TANGENT PIANO
Have you ever heard of a "tangent piano"?  I think you might enjoy a wonderfully informative article I just read about this early instrument, sort of a cousin to the fortepiano.  An article in the NYTimes explains:  "The tangent piano represents a broken branch in the genealogy of the piano. It was produced in the second half of the 18th century alongside the fortepiano, the immediate ancestor of today’s pianoforte. As early as 1751, Franz Jacob Späth, a builder of clavichords, fortepianos and organs, was producing tangent pianos in Regensburg, Germany, assisted later by his son-in-law and partner, Christoph Friedrich Schmahl. Fewer than 20 examples, fragile and temperamental, survive."  
Listen to the informative musical examples of this instrument with pianist Alexei Lubimov performing Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, son of J. S. Bach.......let me know how you like the sound of the tangent piano compared with your own instrument!

Teaching classroom music a number of years ago, I wanted encourage the students to really listen to the world around them.....so many contemporary composers do the same.  I gave an assignment to "compose" with "found sound".......natural, environmental sounds that we all hear - and often tune out - in our everyday world.  Today I read/listened to an extraordinary article in the New York Times called "Listen to the World".  From volcanoes to bat caves to wind stations in the North Sea to whisper chambers in an Indian mausoleum you can immerse yourself in sound from around the world.......give a listen and let me know what you think!  Also, for my students interested in creating and manipulating your own sound world, have you explored software from one of my personal favorite companies called Soniccouture (love the name!)?  Check out "Geosonics"........listen to the sound samples and read about how these were captured.......fascinating!!