Playing piano using one's chin

[alzado]

Our black tomcat likes to hop up onto the piano bench beside me.  Then he will begin CLANGING notes on the piano using his chin.  He uses a kind of odd, sideways "wiping" motion of his head, and can usually sound three or four notes at once.  Usually when this happens I am forced to stop playing and lock him out on the porch.

Are there any composers -- presumably very bad ones -- for whom this type of technique might be suitable?

Is it possible to teach a cat to read music?

Are there any piano teachers who would accept a large tomcat as a student? 

My tomcat happens to be black.  Are there any music programs with an "affirmative action" policy?

[quantum]

I'll try this the next chance I get.  I haven't yet explored chin technique. 

[allthumbs]

I think there is a piece called "Kitten on the Keys" that he could play, although maybe he's too old for that now.


Cheers

allthumbs

[rc]

About the phrase: "There's more than one way to skin a cat"

...Got me to thinkin', there must be a lot of people who don't like cats.

Another thing came to mind, how any young creature is cute, it's a survival mechanism. Kittens are cute so they're harder to 'off'. Then you think about how this cute little critter is eventually going to become an annoying, useless cat. If kittens weren't cute, felines would never have survived. They'd have pissed us off and we'd have found out just how many ways there are to skin a cat.

[cfortunato]

My late cat Squeak used to play.  MOST cats do some jumping on the keys, but Squeak actually sounded surprisingly good, probably due to a combination of stepping gently and having paws precisely a perfect 4th apart.

My uncle once saw me in the hallway, and was confused because he heard the piano playing in the apartment.  "Who that?" he said.   "The cat," I said.  "The cat?  I thought you were trying something atonal!"  I got into the happen of hitting the tape recorder whenever she would get on the keys, just to have a record of it.

When she got old and sickly and could no longer jump, she once stood and the foot of the piano and meowed, clearly asking to be picked up and place on the keys.  And I did.  And she walked on the keys and played.  For the last time.   What a wonderful cat she was.

I think you should record your cat playing and maybe make a whole composition based around what she does, called "Chin Music."  He sounds adorable.

As for other composers, I think Jerry Lee Lewis has done something similar.

[phil13]

I think you should record your cat playing and maybe make a whole composition based around what she does, called "Chin Music."  He sounds adorable.

Post it in the Audition Room when you're done. We can critique his chin playing and tell him what he needs to work on. 

Phil

[allthumbs]

Post it in the Audition Room when you're done. We can critique his chin playing and tell him what he needs to work on. 

Phil

I'll bet his playing will turn out to be the "cat's meow", so to speak ....sorry, I couldn't resist.


Cheers

allthumbs