Lesson Series on Piano Dueling

We hear stories about Classical/Romantic-era piano duels between legendary composers: Steibelt/Beethovan, Mozart/Clementi (Mozart/Everybody really), Liszt/Thalberg, and the list goes on. Today, we have "dueling pianos" but it's more of a semi-improvisational show format. The battle-royale format has been lost!

It would be amazing (and completely unqiue) if Tonebase were to do a lesson series on the history, format, etiquette, and strategy of the old-style (semi-adversarial) format of piano dueling. Possible topics might include:

• When and how to take your opponent's score and play it upside-down.
• Strategies for improvising a re-harmonization of your opponent's line on the fly.
• Melody hijacking for rapscallions, and how to counter-hijack.
• Leather vs Chainmaile: A scientific review of slapping power in gauntlets.

For some interesting context: This format is actually alive-and-well in the world of electric guitar. I witnessed a dear friend receive a lifetime ban from a local pub because he beat the owner too badly in a heavy metal duel. When we were kids, we also had a wooden spoon we used to pass around after shows. Whoever had the best solo of the night won the spoon. It became highly coveted, and frequenlty resulted in other musicians raiding the stage with thier axes to try and bump you out of your own solo slot.