Often in these stories, what seems a safe, comfortable environment turns suddenly threatening. The piano tuner is a book that is rich in details about burma, piano tuning, and british colonialism, as well as other devices to entice a reader. Michiko kakutani, the new york times in 1886 a shy, middleaged piano tuner named edgar drake receives an. Back in mae lwin, edgar sleeps in, and then goes to the river at night. Daniel masons debut novel, the piano tuner, is the. As we say in our introduction, its hard to find good explanations for the beginner. The book has a setting of the year eighteen hundred, when colonialism was still widespread, and all powerful countries were struggling to expand their colonial territories everywhere in the world, and especially in the african countries. The piano tuner is a classic novel, professionally written by daniel mason, when he was still a student at harvard university. He, braam cronje, was kind enough to allow me to film this old fashioned arttrade. In 1886 a shy, middleaged piano tuner named edgar drake receive.
Drake falls in love with a burmese woman and her country, but as the officer wins over locals through music and medicine, things grow treacherous when his troops begin to suspect him of treason. This kept me my attention while the credits rolled. The meaning of the term in tune, in the context of piano tuning, is not simply a particular fixed set of pitches. It was the second featurelength film by the brothers quay and their first film in over ten years. The korg ot120 is a very competent and functional tuner at a reasonable price. In love is blind, a scottish piano tuner falls in love with a russian opera singer. Everything you need to know about the piano tuner movie.
Our tuning tutorial presents an effective but very simplified approach to piano tuning. Edgar drake, a piano tuner living in victorian london, is commissioned by the army to travel to burma to fix the piano of surgeonmajor carroll. Piano tuning is the act of adjusting the tension of the strings of an acoustic piano so that the musical intervals between strings are in tune. The piano tuner is a novel of journeys and the shifting grounds of perception, but at heart it is a story of the human urge to be absorbed fully into life, to cease to be a bystander, to be thrust into the essential dreamscape of human strivings. Keys to the heart william boyds new novel is a moreish romp. To ask other readers questions about the piano tuner, please sign up. The piano tuner exhibits strong and consistent writing throughout. Sep 22, 2014 pierre and i inherited a piano from our dear departed steve, and the piano tuner came today. Living alone, but being spoken highly of tune talent. This study guide consists of approximately 73 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the piano tuner. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the piano tuner near you. In the world of piano tuning, this current topic has been around for quite a while. What mistakes should you avoid when purchasing a piano. As with the best history books, the transitions creep up on you.
It is a relatively short story that showcases trevors ability to layer time. The piano tuner of earthquakes is a 2005 film by the brothers quay, featuring amira casar, gottfried john and assumpta serna. Daniel masons debut novel, the piano tuner, is the mesmerizing story of edgar. The piano tuner by peter meinke a short story from the atlantic monthly, february 1984 in this penetrating short story, a man invites a piano tuner into his house, then offers him some hospitable booze and cigarettes as he works. When it begins, well, lets let trevors beginning show how it begins. Ive had the pleasure of meeting a lot of nice people, and had more than a few adventures along the way. A novel and millions of other books are available for instant access. The piano tuner is the the story of edgar drake, a london piano i have read it at least 3 times, and each time i am completely drawn in to the world of edgar drake, and 19th century colonial burma. Collectors from far and wide turned up at his doorstep with repair requests. The 5 best piano tuners in federal way, wa with free estimates. Piano tuner definition of piano tuner by the free dictionary. When the piano tuner goes to meet the surgeonmajor against the wishes of the military staff, he finds himself suddenly surrounded. So the high tech end is progressing much faster than the very basic tried and true. The story of the piano tuner is sensitive and moving but i havent finished it yet so i cant comment on the ending.
Find the frequency of a sound wave moving through iron at. The piano tuner is a historical novel by daniel mason, set in british india and burma. In outline, the story of edgar drake, a london piano tuner who is. This years winner of the flannery oconnor award for short fiction is very consistent in the high quality of its contents. We called alan for a 2nd opinion and he said that was rubbish, we just needed to tune it gradually. A story of a piano tuner in the late 19th century who is commissioned to go to burma, inexplicably, to tune a particular grand piano that happens to be his speciality. Edgar drake, a fortyoneyearold english piano tuner, accepts a commission from the 1886 british war office to tune an erard grand piano located in a colonial military outpost in mae lwin commanded by surgeonmajor anthony carroll. Forsters a passage to india, joseph conrads heart of darkness, or george orwells shooting an elephant. The first half of the book details his trip, and while. Only in an inner pant, piano tuner was playing piano in front of an old lady while an old silent man sitting in a sofa.
Recommended books on piano tuning piano tuning tune a. Violet married the piano tuner when he was a young man. Successful short films the piano tuner short of stories. Find out here with our guide to the best pianos both acoustic and digital. The journey to burma takes an awfully long time and is peopled with highly unlikely characters including several decidedly eccentric british army officers. Why learning how to tune a piano aurally when you can use an electronic piano tuner device or a piano tuning software. Jan 02, 2004 although the book is set during the british raj in the late 1880s, much of the area and the people have hardly changed at all over the years. A few strongly coloured, curious images hang in the mind from this intriguing and alluring first novel. Less than 15 minutes after first opening the package i had tuned one rank of my 61 note harpsichord to werckmeister iii at baroque pitch, and i was immediately pleased with the results. And ends up in a quasi opioid derived hallucination towards the end, with loss. Letters, military documents, official reports, stories told on a ship or a train or the back of a horse or in a bamboo. The piano tuner participates in a tradition of literary works that try to fathom colonized cultures vastly different from the authors own.
But masons hero is a piano tuner, not an empire builder, and his. Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at. Ingo hoffman is now around seventy years old, and in his field he is the best. Sep 18, 2016 my name is frank baxter, i own piano world, and ive been tuning pianos since 1975. Filmed and edited by spencer weaver featuring kevin knopp. I tune my guitar almost every time i pick it up to play, whereas a good piano tuning should last for at least a year. It was first published in 2002 when mason was 26 and was his first novel. At the end, i was not sure what was real and what wasnt. He has also written his first novel, the piano tuner. The piano tuner by peter meinke goodreads share book. Here is the definitive list of federal ways piano tuners as rated by the federal way, wa community. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on the piano tuner by daniel mason.
What remains mysterious after the book is finished. He provides insight at arms length, asking not necessarily that the reader care about the characters yet almost forcing him to understand them. Surgeonmajor anthony carroll has established an important foothold in mae lwin, employing unconventional methodsreciting poetry and playing musicto negotiate treaties with burmese opponents of british rule. Whether the book is the piano tuner, the pianist, the piano lesson, the pianoplayers, any one of three recent novels called the piano teacher or even just the. The piano tuner was the basis for a 2004 opera of the same name composed by nigel osborne to a libretto by amanda holden and is also due to be released as a film in 2018, directed by charlie stratton. It immerses the reader in a distant world with startling immediacy and ardor.
The legendary humoristcumpianist victor borge used to insist that ingo tune his piano during the intermissions of his performances. Jun 07, 2014 kevin knopp shares his passion for tuning pianos and tells his story of how he became a 2nd generation piano tuner. The book has been thematically compared with conrads heart of darkness. Jan 18, 2003 the piano tuner by daniel mason 368pp, picador. The piano tuner by daniel mason books the guardian. Buy the piano tuner book online at low prices in india the piano. Meinkes poetic skill is evident in his ability to jar a reader with a single line.
Hermione lee hears echoes of the greats in daniel masons colonialera burmese adventure, the piano tuner hermione lee sat 18 jan 2003 18. Youtube, going to teach themselves via a book or have a friend teach them. How does masons prose style contribute to the sense of ambiguity that pervades the novel. But what had become of the tuners and restorers, the dealers and. Although the book is set during the british raj in the late 1880s, much of the area and the people have hardly changed at all over the years. Tuning a piano is like tuning your guitar, the difference being that on a guitar youve got six strings to perfect whereas an average piano has about 230 strings and each string must be as perfect as possible. It was a pleasure using thumbtack to find a piano tuner and. If the piano has tuning stability issues, the player will develop a bad ear. Digital pianos dont require tuning, are much lighter and usually more.
A novel by daniel mason when edgar drake is summoned to the british war office and asked to tune an eccentric majors 1840 erard grand piano in the jungles of burma, he is both confused and intrigued. Whats the story edgar drake is sent to wartorn burma in the 1800s to repair an eccentric military mans piano. Over time the book evolved from a short treatise to an extended set of topics that. What features does daniel masons novel share with such predecessors as e. If i were forced to choose a favorite book, this would be one of the contenders. He has demanded that a grand piano be hauled through the jungle and now requires a tuner to be sent to him as well. In the piano tuner, peter meinke writes of the foreignness that awaits us when we go abroad and when we answer our own front door to admit a stranger, that confronts us in unfamiliar cities and villages and in the equally disquieting surroundings of our memories and regrets. Aural piano tuner versus electronic piano tuner, what is best. The piano tuners wives was one of my early entrance points. The top 10 mistakes people make when buying a piano alamo. Nov 21, 2012 how you twist your ending to lead into a very specific idea you want to transmit when the credits start rolling is crucial for a successful short film.
Keys to the heart william boyds new novel is a moreish. There were the pianos in the stations kings cross, tottenham. In a series of subplots and intrigue the surgeonmajor is charged with treason. In 1886 a shy piano tuner is commissioned by the british war office to travel to the jungles of burma to deliver a rare piano to an eccentric army surgeon who has arranged peace with local warlords through music and medicine.
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