A Comprehensive Walk through the Most Popular Music Instrument: Piano

A Piano is one of the most popular musical instruments worldwide. Starting back in the 1700s, it is almost ironic how the instrument stood through the changing times and reinvented itself constantly. This keyboard instrument makes the sound as the keys are pressed, and this is the simplest form of answer to how this magical instrument works. Usually, the modern pianos contain a row of 88 white and black keys. Among this, 55 white keys are for the scale C Major and 36 shorter black keys are for flats and sharps. This means with just a single piano you can play 88 different pitches or notes that span over seven octaves. 

Now to learn or play the instrument you don’t always have to have it physically, all thanks to the online piano. The digital world made it possible to play piano virtually anywhere so let's take a walk through the evolution of this musical instrument, see how it got popular since its invention, and what the types of pianos are available today. 

How do pianos work? 

The basic mechanism of the piano has hardly changed since its invention in the 1700s. The instrument contains a series of keys that cause "felt-covered hammers" to strike the strings. These strings are tuned to a particular note, resulting in vibration that is amplified by a soundboard. The soundboard is a giant wooden resonator that is designed to radiate a massive amount of sound over an extensive range of frequencies. 

    • The Action - 

The mechanism causing hammers to strike the strings whenever a key in the instrument is pressed is known as the "action". In this instrument, the key acts like a lever which starts a chain of reaction when moved downward. The original design of the piano included an "escapement mechanism" that used to make the hammer to be thrown at the strings. At that time, it made it impossible for a pianist to repeat any note without fully releasing it. However, this problem was resolved as the "double escapement system" developed by Sébastien Erard was introduced in the early 1800s. This invention introduced the "repetition lever" that caught the hammer and kept it separated from all the mechanisms. Now with the invention of this technique and system, pianists can play the same note up to 15 times per second repeatedly. 

    • Strings - 

When it comes to the piano strings, they are struck by the hammers and vibrated to create sound. The string plays a low or high note depending on the string's length, mass, and tension that is created. These specifications of the piano strings' diameter, length, and tension are known as the instrument's "scale". The modern piano has 88 keys, however, there are more keys inside. A typical modern piano might have close to 230 strings. This is how the pianos are made because most of the high notes strike three strings at a single time. The midranges and lower notes strike two following the same process. It was only the very lowest strings that hit one string at a time. 

    • Dampers - 

Each piano string has a damper that rests on top of it. All the strings in the instrument would start to vibrate sympathetically whenever any keys were played if dampers were not there. Whenever a key is pressed on the piano the damper of the particular string is lifted off. This allows the string to vibrate, creating the sound. As soon as the finger of the pianist is lifted off from the key, the damper immediately drops down. This further prevents the strings from vibrating immediately, causing the sound to stop. Simply, dampers are the sole reason why you can only hear the piano sound when the key is depressed. 

    • Pedals - 

A piano has three pedals, each of which is designed to change the tone while playing the instrument. When it comes to grand pianos, the middle paddle is called the sostenuto pedal which acts as a selective damper. It causes only those dampers to remain lifted which were already raised when the keys were pressed. The rest of the dampers stay unaffected throughout the process. The leftmost pedal known as the una corda pedal alters the grand piano's tone as it shifts the entire keyboard. In the process, it shifts the keyboard and moves it to the right so the hammers cannot strike all of the strings at the same time. The rightmost pedal known as the damper pedal prolongs the sound of the instrument as it lifts all the dampers off all the strings. This allows the dampers to vibrate freely. 

    • Soundboard - 

When it comes to the soundboard, it is easily the heart of the piano. The soundboard is usually a thin wooden sheet that serves the most important function of translating vibrating strings to musical notes. The reason why soundboards are typically made from wood is that they naturally amplify lower-frequency sounds. At the same time, it damps down higher frequencies. 

When was the piano invented?

It was 1700s when Bartolomeo Cristofori devised the first "gravecembalo col piano e forte" which translates to "harpsichord with soft and loud" in Florence. However, this invention is definitely not the first time the keyboard striking action was used. The examples of the piano principle were there back in the 1440s. But the significant modern discovery and its complete credit goes to Cristofori. He had gathered all the essentials by the year 1726, so it was his piano from where the modern instrument developed. 

The Evolution of Piano 

It was around the mid-18th century when Pianos became the most popular musical instrument and it continues to be. It is also made in a variety of forms, one of which is a square piano that was perfected by German piano makers. This was made for people who preferred less expensive, and lighter versions of the instrument with a softer touch. 

Then came the upright piano in 1890 which replaced the square piano for home use. The early upright piano was made following the design of upright harpsichords where the strings rose from the keyboard level. These were very tall in structure, but John Isaac Hawkins took the strings down, making them shorter, and more fit for smaller rooms. 

Then several developments were made in the 90s and 20s. In 1862, string tensions were determined to be 16 tons, giving a more dynamic range along with sostenuto - the ability to sustain a tone and an extensive tonal spectrum. A significant development in piano was made in the 20th century when electronic pianos came onto the scene. These rely on electroacoustic or digital methods of tone production that were heard through loudspeakers. 

The types of pianos 

There are primarily three types of physical pianos that are available nowadays. These are Grand, Upright, and Electronic pianos. However, these types are often combined and resized to incarnate different styles. Some of these examples are "Electric Upright Pianos", "Baby Grand Pianos", and "Electric Baby Grand Pianos". 

    • Grand Piano 

This is the largest piano type as well as the most expensive. Grand pianos are often categorized by horizontal soundboards. The dampers in this kind of structure lie on top of the strings. The dampers are adjacent to the horizontal hammers. The internal construction is made from wood and is braced with form-holders. 

    • Upright Piano 

These are the most common types of acoustic pianos that are a perfect addition to the living room. It has always been a favorite because it costs much less, offers a warm sound, and is more compact than grand or electronic pianos. Here, the soundboard is vertical, and the strings stretch horizontally or downward with dampers and hammers. The support base of the soundboard is also visible on the backside. 

    • Electronic Piano 

These are the most suitable for performers and beginners as they are also the most affordable. The electronic pianos have the features of an acoustic piano, along with a variety of sounds and settings including guitar, organ, strings, percussion, and choir. On some keyboards, there are numerous sounds, making it a virtually portable band. 

Online Piano

An online piano or a virtual piano is the newest version of pianos that stood through the changes of times, and technological evolution and adopted into this new digital world. It is an application or software that is designed to stimulate the playing of the piano on a computer. Usually, the virtual pianos are played with a keyboard and a mouse. Typically virtual pianos come with several features that are found on a digital piano. This software can also simultaneously store music or play MIDI files. It can also highlight the piano keys corresponding to the playing notes, along with highlighting the sheet of musical notes. If you are interested in learning piano, but don't have the budget to get an actual piano, this is your best chance at learning and playing a piano. 

Unique facts about the piano you didn't know

Some of the unique and interesting facts about piano that you probably didn't know are - 

    • The crystal piano was the most expensive item in 2008 which was replaced by the “As time goes by” in 2014. This piano was featured in a song in the cult classic movie Casablanca which was auctioned in 2014 and sold with the highest bidding of $3,400,000. 

    • The world's largest piano, 450i Vertical Concert Grand which was unveiled in 2019 is 6 Meters high. David Klavins, the German piano maker invented this. 

    • A grand piano consists of a total of 12,000 parts. 

    • Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the piano, was a citizen of the Republic of Venice. 

    • Grand Duke of Tuscany, Prince Ferdinando de Medici was passing through Venice when he encountered the piano inventor. As he was a collector of art and musical instruments, he funded the invention. 

    • The grand piano has 7 different versions including Petite grand, Baby grand, Medium grand, Professional grand, Parlor grand, Semi-concert grand, and Concert grand. Similarly upright pianos have three different versions - Spinet upright, Console upright, and Studio upright. The electronic piano also has its own three versions including Standard Digital, Upright Digital, and Stage Digital.

    • The best piano makers and piano brands are German, making 90% of the markets filled with the best German piano makers. 

    • The tuning of a piano changes with the weather. 

Top easy piano songs 

If you are a beginner at playing Piano, these are the top 5 tracks that can be easily played on the instrument. 

i) Imagine by John Lennon - This is one of the easiest classic rock anthems that takes minimum time to learn to play on the piano. At the same time, learning to play this song will help you reinforce your methods and skills in the C Major. 

ii)| Clocks by Coldplay - This is another song that is best suited for beginners and is also great for practicing arpeggiated triad chords. 

iii) 1234 by Feist - This is an instant classic that can be easily played on the instrument and the cheerful rhythms would make you want to actually learn this ASAP! 

iv) Happy Birthday - The everlasting tune of Happy Birthday! It is another easy composition that you can learn on the piano. After all, every home needs one playing the tune on their pianoforte. 

v) Blinding Lights by The Weeknd - This track uses a repeated progression of the same four chords that are used in each section. So you can easily learn this composition on the instrument as the chords are a mixture of major and minor triads. 

Piano is a very interesting instrument that is not easy to master, yet it fascinates musicians more than anything else. It is also one of the most complete instruments that can almost be used in different musical styles and genres. With such versatility, it is not surprising that every other artist wants to be a pianist too!