Tuesday's Trivia.

“They afterwards took me to a dancing saloon where I saw the only rational method of art criticism I have ever come across. Over the piano was printed a notice- 'Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best.'” Oscar Wilde

I knew that independent studies show that children who learn the piano do better in school, have better hand/eye co~ordination, better social skills & better self~discipline. To say nothing of improved math skills. So I organised piano lessons for Ditz & we all know how that turned out!

I don't even like the piano! I was delighted when she took up the violin & then the flute but Ditz likes piano. More particularly Ditz likes grand pianos. I thought it was an odd preference. A piano is a piano is a piano & they all sound equally dreadful but all is now explained. You can play a grand piano faster than an upright! True. Something about the hammers returning to their position faster on a grand & Ditz dearly loves fast.

Now a grand piano has an overall total string tension of close to 30 tons ~ which is simply phenomenal but keep the thing tuned! A 1/2 step drop in pitch can equal a change of 3 000 to 5 000 pounds in tension. Tuning can cause some instability ~which is just terrific given the size of the thing to start with.

And things just get worse because early music was written with gut strings in mind. Never say music isn't a very practical scientific study because gut strings meant an orchestra's pitch was set lower than it is today ... which means if you want an authentic performance today the piano requires retuning to a slightly lower pitch, which requires hours & hours to do, which leaves the piano slightly unstable as previously mentioned.

Just to make things even more awkward pianos are tuned differently in different countries. Many countries tune to a higher pitch than the A=440cps used in Australia. I guess an A is not always an A ~ or is it?

OK, I mightn't like the instrument but there is no denying the piano's versatility. Its tonal range extends from below the lowest note the double bassoon can reach to above the top note of the piccolo.

However Satie, whose work I usually quite like, lost the piano plot just a tad. He is responsible for the longest piano piece ever, a choice composition titled Vexations, a 180 note composition repeated 840 times & requiring 18 hours & 40 minutes to perform & a relay team of 10 pianists!!! I wonder if anyone has actually sat through an entire performance?