BENJAMIN DEAN TAYLOR, composer
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All That Remains

Commissioned by
The Barlow Endowment


Solo Piano and Live Electroacoustics (using Pure Data)

9 minutes

Picture
Picture
This work is written for and dedicated to Keith Kirchoff.  http://www.keithkirchoff.com/

RECORDING

Program Note

Ruins fascinate me. Whether it is an abandoned factory at the edge of town, or a rusted car frame I find while hiking, my curiosity is always peaked. What was this object like during its prime? Who operated it? What was life like for them? I recently read about an increasingly common phenomena in urban areas; piano graveyards. The piano had its boom back in the early 1900's as almost all middle class american families owned a piano. All those millions of pianos are now arriving at the end of their lives because they can't stay in tune, the mechanisms are breaking, and ultimately because our society has shifted its focus from music making to music consumption.
A friend of mine recently got a new piano. He tried to sell his old one, kept dropping the price, and eventually listed it for free on craigslist. Not a single person expressed interest in it! He was fond of the old piano and hated to just dump it, so he and his wife decided they would invite me to have a recording session with it. No restrictions; I could do anything I'd ever dreamed of doing. This was my chance to prepare the piano and do extended techniques that no piano technician would ever allow! My friend and I had an incredible experience sawing the strings, ripping apart the key mechanisms, dropping dumbbells and bowling balls on the soundboard, cutting the strings, hammering on the wood, etc., and we got some incredible sounds. Yet, the experience was more than just a great recording session. I could not stop thinking about that piano and how it must have felt. Would it be grateful to give its owner and I one last hurrah before dying? What if the piano could tell me its thoughts and feelings? What would be its fondest memories? Would it have a favorite tune? Ironically, as I destroyed this old piano, I felt I was discovering the essence of the piano. There was something still there; something more than just old hammers and strings. The soul of the piano was all that remained.

Technical Requirements
​

This work uses free software called Pure Data to process the live electronics. Download and install Pd- extended by visiting puredata.info/downloads/pd-extended. Please email benjamintaylormusic@gmail.com to request the patch and all related files.
You must have the following equipment to perform this piece:
  • laptop (MAC preferred)
  • audio interface (MOTU Traveler or similar)
  • microphone (placed in middle of piano)
  • USB or midi footpedal
  • Two loudspeakers placed in stereo configuration ​
Composer's verbal Program Note
Benjamin Taylor Music ยท All That Remains (verbal program note)

PURCHASE

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The destroyed piano image is used via CC license from Kryziz Bonny (accessed on flickr.com)
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  • Home
  • Biography
  • Works
    • Orchestra >
      • Flex Works
      • Snitchin' in the Kitchen (grade 3 with audio track)
      • Electric Breakdance (string orchestra)
      • Aurum Tetra (Saxophone Quartet Concerto)
      • Aurum Tetra (string quartet concerto)
      • Worlds Without End
      • Dizzy Overture
      • Mile-High City (string orchestra)
      • Leaving White
      • Leap (chamber orchestra)
      • Drifting Indigo
    • Wind band >
      • Flex Works >
        • Electric Breakdance (grade 1) with audio track
        • Pandemic Pandemonium (grade 2)
        • Earth Resonance (grade 3 with audio track)
        • Intermountain Underground (grade 3 with audio track)
        • Snitchin' in the Kitchen (grade 3 with audio track)
        • Legos Emit Gnarly Overtones (grade 2 with audio track)
        • Techno Blade (grade 2) with audio track
      • Electric Breakdance (grade 1) with audio track
      • STACK (grade 1)
      • Legos Emit Gnarly Overtones (grade 2 with audio track)
      • Techno Blade (regular version, grade 2) with audio track
      • Pandemic Pandemonium (grade 2)
      • A Flicker in Time (grade 2.5)
      • Scooter Time (grade 2.5)
      • Party Potatoes (concerto + band, grade 3)
      • A Father's Hymn (grade 3)
      • Epic Bacon Funk (grade 3)
      • Intermountain Underground (regular version, grade 3 with audio track)
      • Into The Mist (grade 3)
      • Maze of 1000 Mirrors (March, grade 3)
      • Motorcycle Time (grade 3)
      • Our Puzzle (grade 3)
      • And May We Always Cherish (Grade 3)
      • The Hope Within (grade 3)
      • The Excitement of Fear (grade 3.5)
      • Another Day in the Park (grade 4)
      • Chinese Fire Drill (grade 4)
      • Cold Lights (band+video) (grade 4)
      • Mile a Minute (grade 4)
      • Seeds of Glass (band+video) (grade 4)
      • Shattering Infinity (grade 4)
      • Powerhouse (grade 4)
      • Trailing Clouds Of Glory (grade 4)
      • With Wings As Eagles (grade 4)
      • Leaving White (grade 5)
      • Whiz-Bang (grade 5)
      • Shattering Infinity (marching band)
    • Jazz Big Band >
      • Baby Jack's Blues
      • Can I See Your Socks
      • Chocolate Covered Cherries
      • Concerto por Trombonito
      • Garapan
      • High Road
      • No Improv Monday
      • The Greasy Toaster
      • White Cliffs of Dover (arr.)
    • Choir >
      • Little Lamb (SATB choir)
      • Eternity's Heirs
    • Saxophone(s) >
      • Sax Quartet Concerto Consortium Commission
      • Get More Epic!
      • Digital Goldfish (Sax Quartet)
      • Drum N Bari
      • The Secret Life
      • Shipbreaking
      • To Raise Up
    • Bass Clarinet >
      • Drum N Bass Clarinet
    • Bassoon >
      • Drum N Bassoon
    • Trumpet >
      • Stop.Rewind.Play. (solo + video)
      • Now You Will ... (solo)
    • Trombone(s) >
      • Funky Bone (trombone choir)
      • Beyond Coincidence (trombone choir)
      • A Call for Courage (trombone choir)
      • Can You Crack It? (solo and tape)
    • Euphonium >
      • Euph + Drum Set CONSORTIUM
      • Bitcoin's Bull Run (euph+EA)
      • FLOW (euph + EA)
      • Drum N Euph (euph + EA)
    • Tuba >
      • Tuba + Drum Set CONSORTIUM
      • Party Potatoes (concerto + band)
      • Drum N Tuba
    • Contrabass >
      • First Punch
      • FE26 (contrabass + electronics)
      • Digital Assistant
      • 7 Million Results
    • Percussion >
      • Silounds
      • Standard Literature (ensemble)
      • Unrepeatable Expression (ensemble)
      • Non-REM Sleep
    • Piano >
      • All That Remains (Piano + Electronics)
    • Chamber Works >
      • Panic Later (mixed quartet)
  • Contact
  • Dixieland Band
  • Family
  • Commissions
    • Solo + Death Metal
    • Sax Quartet Concerto Consortium Commission
    • Trumpet Consortium Commission
  • UMBS Presentation