Tack piano
Encyclopedia
In music
, the tack piano (sometimes referred to as jangle piano, junk piano or honky-tonk piano) is a permanently altered version of an ordinary piano
, in which tacks or nails are placed on the hammers of the instrument at the point where the hammers hit the strings, giving the instrument a tinny, more percussive sound. See prepared piano
.
Perhaps this preparation attempts to emulate the sound of a poorly maintained piano: as the felt hammers age and compact through use they become hard and cause the piano to yield a similar sound. A piano tuner will use a tool consisting of a number of fine pins to open and loosen the striking surface of the hammers, called voicing, a precision job calling for a good ear and lots of experience.
Another method of achieving that "percussive" sound without using real tacks is through the use of lacquered hammers in the piano, like a piano popularized by Mrs. Mills
which resides at Abbey Road Studios.
A safer alternative to real tacks is a device called a mandolin rail. It is a curtain of felt hanging between the hammers and strings. The felt is slitted on the edge, and paper fasteners or paper clips attached. The device can be purchased commercially or built by hand, and ultimately causes the piano hammers to be worn away from repeated impacts with hard metal. Mandolin rails could regularly be found in home pianos at the turn of the century, but were most popular in commercial coin-operated pianos.
experimented with a tack piano made especially for his use by Steinway
, which he called a "harpsipiano" (a portmanteau of "harpsichord
" and "piano
"). It was intended to recreate (somewhat, at least) the sound of the harpsichord, but unlike a harpsichord, whose strings are plucked instead of struck, it could be readily placed amongst an orchestra and capable of dynamic expression as on a piano. Gould used it in a 1962 television broadcast in which he played Contrapunctus IV from Bach
's Art of Fugue. One of the few occasions he conducted was while playing the harpsipiano: he directed Bach's Brandenburg concerto no.5 from the instrument and realized the continuo part of Bach's cantata
Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54, in a 1960s television recording (now to be seen in The Glenn Gould Collection).
Lou Harrison
called for a tack piano in his Symphony No. 2 (Elegaic), the octet Solstice, and the song May Rain.
drummer Shelly Manne
's Daktari
album, affiliated with the CBS television series of the same name, Mike Wofford
plays a tack piano. On the jazz combo Weather Report
's Mysterious Traveller
leaders Wayne Shorter
and Joe Zawinul
play tack pianos. On Don Ellis' Autumn, Pete Robinson plays tack piano on Scratt and Fluggs, a jazz-inflected version of Earl Scruggs' Foggy Mountain Breakdown.
had considerable success c. 1955-57 on the hit parade with his tack piano recordings, released under the name "Schräger Otto" ("Crazy Otto" or "Slanted Otto" in English). During the craze, ragtime
and blues
pianist Johnny Maddox
also recorded "The Crazy Otto Medley" with a tack piano, starting a "honky-tonk piano" fad. Both purportedly used thumbtacks in the felt hammers.
The 5th Dimension hits "Sweet Blindness" and "Wedding Bell Blues" both start with a tack piano intro.
The Zombies
use a tack piano on "Care of Cell 44", the opening track of Odessey and Oracle
.
A tack piano was used on The Beach Boys
hit "Good Vibrations
."
A tack piano was used briefly in the studio version of Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me".
The instrument is prominently featured in Biz Markie
's 1989 hit "Just a Friend".
The Fiery Furnaces
also make extensive use of the tack piano to produce a "Vaudevillian
" sound.
Patrick Warren plays the tack piano on many of the tracks of Bruce Springsteen
's Magic
album.
A honky-tonk tack piano is prominent in Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Jeremy Bender," on their Tarkus album.
Benmont Tench
of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
plays a tack piano solo on "To Find A Friend," featured on Petty's Wildflowers
album.
Elvis Costello
used a tack piano on two songs on the album Mighty Like a Rose
: "The Other Side of Summer" and "So Like Candy," which was co-written with Sir Paul McCartney
.
On his album Sleeps with Angels
, Neil Young
used a tack piano on the tracks "My Heart" and "A Dream That Can Last."
Hanne Hukkelberg
plays a tack piano in several of the tracks of her album Rykestrasse 68.
Ben Folds
first experimented with the sound in the 1999 album The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
. The piano can easily be heard on the third track "Mess". He made more extensive use of the modification in 2001's Rockin' the Suburbs
.
Elliott Smith
uses a tack piano on his album XO
, notably in the opening song "Sweet Adeline".
The credits of the Dave Matthews Band
album Crash
include bassist Stefan Lessard
on the tack piano; it is assumed to be in use for the single "Crash Into Me
"
A makeshift tack piano is used in the song "Lovers in Japan
" by Coldplay
on their 2008 album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
- with a remix on their EP Prospekt's March
.
Ray Manzarek
of The Doors
made frequent use of a tack piano in Doors studio recordings, most notably on the songs "People Are Strange
" and "L.A. Woman
".
Burt Bacharach
used a tack piano on several tracks he composed in the sixties, such as "What's New Pussycat?"
and "Odd and Ends."
has used tack pianos in many recordings, but notably in his score for 'Punch-Drunk Love
, especially the track "Punchy Tack Piano".
Nathan Johnson used tack pianos along with a number of other non-traditional or invented instruments for his score to the film Brick
.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, the tack piano (sometimes referred to as jangle piano, junk piano or honky-tonk piano) is a permanently altered version of an ordinary piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, in which tacks or nails are placed on the hammers of the instrument at the point where the hammers hit the strings, giving the instrument a tinny, more percussive sound. See prepared piano
Prepared piano
A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers....
.
Perhaps this preparation attempts to emulate the sound of a poorly maintained piano: as the felt hammers age and compact through use they become hard and cause the piano to yield a similar sound. A piano tuner will use a tool consisting of a number of fine pins to open and loosen the striking surface of the hammers, called voicing, a precision job calling for a good ear and lots of experience.
Another method of achieving that "percussive" sound without using real tacks is through the use of lacquered hammers in the piano, like a piano popularized by Mrs. Mills
Mrs Mills
Gladys Mills, née Gladys Jordan , better known as Mrs Mills, was a British popular pianist who was active in the 1960s and who released many records...
which resides at Abbey Road Studios.
Problems and disadvantages
Using tacks on a piano runs the risk that the tacks will be ejected from the hammers and can then become lodged in other parts of the mechanism. If the jammed mechanism is then forced by hitting the keys, parts of the action may be broken. Most importantly, the holes created in the hammers by the tacks act like a poor job of voicing, and may permanently reduce the sound of the piano to dark mush once the tacks are removed.A safer alternative to real tacks is a device called a mandolin rail. It is a curtain of felt hanging between the hammers and strings. The felt is slitted on the edge, and paper fasteners or paper clips attached. The device can be purchased commercially or built by hand, and ultimately causes the piano hammers to be worn away from repeated impacts with hard metal. Mandolin rails could regularly be found in home pianos at the turn of the century, but were most popular in commercial coin-operated pianos.
Classical music
Canadian pianist Glenn GouldGlenn Gould
Glenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
experimented with a tack piano made especially for his use by Steinway
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
, which he called a "harpsipiano" (a portmanteau of "harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
" and "piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
"). It was intended to recreate (somewhat, at least) the sound of the harpsichord, but unlike a harpsichord, whose strings are plucked instead of struck, it could be readily placed amongst an orchestra and capable of dynamic expression as on a piano. Gould used it in a 1962 television broadcast in which he played Contrapunctus IV from Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Art of Fugue. One of the few occasions he conducted was while playing the harpsipiano: he directed Bach's Brandenburg concerto no.5 from the instrument and realized the continuo part of Bach's cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54, in a 1960s television recording (now to be seen in The Glenn Gould Collection).
Lou Harrison
Lou Harrison
Lou Silver Harrison was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison...
called for a tack piano in his Symphony No. 2 (Elegaic), the octet Solstice, and the song May Rain.
Jazz music
On jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
's Daktari
Daktari
Daktari is an American children's drama series that aired on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The series, an Ivan Tors Films Production in association with MGM Television, stars Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian at the fictional Wameru Study Centre for Animal Behaviour in East...
album, affiliated with the CBS television series of the same name, Mike Wofford
Mike Wofford
Mike Wofford is a jazz pianist born February 28, 1938 in San Antonio, Texas, raised in San Diego, California.He is best known as an accompanist to and music director for singers Sarah Vaughan , Ella Fitzgerald and others...
plays a tack piano. On the jazz combo Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
's Mysterious Traveller
Mysterious Traveller
Mysterious Traveller is the fourth release of Weather Report. This album marked the end of bassist Miroslav Vitous's tenure with the band. Vitous was replaced by Alphonso Johnson. Another addition to the line-up is drummer Ishmael Wilburn...
leaders Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
and Joe Zawinul
Joe Zawinul
Josef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian-American jazz keyboardist and composer.First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with trumpeter Miles Davis, and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, an innovative musical genre that combined jazz with...
play tack pianos. On Don Ellis' Autumn, Pete Robinson plays tack piano on Scratt and Fluggs, a jazz-inflected version of Earl Scruggs' Foggy Mountain Breakdown.
Pop and rock music
The German pianist Fritz Schulz-ReichelFritz Schulz-Reichel
Fritz Schulz-Reichel was a German jazz and pop pianist.Schulz-Reichel's father was a classical musician, and he began playing piano at the age of six...
had considerable success c. 1955-57 on the hit parade with his tack piano recordings, released under the name "Schräger Otto" ("Crazy Otto" or "Slanted Otto" in English). During the craze, ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
pianist Johnny Maddox
Johnny Maddox
Johnny Maddox is a ragtime pianist and collector of ragtime memorabilia.His interest in the era of ragtime and blues was fueled by his Aunt Zula Cothron. She played ragtime piano at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, and taught Johnny to play...
also recorded "The Crazy Otto Medley" with a tack piano, starting a "honky-tonk piano" fad. Both purportedly used thumbtacks in the felt hammers.
The 5th Dimension hits "Sweet Blindness" and "Wedding Bell Blues" both start with a tack piano intro.
The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...
use a tack piano on "Care of Cell 44", the opening track of Odessey and Oracle
Odessey and Oracle
Odessey and Oracle is the third studio album by British pop rock band The Zombies, released on 19 April 1968 by Date Records. It is among the most critically acclaimed albums of popular music.-Album information:...
.
A tack piano was used on The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
hit "Good Vibrations
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. Composed and produced by Brian Wilson, the song's lyrics were written by Wilson and Mike Love....
."
A tack piano was used briefly in the studio version of Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me".
The instrument is prominently featured in Biz Markie
Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall better known by his stage name, Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, singer, reality television personality, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989...
's 1989 hit "Just a Friend".
The Fiery Furnaces
The Fiery Furnaces
The Fiery Furnaces are a U.S. indie rock band formed in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York. The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger. The siblings are originally from Oak Park, Illinois, a near-western suburb of Chicago.- Band biography :...
also make extensive use of the tack piano to produce a "Vaudevillian
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
" sound.
Patrick Warren plays the tack piano on many of the tracks of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's Magic
Magic (Bruce Springsteen album)
Magic is the 15th studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 2007 on Columbia Records. It is his first with the E Street Band since The Rising in 2002...
album.
A honky-tonk tack piano is prominent in Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Jeremy Bender," on their Tarkus album.
Benmont Tench
Benmont Tench
Benjamin Montmorency Tench, III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early years:...
of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...
plays a tack piano solo on "To Find A Friend," featured on Petty's Wildflowers
Wildflowers (Tom Petty album)
Wildflowers is the second solo album by American musician Tom Petty, released in November 1994 . The album was the first released by Petty after signing a contract with Warner Bros...
album.
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
used a tack piano on two songs on the album Mighty Like a Rose
Mighty Like a Rose
Mighty Like A Rose is the 13th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1991 on compact disc as Warner Brothers 26575. The title is presumably a reference to the pop standard "Mighty Lak' a Rose", and although that song does not appear on the album, the...
: "The Other Side of Summer" and "So Like Candy," which was co-written with Sir Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
.
On his album Sleeps with Angels
Sleeps with Angels
Sleeps With Angels is the twenty-second studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, his sixth with Crazy Horse, released on the Warner Bros. Records/Reprise label....
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
used a tack piano on the tracks "My Heart" and "A Dream That Can Last."
Hanne Hukkelberg
Hanne Hukkelberg
Hanne Hukkelberg is a singer-songwriter from Kongsberg, Norway.Hukkelberg started singing and playing instruments at the age of 3...
plays a tack piano in several of the tracks of her album Rykestrasse 68.
Ben Folds
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
first experimented with the sound in the 1999 album The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is the third and final studio album by Ben Folds Five, released April 27, 1999.-Origins of the album title:...
. The piano can easily be heard on the third track "Mess". He made more extensive use of the modification in 2001's Rockin' the Suburbs
Rockin' the Suburbs
Rockin’ the Suburbs is an alternative rock album by singer/songwriter Ben Folds, released on September 11, 2001 . His first solo album after leaving his band Ben Folds Five , Rockin’ the Suburbs is also Folds' most popular LP to date, and includes the...
.
Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...
uses a tack piano on his album XO
XO (album)
XO is the name of the fourth album recorded by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Smith's first work on a major label, it was released by DreamWorks Records on August 25, 1998. Bong Load Custom Records released it on vinyl LP, which has since gone out of print. Vinyl copies of XO remained...
, notably in the opening song "Sweet Adeline".
The credits of the Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
album Crash
Crash (Dave Matthews Band album)
Crash is the second studio album by Dave Matthews Band, released on April 30, 1996. It includes the band's most successful single, "Crash into Me".The album has been certified 7× platinum.-Track listing:All songs by David J...
include bassist Stefan Lessard
Stefan Lessard
Stefan Kahil Lessard is an American musician, most famous as the bassist for the Dave Matthews Band.-Early life:Lessard was born in Anaheim, California, to musicians Ron and Janaki Lessard. After moving a number of times during his childhood, Lessard and his family eventually settled in...
on the tack piano; it is assumed to be in use for the single "Crash Into Me
Crash into Me
Stevie Nicks released "Crash into Me" as the first single from her album, The Soundstage Sessions, on March 17, 2009.The promo, with the orchestra version of "Landslide" as the B-side, was serviced to radio on the week of March 3, 2009. It has been serviced to Triple A radio stations, and to XM...
"
A makeshift tack piano is used in the song "Lovers in Japan
Lovers in Japan
"Lovers in Japan" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The song is built around an introductory tack piano sound, then followed by chiming guitars and soaring choruses,...
" by Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
on their 2008 album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life"...
- with a remix on their EP Prospekt's March
Prospekt's March
-Personnel:*Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineer*Andy Wallace – mixing*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Brian Eno – producer, sonic landscapes*Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer*Chris Martin – performer*Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photography...
.
Ray Manzarek
Ray Manzarek
Raymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr., better known as Ray Manzarek , is an American musician, singer, producer, film director, writer, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, Nite City from 1977–1978 and Manzarek-Krieger since 2001.Manzarek is listed #4 on Digital Dreamdoor's "100...
of The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
made frequent use of a tack piano in Doors studio recordings, most notably on the songs "People Are Strange
People Are Strange
"People Are Strange" is a single released by The Doors in September 1967 from their second album Strange Days which was also released in September 1967. The single peaked at the #12 position of the U.S. Hot 100 chart and made it to the top ten in the Cash Box charts...
" and "L.A. Woman
L.A. Woman
The band embarked on a tour to promote the album, although it would only comprise two dates. The first was held in Dallas, Texas on December 11 and reportedly went well. The second performance took place at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 12, 1970, where Morrison apparently had...
".
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
used a tack piano on several tracks he composed in the sixties, such as "What's New Pussycat?"
What's New Pussycat? (song)
"What's New Pussycat?" is a song made famous by singers such as Tom Jones, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Anita Kerr and The Four Seasons; it was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It is the title tune of the movie starring Peter Sellers.Barbra Streisand performed several...
and "Odd and Ends."
Cinema scores
Jon BrionJon Brion
Jon Brion is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer.-Early life:...
has used tack pianos in many recordings, but notably in his score for 'Punch-Drunk Love
Punch-Drunk Love
Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzmán also appear....
, especially the track "Punchy Tack Piano".
Nathan Johnson used tack pianos along with a number of other non-traditional or invented instruments for his score to the film Brick
Brick (film)
Brick is a 2005 American neo-noir film written and directed by Rian Johnson. It was Johnson's directorial debut and won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival...
.