Playing Piano

- 2008



Materials: player piano, miscellaneous electronics and machines, logbook, player piano roll, sound using surface resonating speakers mounted to the piano's sound board

Dimensions: variable

Software design: Wild Rhombus Software
Electronics design: Gherkin Work
Woodworking: Steven Henderson

Installation View: YYZ Artists Outlet, Toronto

Photo credit: Peter MacCallum

Playing Piano is a partially deconstructed upright player piano prepared in the spirit of John Cage. This fully mechanized 1920�s player piano is animated by a motor and pneumatics (as opposed to being played by a person). A perforated paper roll, the physical translation of the musical score, controls the mechanized elements. The preparations to Playing Piano include various machines which strum and press a pie plate against the strings, whistle using the air of the pneumatics and amplify various parts of the piano�s mechanics. An array of sensors placed on the strings in conjunction with a computer and a series of microprocessors, enables the player piano to control these preparations.

See also: Playing Piano (vinyl) (2020), YYZ Artist Outlet


Exhibition History:
2009 Robert Langen Gallery (Waterloo, Canada); 2009 Dalhousie Art Gallery (Halifax, Canada); 2008 Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa, Canada); 2008 YYZ Artist’s Outlet (Toronto, Canada)