Extended piano techniques refer to non-traditional methods developed since the twentieth century in the United States that go beyond the piano's traditional playing.
Below is a catalog of some of the most significant extended piano techniques in piano literature.
Each technique is accompanied by a video demonstrating how a performer uses the technique and the resulting sound.
The pianist plays all the notes in between simultaneously. Depending on the range of the clusters, it could be performed either by palm, fist, elbow, forearm, or reasonable parts of the body or substitute with playing by other materials on the keys.
Pending the range of the tone clusters, it could be performed with one hand or both hands.
The composer should indicate the range for the tone cluster, and whether the pianist should perform on:
White keys only
Black keys only
Both white and black keys
Henry Cowell, in his composition The Tides of Manaunaun requested the tone clusters performed with the forearm could be combined with fingers of the same arm to emphasize the top notes of the clusters.
Cowell also indicated the tone clusters could be performed by rolling the forearm from low to high register to create a glissando effect.
The pianist stands in front of the keys and plays the given notes while pressing various locations of the strings, indicated by the composer.
The sound produced will be various overtones from the strings, depending on the location where the fingers press on. The composer will have to calculate, measure, and experiment in order to indicate precisely where the performer should press the string to produce the ideal tone.
The pianist extends one of their arms and places it above the edge of the strings of the targeted register.
This technique created a darker and less sustained tone from the piano which cut off the upper overtones from the strings by damping the edge of the string but without affecting the original pitches.
The pianist first depresses the selected keys without sounding. This will release the selected dampers without the hammer hitting the strings. The associated strings are free to vibrate like a harp.
The pianist will then sweep the strings inside the piano, either from low to higher, or vice versa, to create to harp piano effect.
The pianist could use finger flesh or substitute with fingernails, guitar picks, and other materials to create different sonorities. The harder the material is chosen, the harsher the sound is produced.
Note that the sound produced with this technique will be softer than a regular piano tone.
Do not apply the pedal for this technique.
The pianist stands standing at the crook, while another person sits on the bench and holds the damper pedal down.
The pianist sweeps the strings in various ways to produce different sounds, including
Sweeping the strings from low to high on the notes given with the flesh of the finger
Sweeping lengthwise along the string on the note(s) given
Sweeping up and back within a range given
Plucking string(s)
All the sweeps by the flesh of the finger could be replaced by fingernails or guitar picks, mallets, or other materials.
The pianist inserts various objects between or onto the strings in a specific place to alter the tone. The outcome depends on the objects chosen that change the vibration and the resonance from the instruments, resulting in more percussive sounds.
Materials including but not limited to:
screws
bolts
paper
rubber bands
The video on the left is a tutorial about "How to Prepare a Piano" by Stephen Drury.
The pianist drops balls (or other objects) on the strings inside the piano to cause the strings to vibrate and create a different sound. Different sounds could be created based on the elements below:
The material of the object
The size of the object
The number of the object(s)
The speed applied by the performer
The force applied by the performer
The direction of the balls rolling - if the ball rolls from the left to the right inside the piano, the sound created will go higher in pitch, and vice versa.
It is recommended the damper pedal be down at all times to allow the strings to vibrate while applying this technique
The pianist uses wrapped mallets and hits the strings and interior of the piano to create a percussive sound. Different locations of the piano interior create different sounds. It is recommended to use a soft wrapper mallet to prevent damaging the instrument.
Using a soft mallet to hit the strings creates a muffled sound and vice versa.