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Re:new piano

The prepared piano is no longer a niche technique reserved for avant-garde experimentation. Today, many contemporary pianists and composers are reimagining the instrument in innovative ways. It’s not an anymore question of just making weird contemporary pling-plong sounds, but utilize external materials to bring out something else from the pianos. With putty-kit on each string, you’ll hear more harmonics in each note. And give the notes a more dampened feel.

While Cage’s work remains foundational, the prepared piano technique has evolved significantly. Composers like Marco Stroppa and Michael Pisaro have brought the tradition into contemporary contexts, where explorations in microtonality, spectral music, and extended techniques challenge the boundaries of the instrument. Pianists like R. Andrew Lee and Philip Corner have also helped move prepared piano from its historical roots into the modern era, emphasizing the subtle interplay between sound, space, and silence.

Artists like Rie Nakajima and Lucie Vítková incorporate physical preparations and found objects in their live performances, turning the piano into a resonant body that interacts with the surrounding environment. Their work, which often blurs the line between composition and improvisation, reflects the growing interest in non-traditional sound sources and performance techniques.

Composers like Hugues Dufourt and Frédéric Blondy, both known for their work in spectral music, have also embraced the prepared piano to explore the rich harmonic possibilities that arise from physical alterations to the instrument. The Putty Grand, with its attention to harmonic detail and subtle resonances, is particularly well-suited to those working in similar experimental traditions, offering a versatile platform for extended compositions that demand intricate sound manipulation.

Scoring and Sound Design open doors to different piano experimentations.

In addition to its place in concert music and performance art, the Putty Grand is a powerful tool for composers working in film and sound design. The detailed nature of the sampled preparations provides a wide range of textures that can be used to create atmosphere and tension. Its versatility makes it a perfect fit for film scores requiring unconventional soundscapes or eerie, ambient textures.

The library has an ability to seamlessly blend the acoustic and the experimental makes it ideal for use in everything from contemporary concert music to experimental sound design for film or video games.

Expanding the Sonic Vocabulary of the Piano

It is in this tradition of continuous exploration that Putty Grand firmly situates itself. The library offers pianists and composers not just a tool to replicate familiar techniques, but a highly customizable instrument that pushes the boundaries of what a prepared piano can be. With its extensive sampling and meticulous attention to sonic detail, the Putty Grand invites new possibilities for creating complex textures and rich harmonic environments.

Pianists and composers who already explore prepared piano techniques often find that the physical limits of preparation—such as the time needed to adjust objects on the strings or the inability to switch between prepared and unprepared sounds easily—can be creatively restrictive. Wrongtools’ Putty Grand removes many of these practical limitations while preserving the spontaneity and unpredictability that make prepared piano such a compelling practice.

For experimental artists such as Andrea Neumann, whose work often involves stripping the piano down to its resonant frame and exploring its acoustic properties in unconventional ways, the Putty Grand offers an extension of these ideas in a digital space. By allowing for real-time manipulation of a wide array of prepared textures, the instrument expands what is possible for live performance, recording, and sound installation.

An Endless search for new sounds

Wrongtools’ Putty Grand is a prepared piano sample library that goes beyond the traditional boundaries of the instrument, offering a meticulously crafted, detailed experience for pianists and composers already engaged with experimental practices. Its ability to capture the rich, unpredictable nature of prepared piano makes it an invaluable tool for those looking to extend their sonic vocabulary, whether in concert music, film scoring, or sound design.

With its deep sampling process and intuitive interface, the Putty Grand offers an unparalleled piano sound, while staying true to the unpredictability and rawness of its acoustic counterpart. For those who admire the work of artists like Luc Ferrari or Tania Caroline Chen, this instrument is an invitation to new creative possibilities. It is more flexible than you’d expect.