Looking at music, science and education through the pianoscope

Abstract

Over the last few years Companhia de Música Teatral (CMT) has been developing a series of original ideas that has designated as “artistic-educative constellations”. CMT's work is deeply rooted in music but explores links with other artistic languages and technology and proposes an intrinsic articulation with education (in a very broad sense). The CMT projects are a kaleidoscope of Performance pieces, Installations, Workshops, Publications and TransFormation activities and the piano has been central to many of these projects. One constellation in particular, Anatomia do Piano, has made the piano the “attractor” of a series of initiatives that connect the “main-stage” with the classroom, the science laboratory or the community. The installation Pianoscópio, part of this constellation, is the subject of this communication: it is based on the idea of “deconstructing” the piano, in order to contribute to a more profound understanding of music, creating an opportunity for discovery and expression. It is an experience that transforms the piano into a collective instrument, a sound installation/sculpture capable of producing sounds of a myriad of colours, a space to be inhabited by people and produce sound through their combined interaction. In this paper we report on the experience using the Pianoscópio in a wide range of situations, from workshops with children to concerts and recordings with professional musicians, science-based projects or projects with the community.