Henry Cowell's The Banshee of 1925, played by sweeping and scraping the strings inside a piano while the damper pedal is held, and what it teaches those who learn music about listening to sound colour

Most piano music is played on the keys. Henry Cowell's The Banshee, written in 1925, is played almost entirely on the strings inside the instrument. The pianist stands at the side of the piano, reaches in and sweeps, scrapes and plucks the strings while the damper pedal is held down.

The result is a series of wailing, sighing and shrieking sounds, named after the banshee, a wailing spirit of Irish folklore. The piece is a vivid reminder that the piano can produce far more kinds of sound than learners usually hear.

A young composer in California

Cowell was born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California. He grew up with little formal schooling but showed an early interest in music, composing pieces as a child and experimenting with the piano.

As a teenager he began exploring unusual sounds. He pressed groups of adjacent keys with his fist or forearm, producing dense sound masses. He also began reaching inside the piano to play the strings directly.

These experiments led to a series of pieces for what he called the string piano. In The Aeolian Harp of 1923, the pianist silently presses chords on the keys while sweeping the strings by hand, so that only the selected notes ring.

The Banshee went further. Throughout the piece, the damper pedal is held down, often by an assistant, so that all the strings are free to vibrate. The performer plays inside the piano without pressing any keys.

Playing inside the piano

Cowell's score uses letters to indicate different techniques. Some instruct the player to sweep the fingertips along the length of the strings, from the low end toward the tuning pins. Others ask for the fingernail to scrape along a string, producing a harsher sound.

Some sounds sweep across many strings at once; others focus on a single string. The combination of long, sliding sounds and sudden accents creates the eerie wailing that gives the piece its name.

Because the strings are swept lengthwise rather than struck, the sounds are very different from normal piano tone. They are more like wind, voices or bowed instruments, with rich overtones and slow changes.

Cowell performed his string piano works widely in the United States and Europe in the 1920s. He also wrote a book, New Musical Resources, exploring new approaches to rhythm, harmony and sound.

Sounds from the strings

His experiments influenced later composers, including John Cage, who studied with Cowell and went on to develop the prepared piano, in which objects are placed between the strings to change their sound.

For learners, an important caution applies. Playing inside a piano can affect the strings and other parts if done carelessly. Oils from fingers can dull strings over time. Inside-the-piano techniques should only be tried with a teacher's guidance, on an instrument where it is allowed.

Yet the central lesson of The Banshee can be explored safely at the keyboard. Cowell asked listeners to notice the colour of sound itself, not only pitch and rhythm. The same attention can be applied to ordinary playing.

Sound colour, or timbre, depends on how a note is played. A key pressed slowly and gently produces a soft, round tone. A key struck quickly produces a brighter, sharper tone. The pedal adds resonance by letting other strings vibrate.

A practical exercise is to play one note five ways. Play it softly, then loudly. Play it with a slow key press, then a quick one. Play it with the damper pedal down, then up. Listen to how the sound changes.

Exploring sound colour at the keyboard

Describe each version in a word: round, bright, hollow, ringing, thin. Putting sound into words sharpens listening and helps learners remember the effects they can create.

Next, apply this attention to a short phrase. Play it once with a soft, round tone and once with a brighter, clearer tone. Notice how the character of the phrase changes with the sound colour.

Pedal exploration is another safe way to hear resonance. Hold the damper pedal down, play a single low note and listen to the other strings ringing faintly in sympathy. This is a gentle cousin of the resonance Cowell used in The Banshee.

Cowell's career shows that curiosity about sound can lead to new musical ideas. Learners who listen closely to the sounds they make often find their playing becoming more expressive and varied.

Listening practice with an online piano lessons app

TIGA ALPHA is an AI piano teaching app produced by a Thai team. A note or phrase can be recorded with different touches and pedalling, letting a learner hear the differences in sound colour while the app keeps watch on notes and timing.

With 20 years of piano teaching, Teacher Aum serves as CEO, and the app has been built as a support for teachers and traditional music schools. Measuring notes and timing is the app's task; describing and shaping sound remains the teacher's.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is Henry Cowell's The Banshee? A: The Banshee is a short piece for piano written by the American composer Henry Cowell in 1925. It is played on the strings inside the instrument rather than on the keys. The pianist sweeps, scrapes and plucks the strings while the damper pedal is held down, producing wailing, eerie sounds.

Q: Who was Henry Cowell? A: Henry Cowell was an American composer and pianist born in California in 1897 who died in 1965. He was known for experimental piano techniques, including playing directly on the strings and pressing groups of adjacent keys with the forearm or fist. He was also a teacher, writer and promoter of new music.

Q: How can an online piano teaching application support listening to sound colour? A: An online piano teaching application can record a note or phrase played with different touches and pedalling, so a learner can hear the differences in sound colour. An AI piano teaching app adds a check on notes and timing, while a teacher helps the learner describe and shape the sound.

In Pathum Thani, learners who want to learn piano online can explore sound colour with an online piano teaching application or an online piano lessons app. A piano teaching app can record different touches, an AI piano teaching app can check accuracy, an AI online piano course can include listening exercises, and piano teaching with AI can compare versions. A piano course or a piano learning course with a teacher guides tone.

Cowell's Banshee shows that piano teaching and music teaching can open the ears to sound itself. People who learn piano, learn music or play music for pleasure can explore tone colour safely at the keys, and anyone eager to play piano more expressively can begin with one note played five ways.

Cowell asked listeners to notice the colour of sound itself. Could you play one note five ways this week, changing only touch and pedal, and describe in a word how each version sounds? Start with TIGA ALPHA at https://tigaalpha.github.io/landing-en/ — Everyone gets the Premium package free for 7 days, then 799 THB/month. Prefer live lessons with Teacher Aum? See https://www.tigastudio.net/, where live teaching runs up to 30 hours per week. Read about TIGA ALPHA, the company and its technology, at https://www.tigaalpha.com