Editor’s Note:

The six works (and 32 total pieces) that fill Volume One of The Strange Imaginary Piano range from easy to intermediate. They were all written within a period of twenty years”from 1971 to 1991″and are all roughly post-Modern in style. They serve as an introduction to graphic notation with the convenience of the solo keyboard and, additionally, as a small musical overview to certain tendencies of late 20th-Century American musical languages.

Due to the accessible level of these works, one may simply open this bestiary, select an entry, and begin a new exploration of musical shapes. While exploring, however, you might discover a curious thing: you become a composer. Effective execution of graphic notation requires practice and mindful intent, just like standard notation, but unlike standard notation it can also demand extrapolation of large musical ideas”including pitch, rhythm, and duration. This affords the player a great level of control over musical aesthetic.

*Winner of 2022 MPA Music Publishers Association Paul Revere Awards in 3 categories: Book Design, Cover Design, and Non-Traditional Notation. Curated by and Edited by Henry Gale for American Composers Alliance.