Prepared piano

A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects (called preparations) on or between the strings.

Technique

Although theoretically any object could be used to prepare a piano, in practical application preparation objects are usually expected to have certain characteristics:

Additionally, most preparations will change the timbre of the string in such a way that the original pitch of the string will no longer be perceptible, though there are occasional exceptions to this.

Historical precedents

Delage

In his Ragamalika (1912–22), based on the classical music of India, French composer Maurice Delage (1879–1961) calls for a piece of cardboard to be placed under the B-flat in the second line of the bass clef to dampen the sound, imitating the sound of an Indian drum.