Mechanisms of the Piano

The piano is a widely-accepted and versatile instrument that has had a long history. It was invented at the end of the seventeenth century and was based on earlier stringed instruments such as the harp and the harpsichord, but it used a different technology to produce its sounds. There are several different types of piano differentiated by shape and size, all using the same basic mechanism to produce music.

The piano is essentially a combination of harp strings and a percussive keyboard system borrowed from the early organ. The early designs utilized a few strings serving a number of notes, much like the guitar with the use of fretting and moveable bridges to change tone. The number of strings was later increased, and the keyboard dulcimer was developed. This instrument was referred to as the clavicymbal or clavecin or, in English, the harpsichord. Refinements led to the use of a single string for each tone, and the instrument was known as the "couched harp," or a harp enclosed in an energy box, or spinet. Strings in the spinet were plucked by a quill attached to the end of a wooden "jack." This allowed for more musical scope, but it was still not possible to change the tone from loud to soft. This changed beginning in 1711 when Bartolomeo Cristofori invented a hammer mechanism, which could produce a force that as either hard or soft and which could be altered to any degree between the two extremes. Cristofori called his development the pianoforte (from "Piano," f

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strings free to vibrate as long as the key is held down. The damper returns to its place when the key is released (Hollis, 1984, p. 52). Scipione Maffei published an article in 1711 reporting that he had seen four of the new pianos and describing their operation. The date of the origin of the piano is often given as of this publication, but in reality the piano was developed before 1700 (Hollis, p. 52). The three surviving examples of Cristofori's pianos were made in the 1720s and differ from the Maffei description, leading to speculation that Maffei may have been in error or that Cristofori changed the design (McHenry, 1992, p. 680). Pianos come in different sizes and configurations, producing different levels of tone. The concert grand sands at the top of the list and today represents the highest skills of the pianomaker's art. This piano has long speaking strings made resonant by means of cleverly designed bearing points and masterfully designed bridges. The instrument energizes a delicately crowned sound board to produce tones which are clearer at 60 feet than near the piano. These pianos are large, often nine feet across. There are also seven-, six-, and five-foot grands which are also capable of great magnificence o

Category: Arts - M