I'm a pacifist at heart, so writing about war without wimping out is a difficult proposition. So I've dashed off a composition I'm happy with which hopefully which is sounding like a casualty of war. Not decided on the specific theme yet, but I think this will be necessary to help the lyricist. I've written it on a piano, a knackered piano, and am hoping to record it as such. Much as it's tempting to use a virtual instrument again there's something about a REAL shonky upright piano which I love. Perhaps it would be to cliched to link this to the scene from The Pianist where Adrien Brody sits in that chateau plinking away but there you go.I've attached a photo of my knackered piano for inspiration. What you can't SEE in the photo is the noise the pedals make when I use them. If anyone has any tips for recordging knackered pianos, please leave them as comments against this post. Tally ho!
I think the only way to deal with a knackered piano is to make it more knackered...maybe something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYsx5Di3bso
ReplyDeleteThat looks and sounds beautiful. I'd like to do that, if only to confuse the crap out of the piano tuner the next time I get him round. "It just sounds really clanky, can you do anything about that?"
ReplyDeleteMaybe behind the lower front panel where the pedals join etc can be muffled with blankets?
ReplyDeleteFailing that there is also an old upright at my parent's house I am sure you could use. It's also shonky but not as clanky probably.
Crikey. I didn't even know that openable front flap existed. That's given me plenty to be going along with, thank you. Thanks also for the offer of a local parental upright. My folks are also upright citizens.
ReplyDeleteWell I ripped the panel off, fiddled around, recorded some real piano, then A + B'd it with the virtual. Bye bye real piano. Now thinking about using more guitars and taking the piano out (though not altogether). Also, as with other bloggers on this subject, difficult to jump into this theme flippantly.
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