The Piano

Ordinary as it might seem, the piano is actually a very unique instrument, and is also one of the most popular instruments.

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. Apart from being widely used in Classical music for solo performances, and accompaniment, the piano is also very useful as an aid to compose music pieces. The word piano is a shortened form of the word pianoforte, which derives from the original Italian name for the instrument

History

The piano was invented by Italian court instrument-keeper Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698. The piano was essentially a solution to a long-running problem - namely that of producing a keyboard instrument that could be modulated to be loud or. Cristofori's development of a "hammer action" assembly allowed hammers to strike the strings. Cristofori's piano action served as a model for the many different approaches to piano actions that followed.

How it works

When a key of the piano is pressed, the mechanisms in the piano will move a hammer, causing it to hit a string. Cristofori's made the piano such that the hammer must strike the string, but not remain in contact with it because this would damp the sound. Moreover, the hammer must return to its rest position without bouncing violently, and it must be possible to repeat a note rapidly. Cristofori's piano action served as a model for the many different approaches to piano actions that followed.

Pedals

Pianos have had pedals since the earliest days. Most grand pianos have three pedals: the soft pedal (una corda), sostenuto, and sustain pedal (from left to right, respectively), while in Europe, the standard is two pedals: the soft pedal and the sustain pedal. Most modern upright pianos also have three pedals: soft pedal, practice pedal and sustain pedal, though older or cheaper models may lack the practice pedal.

The sustain pedal (or, damper pedal) is often simply called "the pedal", since it is the most frequently used. It is placed as the rightmost pedal in the group. It lifts the dampers from all keys, sustaining all played notes.

The soft pedal or una corda pedal is placed leftmost in the row of pedals. In grand pianos, it shifts the entire action, including the keyboard, to the right, so that the hammers hit only one of the three strings for each note.

On grand pianos, the middle pedal is a sostenuto pedal. This pedal keeps raised any damper that was already raised at the moment the pedal is depressed. This makes it possible to sustain some notes.

Types

Modern pianos come in two basic configurations: the grand piano and the upright piano.

In grand pianos, the frame and strings are horizontal, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. There are several sizes of grand piano.
The longer strings on a concert grand can vibrate more accurately than the shorter, thicker strings on a baby grand, which means that a concert grand's strings will have truer overtones.A grand piano action has a repetition lever for each key. If the key is pressed repeatedly and fairly quickly this repetition lever catches the hammer close to the strings, which assists the speed and control of repeated notes and trills.



Upright pianos, also called vertical pianos, are more compact because the frame and strings are vertical. The hammers move horizontally, and are returned to their resting position by springs, which are prone to wear and tear. Upright pianos with unusually tall frames and long strings are sometimes called upright grand pianos.

(sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#History, http://www.pianoinfo.co.uk/history.htm, http://www.pianorestoring.com/History_Education/Education.htm)

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