Piano

A piano is a stringed musical instrument played with a keyboard. Each key is connected to a small hammer inside the instrument. Piano players—called pianists—use their fingers to press the keys, forcing the hammer to strike a metal string. The strings of a piano are stretched above a soundboard, which they vibrate against to produce sound. The strings and soundboard are usually surrounded by a wooden case meant to protect the interior mechanisms. The string will continue to vibrate and produce sound until the player releases the key. Sound can also be continued through use of a feature known as a pedal, most often situated underneath the piano and pressed by the player's feet. Pianos are commonly played sitting down in front of the keyboard.

Modern pianos have eighty-eight keys—52 white keys that correspond to the C-major scale and 36 smaller black keys that can play notes outside the C-major scale. Pianos are capable of producing loud and soft notes depending on the force with which the player presses the keys.

Pianos were popular instruments during the Romantic and Classical music eras. The instrument continues to be a favorite inclusion in modern genres such as jazz and rock music.

Background

The piano's predecessors include the harpsichord and the clavichord. Both instruments were very popular throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The harpsichord was a favorite of Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, who owned a large collection of instruments. On his journey back from Venice in the late seventeenth century, de' Medici met Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori. De' Medici was in need of a harpsichord tuner and invited Cristofori to his home to become his personal instrument technician. Cristofori moved to Florence where he worked with many other craftsmen to tune and repair De'Medici's extensive collection of instruments.

During his time under de'Medici's employ, Cristofori acquainted himself with a variety of string instrument mechanisms. His new knowledge inspired him to invent his own original instruments. He experimented with the structure of the harpsichord, producing items such as the spinet—a harpsichord with strings that ran horizontally from front to back instead of vertically. Cristofori's most elegant creation, however, was an instrument made of cypress wood with a boxwood keyboard. The instrument sat upon a stand made of poplar and featured a red leather cover lined in green shiny silk and decorated in gold ribbon. Cristofori named the new instrument un cimbalo di cipresso di piano e forte (a keyboard of cypress with soft and loud). The name was later shortened to pianoforte or fortepiano before being simplified to piano

The mechanism within the pianoforte made it stand out from its influences. The piano combined aspects of the clavichord and the harpsichord. The clavichord was too quiet for concert hall performances, but allowed the player to be expressive in volume when hitting the keys. Harpsichords were loud but did not allow for this type of expression. Cristofori's invention made expressive volume possible and also allowed musicians to play it loudly and softly, making it much more compatible with concert performances. Cristofori's piano was also the first instrument to successfully implement a mechanism that utilized small hammers that hit the strings to produce sound. The strings of the piano's predecessors had traditionally contained a mechanism that plucked strings to produce sound.

Cristofori's piano spent several years in obscurity following its invention. Following a visit from an Italian journalist, drawings of the pianoforte were published, introducing the design to a wider audience. Soon other instrument makers began their own attempts to reproduce the pianoforte's mechanism. German keyboard maker Gottfried Silbermann designed his own version of Cristofori's instrument in the mid-1700s. Silbermann's instrument was later improved upon under the guidance of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Overview

By the latter half of the eighteenth century, keyboard makers in England and Vienna began adjusting the original designs to include simpler mechanisms and varying frame styles. Small adjustments to structure and machinery continued through the remainder of the 1700s into the 1800s. An important innovation to the piano was made in 1821 by French instrument maker Sebastian Erard. Erard made it possible to hit a key repetitively so that it continued to play notes without having to wait for the key to return to its original position.

As the Romantic era of music approached, piano makers yielded to pianists' demands for more volume by developing stronger and heavier instruments capable of supporting more dynamic performances. The Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries made better-quality piano parts such as wire strings and iron frames available. Sturdier materials led to the introduction of the eighty-eight key grand piano, which became the prototype of the modern grand piano. This period also led to the emergence of piano factories, leading to standardized models sold at commercial prices. Popular piano manufacturers such as Steinway & Sons and Chickering & Sons were founded during this time. The Industrial Revolution also led to greater personal wealth and a rise in the middle class. With this affluence, many more households could afford, and wanted to own, pianos.

A range of sizes and shapes became available to both private and professional piano players. Upright pianos, in which the strings run vertically, were developed and perfected throughout the nineteenth century, and were increasingly popular as quality instruments for use in smaller spaces. By the end of the nineteenth century, the upright piano dominated sales.

The grand piano has remained the standard model for concert performances. Throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, piano music advanced from the concertos and symphonies of great classical composers to take its place in popular music such as jazz, swing, big band, and rock.

Bibliography

"Celebrating 300 Years of the Piano." Piano Technicians Guild, www.ptg.org/userfiles/file/docs/300YearsPiano.pdf. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.

Dobney, Jayson Kerr. "The Piano: Viennese Instruments." Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vien/hd‗vien.htm. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.

Isacoff, Stuart. A Natural History of the Piano: The Instrument, the Music, the Musicians--from Mozart to Modern Jazz and Everything in Between. Vintage Books, 2011.

Malinowski, Mark "A Brief History of the Piano." WBJC-FM, www.wbjc.com/a-brief-history-of-the-piano/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.

"The Piano: A Key Note of Music History." University of Florida, iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall05/pfaff/history.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.

The Piano: An Encyclopedia. Edited by Robert Palmieri. Routledge, 2003.

Powers, Wendy. "The Piano: The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731)." Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cris/hd‗cris.htm. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.

"Renaissance Keyboards." Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/renk/hd‗renk.htm. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.