| Piano History: How Did the Piano Originate? |
|
|
|
| Written by J.Simon | |
| Friday, 09 January 2009 | |
|
The piano is a musical instrument that a person plays by pressing the keys on a keyboard. The keys are linked to felt covered hammers that are caused to strike metal strings when the key is depressed. A mechanism ensures that upon striking the strings the hammers are immediately released, which allows the strings to continue to vibrate at their resonant frequency.
The piano is a musical instrument that a person plays by pressing the keys on a keyboard. The keys are linked to felt covered hammers that are caused to strike metal strings when the key is depressed. A mechanism ensures that upon striking the strings the hammers are immediately released, which allows the strings to continue to vibrate at their resonant frequency. After the pianist presses the key, a part inside the piano stops the sound from reverberating. While the key sounds, it transmits to the soundboard which amplifies the sound of the keys. The piano player is able to play different pitches depending on the keys played with differing degrees of loudness or softness and the duration of the notes held can be controlled by the damper pedal. 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. The term piano also means Pianoforte a more official term that translate from the Italian to the words soft and loud. The piano can have the capacity to be played from very soft to very loud, hence the name Pianoforte. The instrument piano developed from the old instrument Harpsichord by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy, and became a much loved musical instrument during the 18th century. The concept for the piano as a musical instrument originated from the ancient harp, which were used in ancient Greece and Rome. Over the centuries, the idea arose to have a stringed instrument that the strings would be plucked mechanically as a person would press the a key. This in turn led to the development of the very early keyboards which were used by early Baroque area performers. 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. The harpsichord's inventor aimed for an instrument that would carry colorful high pitches and deep low notes. The piano was built to have hammers that were controlled, use steel strings, and remodel the resonators and fret board so that the sound emanating from the keyboard was much more dramatic than the simple harpsichord. Double key escapement allowed notes to sound again while the hammer did not return to 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 writes reviews for Play Piano Guide, a website that covers online piano lessons. Many students admire the piano as the history of piano has a colorful past. From the Webmaster: "Having the opportunity to share my hobbies and interests with so many people around the world gives me great satisfaction. As a bonus, I blog and produce websites about topics that interest me and receive ad revenue from the websites and Blogs." You can live like this too. Get your domain name and set up a blog on your favorite place or topic. No come-ons. No "Get-Rich-Quick" promises. The results are worth the time and effort needed to build a REAL business.You can start your first or your fiftieth Blog or website to build long- term, ever-growing profits that can take you where you want to go. For less than $10 dollars a year for a domain name and $3.95 a month for basic blog hosting you can start to earn from your hobby or interest. To begin, Click here to sign up for a domain name and Blog hosting . Or, Click here to learn more about starting a blog or website for profit. |