone. The lower partials make a tiny glissando, and the higher might jump to a neighbouring partial. Harmonics with low numbers can be bent more than the multiphonics, since the area of feasibility for these nodes is effectively wider. It is possible to bend the fundamental of a multiphonic more than a quartertone, but the prepared node will soon result in totally different multiphonics or harmonics, as the sounding string length is shortened, and the preparation has not moved. The sounding result may be interesting too: a bending of the fundamental is heard while several very different multiphonics (and harmonics) sound successively.
In order to make the same multiphonic bend more than a quartertone, one would need to move the preparation or a finger very precisely in the same direction, proportionally, as the sliding fundamental object. With one hand already on the keyboard, this would require an assistant (see below). As a sliding tool, the end of a piano tuner lever works quite well on the copper-winding as it is round and has no sharp edges. It is made of steel, however, so a short, cylindrical piece of hard wood would be a good alternative. The tip of a drum stick can also make good glissandi on dichord string courses. In Audio Example 6, a preparation on a node on a dichord string course allows its multiphonic to ring as much as possible (again, eraser with metal clip). The edge of a cylindrical piece of hard wood is slid back and forth near the agraffes. I play this carefully bending multiphonic, and then an example where an egg-shaped piece of hard wood is rolled much further along the strings, with the same multiphonic preparation in place, and while repeatedly pressing the same key (B@1) (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Showing both the pitch-bending object and the preparation)
Use of an assistant
There are several works for the piano where the inside-playing is so demanding that an assistant is required. With one or more assistants to press multiphonic nodes, prepare the instrument and move around preparations during performance, the pianist can play passages that would otherwise be completely impossible.
Instrument safety
Certain guidelines should be followed when de-tuning the piano. Do not raise the standard pitch of a string by more than a quartertone. It is possible to lower a string pitch by more than a quartertone but, as a general rule, small intervals are safer than large ones. It is advisable to have a practice instrument available that is not the very finest of grand pianos. When performing on a high-quality instrument, it is advisable to not de-tune it for longer than necessary and to re-tune soon after the concert is over. This will keep the instrument in a stable condition. If there are very radical microtonal modes of playing in use – for example, if strings are de-tuned by large intervals or one has to play on unusually loose strings, or even make glissandi while performing – a cheaper instrument should be used. In addition, the unwritten rules for playing inside the instrument should be observed: avoid using the hands on the strings more than necessary; always depress the sustain pedal when preparing the piano; and do not use metal harder than the strings (e.g. avoid steel on the copper-wound strings). Last but not least, clean up when finished: if markings were made inside the instrument, remove them when done.
Link to Audio Examples
