The Well-Tuned Piano recording made in 1962 cuts off suddenly after only an hour and a half. Young has also been influential to many composers and musicians throughout his life. Dennis Johnson cites Young as an influence in his composition, "The Second Machine", which is based on four single pitches of Young's "Four Dreams of China". Composer and critic Kyle Gann has said that "The Well-Tuned Piano", "may well be the most important American piano work since Charles Ives's "Concord Sonata", in size, in influence, and in revolutionary innovation." Gann has also called the piece "the most important piano work of the late
Slide guitar kept parallel with them. The frets are used only as a visual reference, and playing in tune without them requires additional skill. In this playing technique the player's remaining fingers and thumb still have access to the frets, and may be used for playing rhythmic accompaniment or reaching additional notes. The guitar itself may be tuned in the traditional tuning or an open tuning. Most early blues players used open tunings, but most modern slide players use both. The major limitation of open tuning is that usually only one chord shape is easily available and is dictated by how the