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#1130157 - 01/08/05 09:50 AM George Winston muting question
PianoBeast10489 500 Post Club Member Registered: 11/17/04 Posts: 830 Loc: Virginia Beach,VA	When George Winston plays piano, he sometimes puts his hand in and touches the strings w/ his palm. He did this on opra a long time ago, and he said it was called muting. I study classical piano mostly, but i also play a little non-classical, and i have never heard of this in either! If anyone knows what "muting" does, how you do it, and what peice you have seen it in, i would be very appreciative.
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#1130158 - 01/08/05 10:19 AM Re: George Winston muting question
Kreisler Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member Registered: 11/27/02 Posts: 12167 Loc: Iowa City, IA	It's a harmonic actually. You press down on a string at a certain point with your finger and you'll get one of the overtones. George Crumb has used it quite a bit in his music, and it's most commonly found in avant-garde 20th century music. _________________________ "If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more timid, and will use his brains and energy, not to explore the unknown, but to find ways to avoid the pressures we put on him." (John Holt) www.pianoped.com www.youtube.com/user/UIPianoPed
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#1130159 - 01/08/05 10:33 AM Re: George Winston muting question
Nina 6000 Post Club Member Registered: 08/13/01 Posts: 6467 Loc: Phoenix, AZ	Aren't there composers now who create works that require a pianist (at the keyboard) and other performers around the piano itself who then do things to the piano? Like pluck strings, mute strings, or other things the composer dreams up? I've never seen or heard anything like this; the closest I've come are performances on "prepared" pianos, where they do things to the piano before it's played in a traditional way. I'd love to see/hear some of these multi-performer works. Anyone have any recommendations? Sounds really interesting.
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#1130160 - 01/08/05 10:37 AM Re: George Winston muting question
Entheo 500 Post Club Member Registered: 01/12/04 Posts: 701 Loc: chicago, il	winston does this on his 'plains' album, for example -- it's similar to a guitarist using the heel of the picking hand to partially mute the strings. where the hand is placed (in relation to the bridge, for example) determines whether or not the harmonics sound or not. _________________________ Diary of an Amateur Pianist
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#1130161 - 01/08/05 01:44 PM Re: George Winston muting question
Jeanne W 1000 Post Club Member Registered: 01/28/04 Posts: 1237 Loc: New England	If you attend a Jamie Cullum concert - you'll see quite a few "unconventional" things being done on a piano, including it being played like a bongo drum. I think I have a piece on a CD where piano strings are being plucked. Needless to say, this is a simple tune since one can only go so far with this. Although, if you think about it, I suppose someone could take this much farther - even though this is not the way a piano is meant to be played!!! I thought I heard it's best not to touch piano strings with your hands - the oils transfer to the strings and eventually they corrode them. ?? Jeanne W _________________________ Music is about the heart and so should a piano be about the heart. - Pique 1920 Steinway A3 My Piano Delivery Thread: http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/1/8776.html#000000
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#1130162 - 01/08/05 08:31 PM Re: George Winston muting question
pumpkin_waltz Full Member Registered: 11/07/04 Posts: 24 Loc: Singapore...for the moment	Quote: Originally posted by PianoBeast10489: When George Winston plays piano, he sometimes puts his hand in and touches the strings w/ his palm......If anyone knows what "muting" does, how you do it, and what peice you have seen it in, i would be very appreciative. [/b] George Winston, my favorite :3hearts: I love it when he does this "muting" on "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and "Hummingbird". He talked a bit about this technique in his website: http://www.georgewinston.com. Check out the FAQ page (In case you haven't). _________________________ "You should go through life knowing 'I'm somebody'"-Harry Belafonte
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#1130163 - 01/09/05 02:36 AM Re: George Winston muting question
ShiroKuro 2000 Post Club Member Registered: 12/26/04 Posts: 2951 Loc: not in Japan anymore	pumpkin-waltz, thanks for that link! I'm a big fan of George Winston too. Does he sometimes use a synth or something other than a regular, acoustic piano? On the December album, one of his compositions, is it called Snow? (that CD is in my car and it's too cold to go out and get it. forgive me!!!) That does not sound like a piano to me. Has anyone else noticed that or is it just my imagination? _________________________ Started piano June 1999. My recordings at Box.Net: http://www.box.net/shared/bnvoo05bl4
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#1130164 - 01/09/05 04:05 AM Re: George Winston muting question
pumpkin_waltz Full Member Registered: 11/07/04 Posts: 24 Loc: Singapore...for the moment	I think you're probably talking about part 2? I don't think GW use any synth, he does play other instruments (guitar and harmonica). He's really great with what he does with acoustic piano, and it's probably one of his techniques to produce such sound we heard in the music "Snow". _________________________ "You should go through life knowing 'I'm somebody'"-Harry Belafonte
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#1130165 - 01/09/05 08:32 PM Re: George Winston muting question
ShiroKuro 2000 Post Club Member Registered: 12/26/04 Posts: 2951 Loc: not in Japan anymore	Yes, pumpkin-waltz, that's the one, part 2. Maybe he's plucking? It sounds so eery, and the way it echos or reverberates.. well, it just can't be an acoustic piano played the way I play it! $\:\($ _________________________ Started piano June 1999. My recordings at Box.Net: http://www.box.net/shared/bnvoo05bl4
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#1130166 - 01/09/05 08:54 PM Re: George Winston muting question
JohnC 1000 Post Club Member Registered: 03/10/02 Posts: 1672 Loc: Lower Left Coast	I saw George perform a few years ago. I saw him reach into the piano and mute the strings. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how that sound was coming from the piano. It was quite interesting to see/hear. Of course it would have been even more interesting to see a camera view of where and how he places his hand on the strings. _________________________ There are few joys in life greater than the absence of pain.
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#1130167 - 01/10/05 02:05 PM Re: George Winston muting question
PianoBeast10489 500 Post Club Member Registered: 11/17/04 Posts: 830 Loc: Virginia Beach,VA	Quote: Originally posted by Jeanne W: If you attend a Jamie Cullum concert - you'll see quite a few "unconventional" things being done on a piano, including it being played like a bongo drum. I think I have a piece on a CD where piano strings are being plucked. Needless to say, this is a simple tune since one can only go so far with this. Although, if you think about it, I suppose someone could take this much farther - even though this is not the way a piano is meant to be played!!! I thought I heard it's best not to touch piano strings with your hands - the oils transfer to the strings and eventually they corrode them. ?? Jeanne W [/b] Thats what they told me when i bought mine. I guess when your George Winston and you can afford to go out and buy another Steinway it doesnt really matter.
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#1130168 - 01/10/05 09:59 PM Re: George Winston muting question
Rob Mullins Full Member Registered: 02/10/04 Posts: 297 Loc: LA CA	Someone has found a way to mute George Winston? Thank you God. _________________________ Rob Mullins www.planetmullins.com New album "The Edge Of Dreams" out now.
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#1130169 - 01/11/05 07:47 AM Re: George Winston muting question
gryphon Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member Registered: 08/09/01 Posts: 11675 Loc: Okemos, MI	$\:D$ _________________________ "If we lose freedom here, there's no place to escape to." MSU - the university of Michigan! Wheels
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