John Cage’s prepared piano realizes a coupled-string network instrument

Evidence

It is not clear whether useful or pleasing sounds might be controllably produced. The prepared piano popularized and extended by the composer John Cage (1912–1992) comes as close as any extant example. The piano used is a stock grand with various modifications placed between and around the strings, coupling them together in something of the manner we have been discussing. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1353

Categorization

• XREF: Ties string-network theory to actual avant-garde music practice, useful for the why-we-hear question as a concrete case.
• SEED: Angle: prepared piano as the physical realization of what string networks predict — a bridge between physics theory and compositional practice.