Piano — A Video Map Guide

The piano was based on earlier technological innovations in struck-string instruments and keyboard instruments. The earliest known keyboard instrument was the Ancient Greek hydraulis, a type of pipe organ invented in the third century BC. Pipe organs continued to be used in Europe through the middle ages, and as such the development of pipe organs enabled instrument builders to learn about creating keyboard mechanisms for sounding pitches. The first string instruments with struck strings were the hammered dulcimers, which originated in the Middle East and were introduced in Europe in the Middle ages. During the Middle Ages, there were several attempts at creating stringed keyboard instruments with struck strings. By the 17th century, the mechanisms of keyboard instruments such as the clavichord and the harpsichord were well developed. In a clavichord the strings are struck by tangents, while in a harpsichord they are mechanically plucked by quills when the performer depresses the key. Centuries of work on the mechanism of the harpsichord in particular had shown instrument builders the most effective ways to construct the case, soundboard, bridge, and mechanical action for a keyboard intended to sound strings. The English word piano is a shortened form of the Italian pianoforte, derived from gravecembalo col piano e forte ("harpsichord with soft and loud"). Variations in volume (loudness) are produced in response to the pianist's touch (pressure on the keys): the greater the pressure, the greater the force of the hammer hitting the strings and the louder the sound produced and the stronger the attack. Invented in 1700, the fortepiano was the second keyboard instrument (in addition to the clavichord which predates it) to allow gradations of volume and tone according to how forcefully or softly the player presses or strikes the keys, unlike the pipe organ and harpsichord. Inven

Modern pianos have two basic configurations, the grand piano and the upright piano, with various styles of each. There are also specialized and novelty pianos, electric pianos based on electromechanical designs, electronic pianos that synthesize piano-like tones using oscillators, and digital pianos using digital samples of acoustic piano sounds. Grand "Grand piano" redirects here. For other uses, see Grand Piano (disambiguation). A Steinway & Sons model D-274 concert grand piano. In a grand piano, the frame and strings are horizontal, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. The action lies beneath the strings and uses gravity as its means of return to a state of rest. Grand pianos range in length from approximately 1.5–3 m (4 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in). Some of the lengths have been given more-or-less customary names, which vary from time to time and place to place, but might include: Baby grand – around 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) Parlor grand or boudoir grand – 1.7–2.2 m (5 ft 7 in – 7 ft 3 in) Concert grand – between 2.2–3 m (7 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) All else being equal, longer pianos with longer strings have larger, richer sound and lower inharmonicity of the strings. Inharmonicity is the degree to which the frequencies of overtones, known as partials or harmonics, sound sharp relative to whole multiples of the fundamental frequency. This results from the piano's considerable string stiffness. As a struck string decays, its harmonics vibrate from a point very slightly from its termination toward the center, or more flexible part of the string. The inharmonicity may also result from imperfections within the string, such as rust on plain strings and dirt in the windings of bass strings. The higher the partial, the further sharp it runs. Pianos with shorter and thicker strings, typic

(1) frame (2) lid, front part (3) capo bar (4) damper (5) lid, back part (6) damper mechanism (7) sostenuto rail (8) pedal mechanism, rods (9, 10, 11) pedals: right (sustain/damper), middle (sostenuto), left (soft/una-corda) (12) bridge (13) hitch pin (14) frame (15) sound board (16) string Pianos can have over 12,000 individual parts, supporting six functional features: keyboard, action (including hammers, hammer shanks, and whippens), dampers and their underlevers, bridges, soundboard, and strings. Many parts of a piano are made of materials selected for strength and longevity. This is especially true of the outer rim, which is most commonly made of hardwood, typically hard maple or beech, and its massiveness serves as an essentially immobile object from which the flexible soundboard can best vibrate. According to Harold A. Conklin, the purpose of a sturdy rim is so that, "... the vibrational energy will stay as much as possible in the soundboard instead of dissipating uselessly in the case parts, which are inefficient radiators of sound." Hardwood rims are commonly made by laminating thin, hence flexible, strips of hardwood, bending them to the desired shape immediately after the application of glue. The bent plywood system was developed by C.F. Theodore Steinway in 1880 to reduce manufacturing time and costs. Previously, the rim was constructed from several pieces of solid wood, joined and veneered, and European makers used this method well into the 20th century.[full citation needed] A modern exception, Bösendorfer, an Austrian manufacturer of high-quality pianos, constructs their inner rims from solid spruce, the same wood that the soundboard is made from, which is notched to allow it to bend. Rather than isolating the rim from vibration, their "resonance case principle" allows the framework to resonate more fr

A pianist playing Prelude and Fugue No. 23 in B major (BWV 868) from Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier on a grand piano When the key is struck, a chain reaction occurs to produce the sound. First, the key raises the "wippen" mechanism, which forces the jack against the hammer roller (or knuckle). The hammer roller then lifts the lever carrying the hammer. The key also raises the damper. Immediately after the hammer strikes the wire it falls back, allowing the wire to resonate and thus produce sound. When the key is released, the damper falls back onto the strings, stopping the wire from vibrating, and thus stopping the sound. The vibrating piano strings themselves are not very loud, but their vibrations are transmitted to a large soundboard that moves air and thus converts the energy to sound. The irregular shape and off-center placement of the bridge ensure that the soundboard vibrates strongly at all frequencies. The raised damper allows the note to sound until the key, or sustain pedal, is released. There are three factors that influence the pitch of a vibrating wire. Length: All other factors the same, the shorter the wire, the higher the pitch. Mass per unit length: All other factors the same, the thinner the wire, the higher the pitch. Tension: All other factors the same, the tighter the wire, the higher the pitch. A vibrating wire subdivides itself into many parts vibrating at the same time. Each part produces a pitch of its own, called a partial. A vibrating string has one fundamental and a series of partials. The purest combination of two pitches is when one is double the frequency of the other. For a repeating wave, the velocity v equals the wavelength λ times the frequency f, v = λf On the piano string, waves reflect from both ends. The superposition of reflecting waves results in a standing wave pattern, but only for wavelengths λ = 2L, L, .sfrac{white-space:n

Piano maintenance Tuning Piano key frequencies A piano tuner Pianos are heavy and powerful, yet delicate instruments. Over the years, professional piano movers have developed special techniques for transporting both grands and uprights, which prevent damage to the case and to the piano's mechanical elements. Pianos need regular tuning to keep them on correct pitch. The hammers of pianos are voiced to compensate for gradual hardening of the felt, and other parts also need periodic regulation. Pianos need regular maintenance to ensure the felt hammers and key mechanisms are functioning properly. Aged and worn pianos can be rebuilt or reconditioned by piano rebuilders. Strings eventually must be replaced. Often, by replacing a great number of their parts and adjusting them, old instruments can perform as well as new pianos. Piano tuning involves adjusting the tensions of the piano's strings with a specialized wrench, thereby aligning the intervals among their tones so that the instrument is in tune. While guitar and violin players tune their own instruments, pianists usually hire a piano tuner, a specialized technician, to tune their pianos. The piano tuner uses special tools. The meaning of the term in tune in the context of piano tuning is not simply a particular fixed set of pitches. Fine piano tuning carefully assesses the interaction among all notes of the chromatic scale, different for every piano, and requires slightly different pitches from any theoretical standard. Pianos are usually tuned to a modified version of the system called equal temperament. In all systems of tuning, each pitch is derived from its relationship to a chosen fixed pitch, usually the internationally recognized standard concert pitch of A4 (the A above middle C). The term A440 refers to a widely accepted frequency of this pitch: 440 Hz. The relationship between two pitches, called an interval, is the ratio of

Piano history and musical performance A Prague piano player. As with any other musical instrument, the piano may be played from written music, by ear, or through improvisation. While some folk and blues pianists were self-taught, in classical and jazz, there are well-established piano teaching systems and institutions, including pre-college graded examinations, university, college and music conservatory diplomas and degrees, ranging from the B.Mus. and M.Mus. to the Doctor of Musical Arts in piano. Piano technique evolved during the transition from harpsichord and clavichord to fortepiano playing and continued through the development of the modern piano. Changes in musical styles and audience preferences over the 19th and 20th century, as well as the emergence of virtuoso performers, contributed to this evolution and to the growth of distinct approaches or schools of piano playing. Although technique is often viewed as only the physical execution of a musical idea, many pedagogues and performers stress the interrelatedness of the physical and mental or emotional aspects of piano playing. Well-known approaches to piano technique include those by Dorothy Taubman, Edna Golandsky, Fred Karpoff, Charles-Louis Hanon and Otto Ortmann. Performance styles Many classical music composers, including Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven, composed for the fortepiano, a rather different instrument than the modern piano. Even composers of the Romantic movement, like Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Clara and Robert Schumann, Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, and Johannes Brahms, wrote for pianos substantially different from 2010-era modern pianos. Contemporary musicians may adjust their interpretation of historical compositions from the 17th century to the 19th century to account for sound quality differences between old and new instruments or to changing perfo

Social history of the piano The piano was the centrepiece of social life in the 19th-century upper-middle-class home (Moritz von Schwind, 1868). The man at the piano is composer Franz Schubert (1797–1828). The piano is a crucial instrument in many Western musical genres. Pianos are used in soloing or melodic roles and as accompaniment instruments. Pianos can be played alone, with a voice or other instrument, in small groups (bands and chamber music ensembles) and large ensembles (big band or orchestra). A large number of composers and songwriters are proficient pianists because the piano keyboard offers an effective means of experimenting with complex melodic and harmonic interplay of chords and trying out multiple, independent melody lines that are played at the same time. Pianos are used by composers doing film and television scoring, as the large range permits composers to try out melodies and bass lines, even if the music will be orchestrated for other instruments. Bandleaders and choir conductors often learn the piano, as it is an excellent instrument for learning new pieces and songs to lead in performance. Many conductors are trained in piano, because it allows them to play parts of the symphonies they are conducting (using a piano reduction or doing a reduction from the full score), so that they can develop their interpretation. The piano is an essential tool in music education in elementary and secondary schools, and universities and colleges. Most music classrooms and many practice rooms have a piano. Pianos are used to help teach music theory, music history and music appreciation classes, and even non-pianist music professors or instructors may have a piano in their office.