The Bass Piano
The Bass Piano is a regular old piano that I tune down a full octave from standard A440 concert pitch. Other than the obvious lowering of pitch, the tonal quality of the instrument changes drastically with the strings having a lot less tension.
My musical exploration has always revolved around the idea of alteration. Tape manipulation, altered records, circuit bent casio keyboards and electronic music consisting of chopped up field recordings is all part of my history in experimental music. When I went back to school to study Piano Technology, it was only natural that I started experimenting with altered pianos. During the process of restringing a piano there were so many wild sounds that would come out of the instrument and I started collecting recordings of these sounds.
The Bass Piano came about when I noticed how different a string sounded if it had very little tension. I also saw so many old uprights going to the dump due to loose tuning pins so I thought I could save these instruments by bringing the pitch down therefore loosening the tension on the strings and eliminating the need for tight tuning pins. I chose to tune it down an octave so that it could still be played with other instruments.
The result was surprising and beautiful. Since then I have been exploring the bass piano as a new instrument, one that has a unique timbre and resonance and one that is totally unpredictable. I have been collaborating with other pianists performing on the Bass Piano in order to explore the sonic possibilities of the instrument.
The piano, and other keyboard instruments are some of the few instruments that are constantly locked into equal temperament tuning. Most other instruments can bend notes and tune to people around them. The Bass Piano starts to open this up, but in an uncontrolled way. The tuning is usually fairly unstable, and is shifting around slightly throughout a performance. Its almost like you are interacting with something that is alive. The even tonal quality of a piano from top to bottom is gone as well. every area on the keyboard is different, some strings buzz together, strange things happen. It is a step towards breaking the piano free from it’s constraints.
Bass Piano I
January 2013
Speculative Brutalism Salon, Berlin
Visual art by Krause and Mikloweit
Bass Piano Performances by John Kameel Farah and Andrew Wedman
Bass Piano II
December 2013
Creatures Creating Gallery, Toronto ON
Wavelength Presents:
Ryan Driver (Bass Piano), Justin Haynes (Celeste), Michael Davidson (Vibes)
Listen to the set
Marilyn Learner (Bass Piano), Nichol Rampersaud (Trumpet)
Listen to the set
Andrew Wedman (Bass Piano), Robin Buckley (Percussion)
Listen to the set
Bass Piano III
February 2015
The Transact, Toronto ON
Tania Gill, Bass Piano with John Oswald, Saxophone and Victor Bateman, Bass
Ryan Driver, Bass Piano, Analog Synth and Voice
Andrew Wedman, Bass Piano with Julia Hamilton and David French, Bass Clarinets and Rebecca Foon, Cello performing work by
John Sherlock
Live recording of Ryan Drivers set
Bass Piano IV
August 2015
Janet Cardiff, George Bures Miller opening reception, Salmon Arm BC
Andrew Wedman, solo Bass Piano performance
Bass Piano V
March 2016
Western Front Vancouver BC
Artist Residency
One week residency to prepare and repair Bass Piano V and develop material with an artist talk / performance at the end.
More info and photos here
Bass Piano VI
June 2016
The Untempered Festival of Dissonant Arts, Penticton BC
Folk guitar legend Peter Walker
Italian Free Jazz giants The Jooklo Duo: Virginia Genta and David Vanzan
Naramata’s inventor of the Bass Piano, Andrew Wedman
Single reed quester from Oliver,
Stanley Zappa
Plus local musical guests including jazz guitar wizard Tavis Weir
Bass Piano VII
October 2016, Montreal QC
Marielle Groven, bass piano | Aaron Lumley, contra bass | Andrew Wedman, bass piano | Jason Sharp, bass saxophone | Guillaume Dostaler, bass piano | Lori Freedman, contrabass clarinet
Bass Piano VIII
May 2017, Naramata BC
The eighth Bass Piano was created in my studio / shop in Naramata along side the 240 note piano (a regular piano but with bi-chords and tri-chords all tuned to different notes). The 240 note piano was also used as a “resonator” to the Bass Piano. With the sustain pedal depressed it was strapped to the back of the Bass Piano to ensure sound transfer and thus dubbed the Strap-on Piano. Bass Piano VIII was used mainly for recording with people like Stanley Zappa, Brodie West, Mat Weston, the Jukloo Duo and more.
I also recorded a solo Bass Piano album on this instrument with Paul Shrimpton as the recording engineer. This album will be released some day soonish!
Bass Piano IX
June 2017, Prince George BC
This was the first Bass Piano that I did not prepare myself. MANZAP (Stanley Zappa and myself) were invited to perform at the Casse-tete Festival in Prince George. Peter Stevenson expertly de-tuned the piano in anticipation of our arrival. It was a little thing, but held up well in the cozy theatre.
Bass Piano X
June 9, 2018, Toronto ON
Bass piano X was created for Ryan Driver to record his solo album, New Twigs. This instrument was in the piano workshop of Paul Hahn & Co. The album was recorded after hours in one evening and was captured beautifully by recording engineer Dale Morningstar. Ryan Driver performed his own tunes on Bass Piano, Realistic MG-1 synthesizer, and vocals. You can find New Twigs on Bandcamp. (Recorded and mixed by Dale Morningstar, mastered by Sandro Perri).
Bass Piano XI
June 20, 2021, Nelson BC
This Bass Piano was created for the Canadian Music Centre online concert Multilocation. I prepared this instrument in my piano workshop and performed it along with a piano tuned to A440. The Bass piano’s tuning drifted throughout the recording session so the notes would range from 6 cents to 15 cents sharp or flat from the equal temperament tuning of the A440 piano. When played together a strange microtonal effect is created. Filming, lighting and video editing by Gef Tremblay.
