The words CAB, BEAD, BEGGED, EFFED, and EFFACE are all called “piano words.” Can you guess why?
The words are spelled using only the first seven letters of the alphabet, which are also the letters we assign to musical notes. But what about assigning the letters of such words back into music?
Johann Sebastian BACH led this practice, as he led so many other musical practices. The German notation system of the day included an H (for the note that we would now describe as “B natural”), so pieces of his own compositions often spelled out his name (forwards or backwards).
Most composers outside Bach’s family didn’t have the lucky coincidence of their names being piano words. One who did, though, was the experimental composer John CAGE. After his death, the Penguine Cafe Orchestra put out this piece in his honor, using the sequence CAGE DEAD in a way he’d appreciate.
Our notation system is complex, with a lot of notes not fully mapping to letters, and the rules of composing music often clash with the rules of putting words together. Bands like ABBA and AC/DC would seem to be made for this sort of game, and titles like “Defaced” and “Bad Feed” evoke some stormy, defiant images when you think about them, the kind that make for good songs. But most modern musicians aren’t interested in playing this game.
One delightful exception is Theo Hartist (AKA Peter Murray)’s “Egg Faced.” Theo describes the video seen here as a rough, and his delivery does miss a few words, but it seems to be the only version available.
Tomorrow: A little exercise blending math and calligraphy.