For several hundred years, a series of small keyboard instruments have involved in what we call a piano today. This instrument is played by pressing keys with the fingers, which sound when the hammers inside the piano strike the steel strings. The vibration of the strings resonate beautifully after the keys are struck, which makes the piano a wonderful universal instrument for all kinds of music.
After keys are played by the pianist, the sound is stopped. As each key or chords are played, the resonance of the sound is directed to the soundboard which can be heard according to varying levels of loud or soft dynamics. So the piano is capable of contrasting dynamics and varying duration of pitches.
In traditional Western music, the piano is put to a wide variety of uses: for solo performance, ensemble recitals, chamber music, and as accompaniment for vocals or other instrument scores. It is also amongst the most popular instrumental aids for composing and rehearsing music. Although the piano is large and usually rather expensive, its versatility and indispensability have contributed to its status as the perhaps the most familiar and ubiquitous among musical instruments.
Piano is a shortened term for Pianoforte, which means loud and soft in Italian. This describes the ability for the piano to play various levels of loud and soft. The instrument piano has evolved from the Harpsichord a very popular instrument during the Baroque era centuries ago.
The modern day piano developed over the centuries from the harp an old instrument before Christ's time. Originally, the was and still is a plucked string instrument the gave birth to the piano. Keys were struck on the strings instead of being plucked in the very early keyboard instruments preceding the modern piano, which is the main difference between the harp and piano.
Musician and inventor Cristofori initiated the invention with designs of the harpsichord the instrument that preceded the piano. The instrument was far from perfect, but the harpsichord was the accepted instrument for music of the Baroque era and popular with composers like J.S. Bach and George Handel. The harpsichord evolved into the piano as we know it into the 19th century and made popular with virtuoso works by Chopin and Liszt.
Before the proper precursor to the modern piano was invented in the early 1700s, to be able to produce the keyboard music one needed to control three separate instruments all at once. Right from its inception, the principal challenge motivating the art of piano designing has been to make the high notes louder and brighter. To this end, several improvements have been made in the standard piano design: a precisely calibrated mechanisms to control hammer swing, high tensile steel strings in place of catgut, innovations in the shape and material of hammers, advancement in the designs of resonators and fret boards to extend the instrument's range, and other crucial inventions like the double key escarpment that enables a note to be repeated even if the hammer had not regained its full resting position.
The critical breakthrough in the evolution of the piano was reached in the 19th century with the development of felted hammers, which provided for greater string tension, improved steel wires, iron frames for the sounding board, etc. The upright piano was perfected late in the 19th century, which made the piano more portable, less unwieldy and above all more affordable. So the piano left the concert halls and into the living rooms of the middle class where distinction of the piano became a symbol of culture and artistic refinement.
After keys are played by the pianist, the sound is stopped. As each key or chords are played, the resonance of the sound is directed to the soundboard which can be heard according to varying levels of loud or soft dynamics. So the piano is capable of contrasting dynamics and varying duration of pitches.
In traditional Western music, the piano is put to a wide variety of uses: for solo performance, ensemble recitals, chamber music, and as accompaniment for vocals or other instrument scores. It is also amongst the most popular instrumental aids for composing and rehearsing music. Although the piano is large and usually rather expensive, its versatility and indispensability have contributed to its status as the perhaps the most familiar and ubiquitous among musical instruments.
Piano is a shortened term for Pianoforte, which means loud and soft in Italian. This describes the ability for the piano to play various levels of loud and soft. The instrument piano has evolved from the Harpsichord a very popular instrument during the Baroque era centuries ago.
The modern day piano developed over the centuries from the harp an old instrument before Christ's time. Originally, the was and still is a plucked string instrument the gave birth to the piano. Keys were struck on the strings instead of being plucked in the very early keyboard instruments preceding the modern piano, which is the main difference between the harp and piano.
Musician and inventor Cristofori initiated the invention with designs of the harpsichord the instrument that preceded the piano. The instrument was far from perfect, but the harpsichord was the accepted instrument for music of the Baroque era and popular with composers like J.S. Bach and George Handel. The harpsichord evolved into the piano as we know it into the 19th century and made popular with virtuoso works by Chopin and Liszt.
Before the proper precursor to the modern piano was invented in the early 1700s, to be able to produce the keyboard music one needed to control three separate instruments all at once. Right from its inception, the principal challenge motivating the art of piano designing has been to make the high notes louder and brighter. To this end, several improvements have been made in the standard piano design: a precisely calibrated mechanisms to control hammer swing, high tensile steel strings in place of catgut, innovations in the shape and material of hammers, advancement in the designs of resonators and fret boards to extend the instrument's range, and other crucial inventions like the double key escarpment that enables a note to be repeated even if the hammer had not regained its full resting position.
The critical breakthrough in the evolution of the piano was reached in the 19th century with the development of felted hammers, which provided for greater string tension, improved steel wires, iron frames for the sounding board, etc. The upright piano was perfected late in the 19th century, which made the piano more portable, less unwieldy and above all more affordable. So the piano left the concert halls and into the living rooms of the middle class where distinction of the piano became a symbol of culture and artistic refinement.
About the Author:
J. Simon examines piano courses at the review site Play Piano Guide. Students have the option of choosing the an effective piano course that they can self-study and learn.
