[CAUT] 1/4 tone piano conversion

[Alan Crane]

Hi Andrew,

This has been an interesting discussion but there are a couple of 
points no one has (I think) yet addressed.

The first is that this is a "composer in residence" who is asking for 
terminal changes to be made at great expense on an instrument in 
which s/he has no vested interest, changes which will render the 
instrument (and the money spent on it) absolutely useless to anyone 
else in the universe __________ except for performance of whatever 
piece s/he is writing.
At the end of this person's tenure at LCC, the institution will be 
left with an instrument whose only value might be to sell it to the 
next institution at which this composer lands a residency and 
requests such consideration.

Another question is whether or not this composer has any expectations 
of their music being performed by anyone else ever, save in 
Partch-like retrospectives... assuming, of course, that there is 
eventually a large enough body of decent composition to warrant it.

OTOH, there is a place for research and creative output in strange 
directions, and this is certainly a musicologically legitimate area 
of endeavor.  Academic types involved in such exploration (in other 
disciplines anyway) typically write research proposals and apply for 
grant funding for such projects.  This situation seems to fall 
squarely in that category and I would recommend taking that tack with 
this composer.  If they can make a strong enough case for what they 
want to do, they ought to be able to convince funding sources to 
bankroll it.  The instrument can be one that was "done right" at the 
outset, and at a performance-worthy level, rather than just a 
retro-fitted "extra" instrument that was deemed excess in the first place.
A really nice 1/4-tone instrument might be an asset to LCC and the 
musical community at large and you might even make some cash shipping 
it around the world (with its resident tech, of course!) for 1/4-tone 
workshops, performances, etc...  (maybe...)

Don't sell this situation short by agreeing to cobble something 
together for this composer.
If they're really serious, and good at what they do, its worth going 
after the money and expertise to do this right.
If they're not ready to invest that much of themselves in this 
project, its not worth your time and certainly not worth requiring 
the school to pick up the tab for something which will fade away 
(except for the useless piano) as soon as their tenure is up.

I'll be interested to hear how this whole thing progresses.
Keep us informed!         :)

At 09:28 AM 12/3/2007, Andrew Anderson wrote:
>Caut Listmembers,
>I have a request from the composer in residence here to convert a 
>Baldwin upright school-piano (late 70s early 80s vintage) into a 
>quarter-tone piano.



Regards,

Alan B. Crane,  RPT
School of Music
Wichita State University
alan.crane at wichita.edu