GR User Forum

The spot for all Ricoh GR camera users

Register for free, meet other Ricoh GR users, share your images, help others, have fun!

Tell your friends about us!

piano cocktail

marc

New Member
jour, resting

et nuit, in action


As imagined by Boris Vian, in "Froth on the daydream" ("L'Écume des Jours").
I cannot tell why they are only 4 or 5 like this in the world, they should be produced by IKEA!

"- A chaque note, dit Colin, je fais correspondre un alcool, une liqueur ou un aromate. La pédale forte correspond à l'œuf battu et la pédale faible à la glace. Pour l'eau de Seltz, il faut un trille dans le registre aigu. Les quantités sont en raison directe de la durée : à la quadruple croche équivaut le seizième d'unité, à la noire l'unité, à la ronde la quadruple unité. Lorsque l'on joue un air lent, un système de registre est mis en action, de façon que la dose ne soit pas augmentée - ce qui donnerait un cocktail trop abondant - mais la teneur en alcool. Et, suivant la durée de l'air, on peut, si l'on veut, faire varier la valeur de l'unité, la réduisant, par exemple au centième, pour pouvoir obtenir une boisson tenant compte de toutes les harmonies au moyen d'un réglage latéral.
- C'est compliqué, dit Chick.
- Le tout est commandé par des contacts électriques et des relais. Je ne te donne pas de détails, tu connais ça. Et d'ailleurs, en plus, le piano fonctionne réellement.
- C'est merveilleux ! dit Chick.
- Il n'y a qu'une chose gênante, dit Colin, c'est la pédale forte pour l'œuf battu. J'ai dû mettre un système d'enclenchement spécial, parce que lorsqu'on joue un morceau trop «hot», il tombe des morceaux d'omelette dans le cocktail, et c'est dur à avaler. Je modifierai ça. Actuellement, il suffit de faire attention. Pour la crème fraîche, c'est le sol grave.
- Je vais m'en faire un sur Loveless Love, dit Chick. Ça va être terrible. "
 

Attachments

  • R0013186.jpg
    EXIF
    R0013186.jpg
    530.7 KB · Views: 327
  • R0013205.jpg
    EXIF
    R0013205.jpg
    672.4 KB · Views: 329
What a cute piano bar. They definitely should be made and sold more widely.
After thinking a bit (excuse me :) ), it looks the best combination is when a pianist is also a barman. Otherwise, I cannot imagine how a pianist can perform say the Beethoven's Seventh symphony with a barman filling glasses from behind his back pouring the drinks over his hands as the second shot suggests. :)

Peter
 
I see your point Peter, but it is really not hard to find volunteers ;)
When alone I imagine there could be a remote device, just some good jazz to get :oops:

BTW: I found english translation to Vian's passage:

"How does it work?' asked Chick.
'For each note,' said Colin, 'there's a corresponding drink - either a wine, spirit, liqueur or fruit juice. The loud pedal puts in egg flip and the soft pedal adds ice. For soda you play a cadenza in F sharp. The quantities depend on how long a note is held - you get the sixteenth of a measure for a hemidemisemiquaver; a whole measure for a black note; and four measures for a semibreve. When you play a slow tune, then tone comes into control too to prevent the amounts growing too large and the drink getting too big for a cocktail - but the alcoholic content remains unchanged. And, depending on the length of the tune, you can, if you like, vary the measures used, reducing them, say, to a hundredth in order to get a drink taking advantage of all the harmonics, by means of an adjustment on the side.'
'It's a bit complicated,' said Chick.
'The whole thing is controlled by electrical contacts and relays. I won't go into all the technicalities because you know all about them anyway. And, besides, the piano itself really works.'
'It's wonderful,' said Chick.
'Only one thing still worries me,' said Colin, 'and that's the loud pedal and the egg flip. I had to put in a special gear system because if you play something too hot, lumps of omelette fall into the glass, and they're rather hard to swallow. I've still got a little bit of modification to do there. But it's all right if you're careful. And for a dash of fresh cream, you add a chord in G major.'
'I'm going to try an improvisation on Loveless Love,' said Chick. 'That should be crazy.' "
 
Back
Top