Piano burning traditions around the world. When an old piano is beyond repair with no hopes to recommission it, some say that best thing to do is to burn it. Burning an old piano has now become more of a tradition for musicians and even Air Force members.
Legend and mythology
No one is quite sure how this tradition started, and there several stories floating around.
One story says that during World War One Royal Air Force recruited several men who were a bit un-cultured and lacking in the education of a proper member of the Royal Air Force.
The top officers felt that imparting piano lessons was one of the solutions to the problem, but the new recruits hated the piano lessons.
An unfortunate incident at a squadron club house caused a huge fire; destroying the piano, as a result of which the piano lessons stopped. Soon other squadrons adopted the same solution.
Yet another legend refer to a pilot during World War Two who provided provide joy and merriment to the comrades after every battle. But when the pilot was killed in battle, the piano tunes stopped. Others in the squadron felt the most appropriate tribute to the officer was to burn his piano.
And this is how the tradition started.
Concert Pianist Sets Fire to Grand Piano for Music Video
Concert pianist Jennifer Thomas carried out the fiery stunt for her new music video, she set her grand piano on fire to promote her new song.
“I had this old antique seven-foot Behr Brothers piano that I’ve actually used for four music videos where we had to film outside. We’ve taken it out on the beach and into the forest. It’s gotten covered in sand and mud, and I really didn’t care about it. We thought it would just burn for a little bit, but it completely burned to the ground,” said Jennifer Thomas.
Composer Sets Piano on Fire for Festival
Composer and artist Annea Lockwood and Jon Vickers placed in the back of a 1916 Henderson upright piano, and lit the papers on fire. Pianist Ross Martinie Eiler played some jazz riffs as the flames swept up the lid. The piano burning was part of Wounded Galaxies festival.
Rall played the out-of-tune piano with discordant, rippling sound textures that drifted into ambiance as crackling wood sounded on the surrounding microphones. The entire keyboard and lid billowed into opaque clouds. The entire piano was consumed in flame and smoke. The main panels of the instrument fell away and exposed the skeleton of burning woodwork.
Lockwood, the artist behind “Piano Burning,” only burns pianos that are beyond repair.
Also Read: MIT Students Drop Piano From University Roof as Part of Old Tradition
Video of a pastor playing the piano in his Houston, Texas, living room, flooded with water has ‘struck a chord’, and has gone viral. As scenes of damage and destruction roll in from Texas, its the simple moments like these that sometimes come across as the most touching.
“I just wanted to make a quick video to show him that pianos works fine,” even in a flooded home, said Aric Harding who played a gentle, haunting melody on his piano for his 13-year-old son, an avid piano player. Aric returned to his flooded home to pick up supplies. Here’s the video that he shared on Instagram.
What’s amazing is that Harding manages to ooze out so much optimism despite the destruction. “I think it’s all finally sinking in a little. What we used to have going as a city is gone. I really think God is going to do something completely new here. I am excited to see the new beauty in the suffering,” says Harding.
Harding’s son was quick to point out to his dad that the piano was badly out of tune. But the good thing is that they could be getting a new one soon. “We have had a lot of piano offers,” said Harding.
The family had evacuated days earlier, when floodwaters from Harvey started to seep in through the floorboards. Harding had returned to retrieve some beloved stuffed animals for his seven children, to offer them some comfort.
Watch: Aussie/Swedish pop duo Ell & Hart found this abandoned piano in Stockholm on a rainy evening, and decided to give the instrument a final send off.
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