A piano whose sound is altered by devices such as metal clips or metal bolts attched to the strings; strips of paper, rubber, felt, etc., inserted across the strings; altered tuning on the unison strings, etc.
The prepared piano/ piano préparé was introduced by Henry Cowell and popularized by his student, John Cage. The prepared options can transfigure the familiar sound of the hammer-to-the-string arrangement into very strange sonic territory that opens up in the hands of a skilled player/preparer.
The techinique was used by the following people:
Source:
Kostelanetz, Richard, "Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes", Schirmer Books, New York, 2000
Last Updated 01.26.02