Piano and Keyboards
Keyboard instruments, especially the piano (or its Italian name, Pianoforte), are musical instruments played on a keyboard. In a piano, sound is produced by striking the strings with hammers.
When the keys of the piano are pressed, the wooden hammers inside strike the strings, creating sound. The piano is often referred to as a percussion instrument because of this hammering action. The piano is commonly used in classical and jazz music. It is a versatile instrument suitable for solo performances, ensemble playing, chamber music, accompaniment, composition, and rehearsal. Despite not being a portable instrument and generally being expensive, its versatility and ability to be found in many places make it one of the most widely used instruments in the world. An acoustic piano typically consists of a soundboard and a wooden frame that surrounds and protects the metal strings. It has 88 keys in total (52 white keys and 36 black keys). When a key on the piano is pressed, the felt-covered hammer strikes the corresponding strings, and even after the hammer returns to its original position, the strings continue to vibrate. This vibration is transmitted to the soundboard through the bridge, and the soundboard amplifies the sound before it is released into the air. When a finger is lifted from a key, dampers (vibration-reducing components) stop the strings from vibrating, effectively ending the sound. However, it is possible to sustain the sound even when lifting fingers from the keys using pedals.
In a piano, when any key is pressed, a felt-covered hammer strikes the strings associated with that key. Upon striking, the hammer returns to its original position, but the strings continue to vibrate. This vibration is transmitted to the soundboard through the bridge, and after amplifying the sound, the soundboard releases it into the air. When a finger is lifted from a key, dampers (vibration-reducing components) stop the strings from vibrating, effectively ending the sound. Despite having many strings inside, the acoustic piano is classified as a percussion instrument because it produces sound through striking rather than plucking or bowing, like other chordophones.
With technological advancements, the piano, classified as a chordophone (an instrument that produces sound through strings and their resonating bodies) in the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, has been developed not only in acoustic form but also in electric, electronic, and digital forms.
History
The first piano was built in Florence, Italy, by Bartolomeo Cristofori in the 1700s. Cristofori's most significant achievement was finding a solution to the fundamental mechanical problem of pianos, which was that the sound did not continue when the hammer struck the strings and the hammer quickly returned to its original position. He solved this issue by inventing a mechanism that allowed the hammer to escape from the string's grip, allowing the note to be played again. Cristofori built around 20 pianos until his death in 1732.
Frenchman Marius contributed to this instrument by inventing the "tangent piano." Saxon Silbermann improved Schöter's hammer mechanism and worked with the valuable advice of Bach to achieve equal resonance across the entire keyboard. In Augsburg, organ builder Johann Andreas Stein (1728-1792) developed pianos with improved mechanisms. In 1789, Stein replaced the knee levers, which were used to specify the details, with pedals. Andreas and his grandson Johann Baptist Streicher (1796-1871) made the piano's structure more robust and added a second soundboard to create a fuller sound. Zumpe, a German, is the real founder of the piano industry. He realized the "clavichord," which is the earliest piano. William Southwell, an Irishman, built the first straight-strung piano in 1789. Sebastian Erard introduced a significant innovation in piano construction in 1822 (double escapement action). Henri Pape invented the cross-stringing and felt-covered hammers. James Thom developed the iron frame with overstrung bass strings.
The piano has been the closest musical companion to great composers, and the number of compositions written for this instrument is enormous. Sigismund Thalberg, a famous pianist, said, "When playing, one of the essential conditions, which cannot be overlooked, is to be free from all hardness. The arm, the hand, and the fingers should possess the flexibility and pliancy of a good singer's voice. And, above all, one of the first conditions of success is to keep the limbs under complete control, to guide the arms and hands calmly, not to strike the piano keys from a height, to be able to listen to oneself and to judge."
Regarding the use of piano pedals, Antoine Marmontel stated, "Most students allowed to use the pedals make the mistake of using them as if they were counting measures or press their feet on the pedals and never release them. Certainly, one should avoid both of these habits that are considered faults." Lavignac also advised: "The art of the pedal consists not in knowing how to place the foot but in knowing how to release it."
Source: Wikipedia