This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on the piano tuner by daniel mason. How does masons prose style contribute to the sense of ambiguity that pervades the novel. The korg ot120 is a very competent and functional tuner at a reasonable price. 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. Daniel masons debut novel, the piano tuner, is the. Collectors from far and wide turned up at his doorstep with repair requests. What mistakes should you avoid when purchasing a piano.
The piano tuner participates in a tradition of literary works that try to fathom colonized cultures vastly different from the authors own. The top 10 mistakes people make when buying a piano alamo. 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. This kept me my attention while the credits rolled. When it begins, well, lets let trevors beginning show how it begins. Living alone, but being spoken highly of tune talent. At the end, i was not sure what was real and what wasnt.
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. The piano tuners wives was one of my early entrance points. Jan 18, 2003 the piano tuner by daniel mason 368pp, picador. The piano tuner is a historical novel by daniel mason, set in british india and burma. Find out here with our guide to the best pianos both acoustic and digital. Meinkes poetic skill is evident in his ability to jar a reader with a single line. A few strongly coloured, curious images hang in the mind from this intriguing and alluring first novel. In 1886 a shy, middleaged piano tuner named edgar drake receive. As we say in our introduction, its hard to find good explanations for the beginner. In love is blind, a scottish piano tuner falls in love with a russian opera singer. It was the second featurelength film by the brothers quay and their first film in over ten years. Back in mae lwin, edgar sleeps in, and then goes to the river at night. He provides insight at arms length, asking not necessarily that the reader care about the characters yet almost forcing him to understand them. He, braam cronje, was kind enough to allow me to film this old fashioned arttrade.
The book has been thematically compared with conrads heart of darkness. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the piano tuner near you. Keys to the heart william boyds new novel is a moreish romp. Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at. 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. 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. So the high tech end is progressing much faster than the very basic tried and true. 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.
In the world of piano tuning, this current topic has been around for quite a while. Piano tuner definition of piano tuner by the free dictionary. 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. 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. The first half of the book details his trip, and while. 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. 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. 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. To ask other readers questions about the piano tuner, please sign up. This years winner of the flannery oconnor award for short fiction is very consistent in the high quality of its contents. Sep 18, 2016 my name is frank baxter, i own piano world, and ive been tuning pianos since 1975. Recommended books on piano tuning piano tuning tune a. There were the pianos in the stations kings cross, tottenham.
When the piano tuner goes to meet the surgeonmajor against the wishes of the military staff, he finds himself suddenly surrounded. Over time the book evolved from a short treatise to an extended set of topics that. Everything you need to know about the piano tuner movie. Hermione lee hears echoes of the greats in daniel masons colonialera burmese adventure, the piano tuner hermione lee sat 18 jan 2003 18. The journey to burma takes an awfully long time and is peopled with highly unlikely characters including several decidedly eccentric british army officers. 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. Forsters a passage to india, joseph conrads heart of darkness, or george orwells shooting an elephant. He has also written his first novel, the piano tuner. Ive had the pleasure of meeting a lot of nice people, and had more than a few adventures along the way. Why learning how to tune a piano aurally when you can use an electronic piano tuner device or a piano tuning software. 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.
Successful short films the piano tuner short of stories. Ingo hoffman is now around seventy years old, and in his field he is the best. The piano tuner exhibits strong and consistent writing throughout. It is a relatively short story that showcases trevors ability to layer time. We called alan for a 2nd opinion and he said that was rubbish, we just needed to tune it gradually. 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. And ends up in a quasi opioid derived hallucination towards the end, with loss. 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.
In outline, the story of edgar drake, a london piano tuner who is. Letters, military documents, official reports, stories told on a ship or a train or the back of a horse or in a bamboo. Whats the story edgar drake is sent to wartorn burma in the 1800s to repair an eccentric military mans piano. Often in these stories, what seems a safe, comfortable environment turns suddenly threatening. A novel and millions of other books are available for instant access. The 5 best piano tuners in federal way, wa with free estimates. He has demanded that a grand piano be hauled through the jungle and now requires a tuner to be sent to him as well. As with the best history books, the transitions creep up on you.
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. The legendary humoristcumpianist victor borge used to insist that ingo tune his piano during the intermissions of his performances. Our tuning tutorial presents an effective but very simplified approach to piano tuning. In a series of subplots and intrigue the surgeonmajor is charged with treason. What remains mysterious after the book is finished. The story of the piano tuner is sensitive and moving but i havent finished it yet so i cant comment on the ending. 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. It was first published in 2002 when mason was 26 and was his first novel. Buy the piano tuner book online at low prices in india the piano. Sep 22, 2014 pierre and i inherited a piano from our dear departed steve, and the piano tuner came today. The piano tuner by peter meinke goodreads share book.
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. 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. 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. 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. Find the frequency of a sound wave moving through iron at. What features does daniel masons novel share with such predecessors as e. Here is the definitive list of federal ways piano tuners as rated by the federal way, wa community. But what had become of the tuners and restorers, the dealers and. It immerses the reader in a distant world with startling immediacy and ardor. Aural piano tuner versus electronic piano tuner, what is best. If i were forced to choose a favorite book, this would be one of the contenders. Daniel masons debut novel, the piano tuner, is the mesmerizing story of edgar. The piano tuner of earthquakes is a 2005 film by the brothers quay, featuring amira casar, gottfried john and assumpta serna.
Jun 07, 2014 kevin knopp shares his passion for tuning pianos and tells his story of how he became a 2nd generation piano tuner. 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. Youtube, going to teach themselves via a book or have a friend teach them. 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. But masons hero is a piano tuner, not an empire builder, and his. The piano tuner by daniel mason books the guardian. The meaning of the term in tune, in the context of piano tuning, is not simply a particular fixed set of pitches. Filmed and edited by spencer weaver featuring kevin knopp. 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. The piano tuner is a classic novel, professionally written by daniel mason, when he was still a student at harvard university. Michiko kakutani, the new york times in 1886 a shy, middleaged piano tuner named edgar drake receives an.