Forthcoming fall 2025A new edition of the landmark 1973 publication, The Well-Prepared Piano.
written and illustrated by Richard Bunger Evans
with a foreword byJohn Cage
“The prepared piano, impressions I had from the work of friends, study of Zen Buddhism, ramblings in fields and forests looking for mushrooms, all led me to the enjoyment of things as they come, as they happen, rather than as they are possessed or kept or forced to be.”
John Cage, The Well-Prepared Piano
The Well-Prepared Piano is the authoritative guide to piano preparation.
Written and illustrated by composer and pianist Richard Bunger Evans, this long out of print book demonstrates—through the author’s beautifully rendered drawings, photographs, and scores—how to safely prepare a piano without any damage to the instrument or its tuning. From materials to muting, variables to improvisation, the basics of preparation are laid out with welcoming clarity and detail.
For this new 2025 edition, Evans has meticulously updated the “WPP” to better suit the needs of 21st century musicians. It also includes a new introduction by the author, who thoughtfully expands upon the legacy of John Cage’s revelatory invention—the prepared piano.
Author, composer, and friend to John Cage, Richard Bunger Evans (born 1942) has been key to the definition and dissemination of piano preparation for half a century. Evans has toured and recorded key works of prepared piano including The Perilous Night (1973); Prepared Piano: The First Four Decades (1983), Four Walls (1989), as well as a series authorized by Cage himself. “I am glad that Richard has written this book,” Cage shared in his foreword to The Well-Prepared Piano, “and I am glad that he has done so in such an inviting and encouraging way. His wish will certainly come true: many more discoveries from many more musicians.”