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Welcome to the Piano Technicians Guild ("PTG") College and University Technicians (CAUT) Professional Online Community! Thank you for joining us. We value your active participation.

Over 400 PTG members identify themselves as working for colleges and universities.

We are pleased to be able to provide valuable resources for administrators and faculty as well as piano technicians.  It is our hope that this information will prove useful as we pursue our common goals of guiding our institutions toward the acquisition of appropriate instruments, and helping to maintain that inventory at the highest possible standards by implementing current best practices in piano technology.

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New! Updated CAUT Guidelines

Extended Piano Use Protocol

PROTOCOL FOR EXTENDED TECHNIQUES PIANO PERFORMANCE

Prepared by members of the College and University Technicians Committee of the Piano Technicians Guild, in consultation with various pianists and composers.

Extended techniques piano use requires the performer to produce sound by means other than, or in addition to, playing the keys. Techniques employed include strumming, bowing, and/or striking the strings, and sometimes striking wooden parts of the case. This can be done either using fingers and hands or hand held objects. Prepared piano use generally requires adding objects to the string system and other parts of the piano. Extended techniques and prepared use often requires marking parts and strings.

The use of extended techniques has been a source of conflict between pianists, composers, and piano technicians. The purpose of this document is to lay the groundwork for better communication and understanding, recognizing that extended techniques are a legitimate part of musical performance, but that they have the potential to cause damage to the instrument.

We take it for granted that we always strive to provide a composer and/or pianist with a piano of high quality when a piano is used conventionally. It is no less important that a composer and pianist have a suitable instrument to make music using extended techniques. It is not in the best interest of the art to provide inferior pianos for any performance. When at all possible, a piano in very good working order should always be provided for extended techniques use. Most often, that can be a piano routinely used for most concert use, but sometimes it will make sense to substitute a different piano.

We all need to bear in mind that a concert piano is a shared resource. It represents an expensive investment of both money and continual maintenance on the part of the piano technician, and both its appearance and high-level function have considerable importance to the institution and to all who use it. Even a very minor mechanical defect, like a slightly displaced damper, can make the piano unusable for performance until the defect has been remedied. Methods of marking that seem innocuous, like the use of pencil, blackboard chalk, or masking tape, can leave permanent damage to the finish, or can be difficult to impossible to remove completely. There are also risks of considerably more serious damage associated with carelessly executed extended techniques. Bass strings are particularly vulnerable to damage.

With these things in mind, the following procedures and limitations are suggested to help guide extended uses of pianos.

Extended techniques should only be performed on a designated piano after consultation with a piano technician and must follow these guidelines:
o The piano technician must approve all structural changes to any piano.
This includes removing the lid or other case parts and attaching anything to strings or soundboard to modify the sound.
o Touching the strings
If the strings will be touched by fingers or hands (harmonics, plucking, rubbing), hands should
be washed first. For moderate use of these techniques, a reasonable amount (not too much) of
powdered talc may be applied to the hands to help prevent the transfer of oil from skin to the
strings. Thin gloves should be worn for extensive contact with the strings.
o Marking
Sticky notepaper, Post-It strips/flags or small dot labels are preferred material to use for marking dampers, agraffes or strings. To mark a string node, a thin (1/8”) strip of the adhesive part of a sticky note or a mailing label can be worked around the string and stuck to itself. Chalk may be used on the plain wire but never on the wound bass strings. Never use masking tape or any other adhesive that may leave a residue. Other than small stickies and chalk, nothing should be applied directly to the strings. This includes whiteout, tape, crayon, stickers, nail polish, etc. The performer is responsible for removing any stickers immediately after any performance.
o Dampers
Care must always be used when touching dampers as they are easily damaged or displaced. Sticky notepaper, Post-It strips/flags or small dot labels are preferred material to use for marking dampers. Never use chalk. The performer is responsible for removing any stickers immediately after any performance.
o Malleable substances on strings
Bostik Blu-Tack, Scotch Removable Mounting Putty, or like products are the only malleable substances acceptable for direct application to the strings. The piano technician must approve all other substances.
o Screws and bolts
In some cases, literature calls for the insertion of screws or other items between piano strings. Proper protocol must be followed when inserting screws. Only use new screws and bolts, or those in like new condition, in the piano. Screws and bolts showing signs of rust or corrosion should never be inserted between the strings. Screws should be carefully selected to fit into the gap between the strings with minimum spreading. Depress the damper pedal while inserting anything between the strings. Go slowly, taking great care not to let the screw come in contact with the soundboard. Only plastic screws/bolts or similar materials softer than metal may be used when inserting between wound strings.
o Striking and plucking strings
Strings may be struck or plucked with fingers or guitar pick. Other devices must always be a material that will not mar or scratch strings. On steel strings only materials that are softer than the steel string, such as brass or aluminum, may be used. Copper wound bass strings must be struck or plucked with a material softer than copper (copper is much softer than steel). Acceptable materials might include wood, plastic, rubber and felt mallets. The general rule is that the material should not be harder than the strings. Never use a steel chisel or screwdriver on piano strings (a substitute may be made from brass stock). The piano technician will help any performer in selecting materials that will not damage the piano.
o Clean up
The pianist should clean up after performance and leave the piano in the same condition it was found. Nothing should be left in the piano. Do not, however, risk damaging the piano for the sake of clean up. If you need assistance removing something please contact the piano technician.
o Damage avoidance using sound and prudent judgment
Most damage to pianos can easily be avoided by using good judgment and knowledge of the piano. Please consult with the piano technician before using extended techniques. If you are composing a piece using extended techniques, consult with the piano technician to ascertain what is safe. Usually alternatives to potentially destructive methods can be found to satisfy both the performer and this policy.




What's New

2025-2026 CAUT Committee

Kate Redding, RPT, Chair
Jonathan Patterson, RPT
Matthew Smith
Alan Eder, RPT
Jessica Masse, RPT
Corbin Sturch, RPT, Board Liaison
Kathy Maxwell, Home Office

CAUT - Latest Discussion

  • Profile Picture

    RE: Does a stronger repetition spring make the key ...

    By: Jason Cassel , an hour ago

    Wow, Alan. Bet you didn't know you signed up for all this when you posted! Seriously though, this has been a fantastic discussion. Fred keeps mentioning high-speed footage. Yes, Scott Murphy and I have been teasing this out over ...

  • Profile Picture

    RE: Does a stronger repetition spring make the key ...

    By: Fred Sturm , yesterday

    Don, I'm not wanting to evaluate repetition by limiting key travel, just to observe, because key travel will vary in the natural course of playing. It can also happens very much by choice, when trying to get a very delicate sound. ...

  • Profile Picture

    RE: Does a stronger repetition spring make the key ...

    By: Don Mannino , yesterday

    Fred, Yes, it's a good point - the Kawai videos I had showing high speed repetition were all full keystroke repetition. That is the condition where the hammer definitely is stopped by the backcheck each time it is played. ...

  • Profile Picture

    RE: Does a stronger repetition spring make the key ...

    By: Fred Sturm , 2 days ago

    Don's post got me to look in more detail at a variety of raw footage of rapid repetition looking specifically at checking. Scott shot a lot of footage using a Juilliard student who had very advanced technique, with some different parameters. ...

  • Profile Picture

    RE: Does a stronger repetition spring make the key ...

    By: Don Mannino , 2 days ago

    Blaine, When the action is being repeated very quickly the hammer tails definitely do rebound off the backchecks! The Kawai high speed videos I have shown in some of my seminars showed this very clearly, even when repeating ...

  • Profile Picture

    RE: Fast repetition - hammer versus finger

    By: Fred Sturm , 4 days ago

    Both Horowitz and Glenn Gould (along with others) had some specific desires for action setup, wanting reduced keydip in particular. I think this stemmed from the pianos they learned on as children, being made in the 19th century and ...

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