The piano is an acoustic instrument, a string found in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700 (the exact uncertain year), in which the strike is struck by a hammer. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that are pressed by a player or hit with a finger and thumb both hands to cause the hammer to hit the strings. The word piano is a shortened form of pianoforte, the Italian term for the early 1700s version of the instrument, which in turn comes from gravicembalo col piano e forte > and fortepiano . The Italian music terms piano and forte show "soft" and "hard" respectively, in this context referring to the volume variation (ie, loudness) generated in response to Touch or pianist pressure on the key: the greater the speed of the button press, the greater the power of the hammer hit the strings, and the louder the resulting notes and the stronger the attack. The first Fortepianos in the 1700s had a quieter sound and a smaller dynamic range.
Acoustic pianos usually have wooden crates that surround the soundboard and metal strings, which are strung together under heavy pressure on heavy metal frames. Pressing one or more keys on the piano keyboard causes a soft hammer (usually soft to tight) to hit the strings. The hammer bounces off its strings, and the strings continue to vibrate at their resonance frequency. This vibration is transmitted over the bridge to the amplifying soundboard by more efficiently combining acoustic energy into the air. When the lock is released, the damper stops the vibration of the string, ending the sound. Notes can be maintained, even when the key is released by finger and thumb, using a pedal at the base of the instrument. Continuous pedals allow the pianist to play a piece of music that should not be possible, such as sounding a 10-note chord in a lower register and then, while the chord continues with a sustain pedal, shifting both hands to the treble range to play melodies and arpeggios over chords this sustainable. Unlike pipe organ and harpsichord, two main keyboard instruments are widely used before the piano, the piano allows the gradation of volume and tone according to how strong the player presses or pushes a button.
Most modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, 52 white keys for tones of C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A and B) and 36 shorter black keys, raised above white keys, and set it further back on the keyboard. This means that the piano can play 88 different tones (or "notes"), going from the deepest bass range to the highest treble. Black key for "accident" (F /G ? , G ? /A ? , A ? /B ? , C ? /D ? , and D ? /E ? ), which is required to play on all twelve keys. Less frequently, some pianos have additional keys (which require extra strings). Most notes have three strings, except for bass that pass from one to two. The ropes are heard when the button is pressed or hit, and silenced by silencers when the hand is lifted from the keyboard. Although acoustic pianos have strings, they are usually classified as percussion instruments rather than as stringed instruments, because the strings are struck, not picked (as with the harpsichord or spinet); in the Hornbostel-Sachs instrument classification system, pianos are considered chordophones. There are two main types of pianos: a grand piano and an upright piano. The grand piano is used for Classical solos, chamber music, and art songs, and is often used in jazz and pop concerts. Upright pianos, which are more compact, are the most popular type, as this is a better size for use in private homes for domestic musical making and practice.
During the 1800s, it was influenced by music trends from the Romantic music era, innovations such as cast iron skeletons (which allowed much greater string tension) and aliquot stringing grand pianos to give a stronger sound, with longer lasting and richer tones. In the nineteenth century, family pianos played the same role as the radio or record played in the twentieth century; when a nineteenth-century family wants to hear newly published music or symphonies, they can hear it by asking a family member to play it on the piano. During the nineteenth century, music publishers produced many musical works in settings for the piano, so music lovers can play and hear popular songs in their homes. Piano is widely used in classical, jazz, traditional and popular music for solo and ensemble performances, accompaniment, and for writing, songwriting and practice. Although the piano is very heavy and thus is not portable and expensive (compared to other widely used companions, such as acoustic guitars), the versatility of the music (ie, wide tone range, the ability to play chords up to 10 notes, louder or softer notes and two or more independent music lines at the same time), a large number of musicians and amateurs are trained in playing it, and its wide availability at the venue, school and training room has made it one of the world's most familiar Western musical instruments. With advances in technology, powered pianos (1929), electronic pianos (1970s), and digital pianos (1980s) have also been developed. Electric piano became a popular instrument in the genre of the 1960s and 1970s jazz fusion, funk music and rock music.
Video Piano
Histori
Piano was founded on previous technological innovations in keyboard instruments. Pipe organs have been used since time immemorial, and thus, the development of pipe organs allows instrument builders to learn about creating a keyboard mechanism for tone of voice. The first string instrument with struck strings was the hammered dulcimers, used since the Middle Ages in Europe. During the Middle Ages, there were several attempts to create a stringed keyboard instrument with multiple strings. In the 17th century, the mechanisms of keyboard instruments such as clavichords and harpsichords were well developed. In the clavichord, the strings are struck by a tangent line, while in the harpsichord, they are mechanically pulled by the thorns when the player presses a button. Centuries of work on the harpsichord mechanism in particular have shown the instrument builder the most effective way to build cases, sound boards, bridges, and mechanical actions for keyboards intended to sound a string.
Discovery
The invention of the piano is credited to Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) from Padua, Italy, employed by Ferdinando de 'Medici, the Archbishop of Tuscany, as the Guardian of Instruments. Cristofori is an expert harpsichord maker, and is well acquainted with the body of knowledge about threaded keyboard instruments. He uses his knowledge of the harpsichord keyboard mechanism and actions to help him develop the first piano. It is not known exactly when Cristofori first built the piano. Inventory made by his employer, the Medici family, shows the existence of a piano in 1700; another document of dubious authenticity indicates the date 1698. The three surviving Cristofori pianos today date from the 1720s. Cristofori named the instrument un cimbalo di cipresso di piano e forte ("keyboard cypress softly and hard"), shortened over time as pianoforte , fortepiano >, and then, simply, the piano.
While the clavichord allows expressive and maintain volume control, it is too quiet for large performances in the large hall. Harpsichord produces a pretty loud sound, especially when the coupler connects each key with both manual two-man harpsichords, but does not offer dynamic expressive controls or accent-based on each note. A harpsichord can not generate multiple dynamic levels from the same keyboard during a piece of music (although a player can use a two-man harpsichord to alternate between two different stops [the settings on the harpsichord that determine which string of sounds are], which can include a stop harder and quit quieter). The piano offers the best of both instruments, combining the ability to play hard and make sharp accents. Pianos can project more during piano concerts and play in larger venues, with dynamic controls that allow a variety of dynamics, including soft and quiet games.
The great success of Cristofori was the solution, without the previously known example, the fundamental mechanical problem of designing a threaded keyboard instrument in which the note was struck by a hammer. The hammer must hit the strings, but not stay in touch with him, as this will muffle the sound and stop the strings from vibrating and making sounds. This means that after hitting the rope, the hammer must be lifted or lifted off the rope. In addition, the hammer must return to the rest position without bouncing hard, and the hammer must return to the position where it is ready to play as soon as the key is pressed so that the player can repeat the same note quickly. Cristofori piano action is a model for many approaches to piano action followed in the next century. Cristofori's early instruments were made with thin strings, and were much quieter than modern pianos, but they were much harder and more resilient than clavichords - the only previous keyboard instruments capable of dynamic nuance through weight or power used. keyboard played.
Initial Fortepiano
Cristofori's new instrument was relatively unknown until an Italian writer, Scipione Maffei, wrote an enthusiastic article about it in 1711, including a mechanism diagram, which was translated into German and widely distributed. Most generations of piano builders start their work based on reading articles. One of these builders was Gottfried Silbermann, better known as an organ builder. Silbermann's piano is a direct copy of Cristofori, with one important addition: Silbermann creates a modern pioneer pedal pioneer, which lifts all the silencers of the string simultaneously. This allows the pianist to maintain a depressed record even after their fingers no longer press the button. This innovation allows pianists to, for example, play loud chords with both hands in lower instrument registers, sustain chords with sustain pedals, and then, with a continuous chime, relocate their hands to different lists of keyboards in preparation for the next section.
Silbermann showed Johann Sebastian Bach one of the earliest instruments in the 1730s, but Bach disliked instruments at the time, claiming that the higher notes were too soft to allow full dynamic range. Although this made him feel hostile from Silbermann, the criticism seemed to be noticed. Bach approved the instrument he later saw in 1747, and even served as an agent in the sale of Silbermann pianos. "Instrument: piano et forte genandt" -a reference to the instrument's ability to play soft and hard-was an expression that Bach used to help sell the instrument when he acted as agent of Silbermann in 1749.
Piano making evolved during the late 18th century at the Vienna school, which included Johann Andreas Stein (who works in Augsburg, Germany) and Viennese maker Nannette Streicher (daughter of Stein) and Anton Walter. Vienna-style pianos are built with wooden frames, two strings per note, and a leather-covered hammer. Some of these Vienna pianos have different colors than modern-day pianos; the natural keys are black and the keys are unintentional white. For such instruments, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composes concerts and sonatas, and a replica of them built in the 21st century for use in authentic musical instrument performances. Mozart pianos have a softer, subtle tone than 21st century pianos or English pianos, with less retaining power. The term
The modern piano
In the period from about 1790 to 1860, the Mozart era pianos underwent remarkable changes that led to the form of modern instruments. This revolution in response to preferences by composers and pianists for a stronger, sustainable piano sound, and made possible by the ongoing Industrial Revolution with resources such as high quality piano wire for string, and precision casting for large iron production. a frame that can withstand the tremendous strain of a string. Over time, the piano tonal range also increased from Mozart's five octaves to a range of seven octaves (or more) found on modern pianos.
The early technological advances of the late 1700s were largely dependent on the Broadwood company. John Broadwood joined another Scot, Robert Stodart, and a Dutchman, Americus Backers, to design the piano in the case of the harpsichord - of "big" origin. They achieved this in about 1777. They quickly gained a reputation for the grandeur and strong tone of their instruments, with Broadwood building a bigger, louder, and more powerful piano built. They sent pianos to Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven, and were the first company to build pianos with a range of more than five octaves: five octaves and one fifth during the 1790s, six octaves in 1810 (Beethoven uses additional notes in his book). then work), and seven octaves in 1820. Vienna's makers also follow this trend; But both schools use different piano actions: Broadwoods use stronger action, while Vienna instruments are more sensitive.
In the 1820s, the center of piano innovation had shifted to Paris, where the Pleyel company produced the pianos used by Frà © monica Chopin and the law firm produced used by Franz Liszt. In 1821, SÃÆ'  © bastien ÃÆ' â € ° rard found a double escape action, which incorporated the repeating lever (also called balancier ) which allowed repeat the note even if the key had not been up to its maximum vertical position. It facilitates quick playback of recurring records, Liszt's exploited instrument. When this discovery became public, as revised by Henri Herz, the double escape act gradually became standard in the grand pianos, and still incorporated into all the grand pianos produced in the 2000s. Other improvements to the mechanism include the use of a hammer cover perceived by a non-layered firm or cotton. Feeling, first introduced by Jean-Henri Pape in 1826, is a more consistent material, allowing a wider dynamic range as the weight of the hammer and the strain of the rope increases. The sostenuto pedal (see below), discovered in 1844 by Jean-Louis Boisselot and copied by the Steinway company in 1874, enables a wider range of effects, such as playing 10 note chords in the bass range, keeping them with pedals, and then moving the second hands down the treble range to play a two-handed melody or arpeggio sequence.
One of the innovations that help create a powerful modern piano sound is the use of a massive and powerful cast iron frame. Also called a "plate", the iron frame sits on a soundboard, and serves as a main fortress against the strain tension that can exceed 20 tons (180 kilonets) in a modern grand. The single-piece cast iron frame patented in 1825 in Boston by Alpheus Babcock, incorporating the hitch pin metal plate (1821, claimed by Broadwood on behalf of Samuel HervÃÆ' © ©) and rejecting bars (Thom and Allen, 1820, but also claimed by Broadwood and à pin â € ° rard). Babcock then works for Chickering & amp; The Mackays Company patented the first full metal frame for a grand piano in 1843. The framed metal composite frame was favored by many European makers until the American system was fully adopted in the early 20th century. The increased structural integrity of the iron frame allows the use of strings that are thicker, more tense, and more numerous. In 1834, Webster & amp; Birmingham Horsfal Company issued a piano wire made of cast steel; according to Dolge, "is superior to the iron wire so that the British firm soon has a monopoly." But better steel wire was soon made in 1840 by the Vienna company Martin Miller, and the period of innovation and fierce competition took place, with competing brands of piano wire being tested against each other in international competitions, which ultimately led to a modern form of the piano wire.
Other important advances include changes to the way pianos are strung together, such as the use of a "choir" of three strings instead of two for all but the lowest notes, and an overly strong scale implementation, in which the strings are placed on two separate planes, each with a height bridge itself. (This is also called cross-stringing.) While the previous instrument bass string is just a continuation of a single plane string, over-stringing puts the bass bridge behind and to the treble side of the tenor bridge area It crosses string, with bass strings on higher planes.) This allows the narrower cabinet at the end of the "nose" of the piano, and optimizes the transition from the tenor string to the iron. or bass strings wrapped in copper. Over-stringing was created by Pape during the 1820s, and was first patented for use on grand pianos in the United States by Henry Steinway, Jr.. in 1859.
Some piano makers develop schemes to improve the tone of each tone. Julius Blathner developed Aliquot stringing in 1893 as well as Pascal Taskin (1788), and Collard & amp; Collard (1821). This system is used to reinforce the highest note note tones on the piano, which until recently was considered too weak to be heard. Each uses a clearer vibration, an unbalanced vibration of a string that vibrates sympathetically to be added to a tone, except the Bla¼thner Aliquot string, which uses the additional fourth string in the upper two treble sections. While the hitchpins of the separate Aliquot strings are raised slightly above the usual tri-choir string level, they are not struck by a hammer but are muted by an attachment of the usual damper. Eager to copy this effect, Theodore Steinway invents duplex scaling, which uses short non-speak wires that are bridged by "aliquots" on many of the top piano reaches, always in locations that cause them to vibrate sympathetically accordingly with the tone of each tone - usually in octaves and twelve doubled. The upright piano mechanical action structure was created in London, England in 1826 by Robert Wornum, and the upright model became the most popular model. Upright pianos take up less space than grand pianos, and thus they are a better size for use in private homes for making music and domestic practice.
Variations of form and design
Some early pianos have shapes and designs that are no longer used. The square piano (not really square, but rectangle) is crosslinked at a very sharp angle above the hammer, with the keyboard set along the long side. This design is associated with Gottfried Silbermann or Christian Ernst Friderici on the continent, and Johannes Zumpe or Harman Vietor in England, and it is corrected by the changes first introduced by Guillaume-Lebrecht Petzold in France and Alpheus Babcock in the United States. The square piano was built in large numbers through the 1840s in Europe and the 1890s in the United States, and saw the most visible changes of all types of pianos: iron-framed, over-strung produced by Steinway & Children are more than two and a half times the size of a Zumpe wood-framed instrument from the previous century. Their overwhelming popularity is due to construction and low prices, although their tone and performance are limited by narrow sound boards, simple actions and string distances that make proper hammer alignment difficult.
The upright, erect upright grand is arranged like a grand set at the end, with sound boards and bridges over the keys, and pin tuning under them. The term is then revived by many manufacturers for advertising purposes. "Piano giraffes," "pyramid pianos" and "piano lyre" are arranged in a somewhat similar fashion, using an evocative case. The very high cabinet piano was introduced around 1805 and was built through the 1840s. It has a string that is arranged vertically on a continuous frame with the bridge extended almost to the floor, behind the keyboard and very large action sticker . An erect short hut or pianino with vertical arranging, made popular by Robert Wornum around 1815, was built in the 20th century. They are informally called birdcage pianos because of their main dampening mechanism. Upright erect, popularized in France by Roller & amp; Blanchet during the late 1820s, diagonally strung along his compass. A small upright spinet was made from the mid-1930s to the present. Low hammer positions require the use of "drop action" to maintain a reasonable keyboard height. Upright and grand modern pianos reach the present era of 2000 at the end of the 19th century. While improvements have been made in the manufacturing process, and many individual details of the instrument continue to receive attention, and a small number of acoustic pianos are produced with MIDI recording capabilities and sound modules, the 19th century was the most dramatic era. innovation and instrument modification.
Maps Piano
Type
The modern acoustic piano has two basic configurations, a grand piano and an upright piano, with a variety of styles each. There are also special and new pianos, electric pianos based on electromechanical design, electronic pianos that synthesize piano-like tones using oscillators, and digital pianos use digital samples of acoustic piano sounds.
Grand
In the grand piano frame and horizontal string, with strings extending from the keyboard. The action lies beneath the strings, and uses gravity as a tool to return to a resting state. There are many sizes of grand pianos. A rough generalization distinguishes a grand concert (between 2.2 and 3 meters [7 ft3 in-9 ft 10 in]) from parlor grand , or boudoir grand , (1.7 to 2.2 meters [5 ft 7 inches at -7 ft 3 in]) and a smaller < i> baby grand (about 1.5 meters [4 ft 11 inches]).
All others are equivalent, longer pianos with longer strings have bigger, richer sounds and lower string disharmony. Disharmony is the rate at which the tone frequency (known as partial or harmonic) sounds sharp relative to the entire multiples of the fundamental frequency. This results from enough piano strain stiffness; as the string darts decays its harmonic vibrates, not from their termination, but from a very slight point toward the center (or more flexible part) of the string. The higher the partial, the sharper it goes. Pianos with shorter and thicker strings (ie small pianos with short strings) have more disharmony. The greater the disharmony, the more ears perceive it as a loud tone.
The disharmony of the piano strings requires that the octave be stretched, or set to a lower pitch tone than the octave tone lower than the theoretically correct octave. If the octave is not stretched, a single octave sounds aligned, but doubly - and especially triple - octaves is very narrow. Stretching the small piano octum to match inherent inharmonicity levels creates an imbalance between all instrumental relations of the instrument. In a magnificent concert, however, the octave "stretching" maintains harmonic balance, even when aligning the treble note into harmonics resulting from the three octaves below. This allows a close and wide octave to sound pure, and produces perfect perfect flippers. It provides amazing concerts, brilliant song quality and voices - one of the main reasons why the grand-size is used in the concert hall. Smaller grands meet the space requirements and costs of domestic use; also, they are used in some small teaching studios and smaller show venues.
Upright (vertical)
Upright pianos, also called vertical pianos, are more compact because of their vertical frames and strings. Upright pianos are generally cheaper than grand pianos. Upright pianos are used extensively in churches, community centers, schools, music conservatories and university music programs as exercise and training tools, and they are popular models for home purchases. Hammer moves horizontally, and returns to their resting position through the spring, which is prone to degradation. Upright pianos with very tall frames and long strings are sometimes called grand pitch . Some authors classify modern pianos according to their height and modification of actions required to accommodate altitude. The
- Studio piano has a height of about 107 to 114 cm (42-45 inches). This is the shortest cabinet that can accommodate full-size actions located above the keyboard.
- Console piano has a short action (short hammer), and is a few inches shorter than the studio model.
- The top of the spinet model barely rises above the keyboard. This action is located below, operated by a vertical cable attached to the back of the key.
- Anything higher than the studio piano is called upright .
Custom
The toy piano, introduced in the 19th century, is an instrument like a small piano, which generally uses a round metal rod to produce sound, not a string. The Library of Congress recognizes the toy piano as a unique instrument with a subject designation, Piano Value Toys: M175 T69. In 1863, Henri Fourneaux invented the piano player, who played herself from a piano roll. A machine punched a performance record into a roll of paper, and a piano player played back performance using a pneumatic device. The modern equivalents of piano players include CEUS BÃÆ'¶sendorfer, Yamaha Disklavier and QRS Pianomation, using solenoid and MIDI rather than pneumatic and rolls. A silent piano is an acoustic piano that has the option of silencing its strings by using a hammer bar. They are designed for private silent practice, to avoid disturbing others. Edward Ryley invented the piano transposing in 1801. This rare instrument has a lever under the keyboard to move the keyboard relative to the strings so that the pianist can play in a known key when the music sounds in different keys.
Minipiano is a patented tool by the Brasted brothers of the Eavestaff Ltd. piano company. in 1934. This musical instrument has a brainless back, and a soundboard positioned under a key - meaning that a long metal rod is pulled on a lever to make a hammer hit a string. The first model, known as Pianette , is unique because the tuning pin is extended through the instrument, so it can be tuned in front.
The prepared piano, present in some contemporary art music of the 20th and 21st centuries is a piano with objects placed in it to change its voice, or the mechanism changes in other ways. Scores for music for the piano are ready to define modifications, eg instruct the pianist to insert pieces of rubber, paper, metal screws, or washing machine between strings. It either turns off the strings or alters their timbre. Sound like a harpsichord can be produced by placing or dangling a small metal button in front of the hammer. Adding an eraser between the bass strings produces a mellow, pounding sound that reminds us of double bass being picked. Inserting screws or metal washers can cause the piano to make a sound of the hides because these metal objects vibrate against the strings. In 1954 a German company exhibited a cordless piano at the Spring Fair in Frankfurt, Germany which sold for US $ 238. The cables were replaced by metal rods of different alloys that replicated the standard cables when played. A similar concept is used in an electric-acoustic Rhodes piano.
Electric, electronic and electronic The first electric piano of the late 1920s used metal strings with magnetic pickups, amplifiers and loudspeakers. Electric pianos became the most popular in pop and rock music in the 1960s and 1970s, as Fender Rhodes used metal tines instead of strings and used electromagnetic pickups similar to electric guitars. The resulting analog electrical signals can then be amplified with keyboard amplifiers or electronically manipulated with effect units. Electric piano is rarely used in classical music, where its main use is as an inexpensive exercise or training tool in music school. However, electric pianos, especially Fender Rhodes, became an important instrument in the 1970s funk and jazz fusion and in several genres of rock music.
Electronic piano is non-acoustic; they do not have strings, tines or hammers, but are a type of synthesizer that simulates or mimics the sound of a piano using oscillators and filters that synthesize the sound of an acoustic piano. They must be connected to the amplifier keyboard and speakers to produce sound (however, some electronic keyboards have built-in amps and speakers). Alternatively, one can practice electronic piano with headphones to avoid disturbing others.
Digital pianos are also not acoustic and have no strings or hammers. They use digital sampling technology to accurately reproduce the acoustic sound of each piano note. They should also be connected to power amplifiers and speakers to produce sound (however, most digital pianos have built-in amps and speakers). Alternatively, one can practice with headphones to avoid disturbing others. Digital pianos can include retaining pedals, weighted or semi-weighted keys, multiple sound options (eg, imitation samples or electric pianos, Hammond organs, violins, etc.), and MIDI interfaces. MIDI input and output connect the digital piano with other electronic instruments or music devices. For example, digital piano MIDI out signals can be connected with a patch cable to a synth module, which will allow players to use a digital piano keyboard to play a modern synthesizer sound. Early digital pianos tend to lack a full set of pedals but the synthesis software of subsequent models such as Yamaha Clavinova series synthesizes the sympathetic vibrations of other strings (such as when the sustain pedal is pressed) and full set of pedals can now be replicated. The power of digital piano processing has enabled very realistic pianos to use a multi-gigabyte piano sample set with as many as ninety records, each lasting a few seconds, for each key under different conditions (for example, there are samples of each note being hit with soft, hard, with a sharp attack, etc.). The additional samples mimic the sympathetic resonance of the string when the pedal maintains being pressed, key releases, damper drops, and engineering simulations such as paddling.
Digital, MIDI-equipped, piano can output MIDI data stream, or record and play via CD ROM or USB flash drive using MIDI format file, similar in concept to pianola. The MIDI file records the physics of the record rather than the sound produced and recreates the sound of its physical properties (for example, which record is being hit and at what speed). Computer-based software, such as Modartt's 2006 Pianoteq, can be used to manipulate MIDI streams in real time or later to edit them. This type of software may not use samples but synthesize sounds based on the physical aspects that go into making the notes played.
Hybrid Instruments
In the 2000s, some pianos included acoustic grand pianos or upright pianos combined with MIDI electronic features. Such pianos can be played acoustically, or the keyboard can be used as a MIDI controller, which can trigger a synthesizer module or music sampler. Some electronically-equipped pianos like the Yamaha Disklavier electronic piano player, introduced in 1987, are equipped with electronic sensors for recording and electromechanical solenoids for piano player playback. The sensor records the movement of buttons, hammers, and pedals during performance, and the system stores performance data as a Standard MIDI File (SMF). At playback, the solenoid removes the key and pedal and thus reproduces the original performance. Modern disklaviers typically include various electronic features, such as a built-in tone generator to play back MIDI companion tracks, speakers, MIDI connectivity that supports communication with computing devices and external MIDI instruments, additional ports for audio and SMPTE I/O, and Internet connectivity. Disklaviers has been produced in upright style, baby grand, and grand piano (including a nine foot grand concert). Reproduction systems range from relatively simple models, only playback for professional models that can record performance data at resolutions that exceed normal MIDI data limits. Units mounted under the piano keyboard can play MIDI or audio software on a CD or floppy disk drive. {{{1}}}
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Construction and components
The piano can have more than 12,000 individual parts, supporting six functional features: keyboard, hammer, silencer, bridge, sound board, and string. Many parts of the piano are made of materials chosen for strength and long life. This is especially true on the outer rim. It is most often made of hardwood, usually hard maple or beech, and its splendor serves as an essentially immovable object from which a flexible soundboard can vibrate best. According to Harold A. Conklin, the purpose of a sturdy rim is that, "... vibrational energy will remain as high as possible on the soundboard rather than vanishing in parts of the case, which is an inefficient sound radiator."
Wooden rims are usually made with thin laminating, then flexible, hardwood pieces, bend it to the desired shape immediately after application glue. Crooked plywood system developed by C.F. Theodore Steinway in 1880 to reduce the time and cost of production. Previously, rims were made of several pieces of solid wood, joined and veneered, and European makers used this method well into the 20th century. Modern exceptions, the BÃÆ'¶sendorfer, a high-quality piano manufacturer from Austria, construct their deep rims from solid pine trees, the same timber with wooden soundboard, grooved to allow it to bend; Instead of isolating the circle from vibration, their "resonance case principle" allows the framework to resonate more freely with the soundboard, creating additional colors and overall sound complexity.
The thick wooden writing on the grands or back (uprights) of the piano stabilizes the rim structure, and is made of softwood for stability. The need for structural strength, filled with hardwood and thick metal, makes heavy pianos. Even a small upright can weigh 136 kg (300 pounds), and the grand Steinway concert (Model D) weighs 480 kg (1,060 pounds). The largest piano available on the public market, the Fazioli F308, weighs 570 kg (1,260 pounds).
Pinblock, which holds the tuning pins in place, is another area where toughness is important. Made of hardwood (usually hard maple or beech), and laminated for strength, stability and long life. The piano strings (also called piano wire), which have to endure many years of extreme tension and hard blows, are made of high carbon steel. They are produced to vary as little as possible in diameter, since all deviations from uniformity introduce tonal distortion. The piano bass strings are made of steel cores wrapped in copper wire, to increase their mass while maintaining flexibility. If all the strings on the piano compass are individual (monochord), the large bass strings will overpower the upper range. This compensation maker uses double strings (bichords) in tenor and triple (trichord) strings along the treble.
Plates (harp), or metal frames, of pianos are usually made of cast iron. Big plates are profitable. Because the strings vibrate from the plates at both ends, the not-so-large plates will absorb too much vibrational energy that has to cross the bridge to the soundboard. While some manufacturers use cast steel on their plates, most prefer cast iron. Cast iron is easily cast and the engine, has sufficient flexibility for piano use, is much more resistant to deformation than steel, and is very tolerant of compression. Plate casting is an art, because dimensions are so important and iron shrinks about one percent during cooling. Including a very large piece of metal in the piano has the potential to become an aesthetic defect. The piano maker overcame this by polishing, painting, and decorating dishes. Dishes often include the manufacturer's ornamental medallions. In an effort to make the piano lighter, Alcoa worked with piano manufacturers Winter and Company to make pianos using aluminum plates during the 1940s. The aluminum piano plate is not widely accepted, and stopped.
Many parts of the piano action are generally made of hardwoods, such as maple, beech, and hornbeam; however, since World War II, makers have also incorporated plastic. Early plastics used on several pianos in the late 1940s and 1950s, proved to be disastrous when they lost power after decades of use. Beginning in 1961, the New York branch of the Steinway company incorporated Teflon, a synthetic material developed by DuPont, for some part of Permafree's massive action in the bushes of cloth, but abandoned experiments in 1982 due to excessive friction and "clicking" It evolves over time; Teflon is "stable moisture" whereas wood adjacent to Teflon swells and shrinks with moisture changes, causing problems. Recently, the Kawai company built pianos with action parts made of more modern materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic, and the manufacturer of Wessell piano components, Nickel and Gross has launched a new line of composite components designed carefully. So far these parts have been done fairly, but it will take several decades to know if they are the same as the longevity of the wood.
In all except the lowest quality piano soundboard is made of solid pine (ie, the pine board is glued together along the side grain). Spruce's high ratio from strength to weight minimizes acoustic impedance while offering sufficient strength to withstand the downward force of the strings. The best piano maker uses a quarter sawn, a defect-free fir from near annular seeds, carefully cultivate it for long periods before making the soundboard. These are identical materials used in soundboards of quality acoustic guitars. The cheap pianos often have plywood sound boards.
The design of the piano hammer requires the hammer to be soft enough that it will not create the harsh and very high harmonics that the hard hammer will cause. The hammer should be light enough to move quickly when the button is pressed; but at the same time, it must be strong enough so that it can hit the strings hard when the player presses the button by force to play fortissimo or sforzando accents.
Keyboard
In the early years of piano construction, keys were generally made of pine sugar. In 2010, they are usually made of cypress or bass. Spruce is usually used in high quality pianos. The black key is traditionally made of ebony wood, and the white key is covered with a strip of ivory. However, since the species that produce ivory are now threatened and protected by treaties, or illegally in some countries, makers use plastic almost exclusively. Also, ivory tends to be easier than plastic chips. Legal ivory can still be obtained in limited quantities. The Yamaha Company invented a plastic called Ivorite which they claimed to mimic the look and feel of ivory. It has since been replicated by other makers.
Almost every modern piano has 52 white keys and 36 black keys with a total of 88 keys (seven octaves plus a third minor, from A 0 to C 8 ). Many older pianos have only 85 keys (seven octaves from A 0 to A 7 ). Some piano manufacturers have extended further range in one or both directions. For example, the Imperial BÃÆ'¶sendorfer has nine additional keys at the end of the bass, giving a total of 97 keys and eight octaves. These extra buttons are sometimes hidden under a small hinged cover that can mask the key to prevent visual disorientation for pianists unfamiliar with additional buttons, or extra white-colored black keys (black instead of white). Recently, the manufacturer of Stuart & amp; The kids created the piano with 102 keys, going from C 0 to F 8 . Extra keys are the same as other keys in appearance.
Additional buttons are added mainly to increase the resonance of related strings; that is, they vibrate sympathetically with another string each time the silencer pedal is pressed and thus gives a fuller tone. Only a small amount of work is composed for pianos that actually use this note.
Schoenhut piano toy manufacturers started producing grands and uprights with just 44 or 49 keys, and a shorter distance between the keyboard and pedal. These pianos are true pianos with action and strings. Pianos were introduced to their product lines in response to many requests that support them.
There is a rare piano variant that has a double keyboard called EmÃÆ'¡nuel MoÃÆ'³r Pianoforte . It was created by Hungarian composers and pianists, EmÃÆ'¡nuel MoÃÆ'³r (19 February 1863 - October 20, 1931). It consists of two keyboards located on top of each other. The bottom keyboard has 88 regular buttons and the top keyboard has 76 buttons. When pressing the top keyboard, the internal mechanism pulls the appropriate buttons on the bottom keyboard, but one octave higher. This allows a pianist to achieve two octaves with one hand, unlikely on a conventional piano. Because the double keyboard musical work originally created for manual double harpsichords such as Goldberg Variations by Bach becomes easier to play, since playing on a single conventional piano keyboard involves hand-tangling movements that are intricate and interlocked. The design also features a special fourth pedal that incorporates a bottom and top keyboard, so when playing on lower keyboards an octave higher note is also played. Only about 60 EmÃÆ'¡nuel MoÃÆ'³r Pianoforte is made, mostly produced by BÃÆ'¶sendorfer. Other pianos produce such as Bechstein, Chickering, and Steinway & amp; Children have also produced some.
The piano has been built with an alternative keyboard system, for example, a JankÃÆ'Â keyboard keyboard.
Pedal
The piano has a pedal, or some almost identical, since its early days. (In the 18th century, some pianos use levers pressed upward by the players' knees instead of pedals.) Most grand pianos in the US have three pedals: the sidetuto pedal, sostenuto and sustainable pedals (from left to right , respectively), while in Europe, the standard is two pedals: soft pedals and sustainable pedals. Most modern upright pianos also have three pedals: soft pedals, pedal workouts, and sustainable pedals, although older or cheaper models may not have a workout pedal. In Europe the standard for upright pianos are two pedals: the pedal is soft and sustains.
Sustain pedals (or, damper pedals) are often simply called "pedals", as these are the most commonly used. This is placed as the rightmost pedal in the group. It lifts the damper out of all the keys, keeping all records played. Additionally, change the overall tone by allowing all strings, including those not played directly, echo. When all the other strings on the piano can vibrate, this allows the sympathetic vibration of the string that is harmoniously associated with the audible tone. For example, if the pianist plays a 440 Hz "A" tone, the higher octave "A" tone will also sound sympathetic.
The soft pedal or pedal una corda is placed at the far left of the pedal. In a grand piano, he shifts the entire action/keyboard assembly to the right (only some instruments are shifted to the left) so the hammer hit two of the three strings for each note. In the earliest pianos the unisons are bichords and not trichords, the action moves so that the hammer strikes one string, hence the name una corda , or 'one string'. The effect is to soften the tone and change the tone. In uprights, this action is not possible; instead, the pedal moves the hammer closer to the strings, allowing the hammer to hit with less kinetic energy. This produces a slightly softer sound, but no change in timbre.
On the grand piano, the middle pedal is the sostenuto pedal. This pedal keeps lifting the damper that has been raised when the pedal is pressed. This allows to retain the selected record (by pressing the sostenuto pedal before the note is released) while the player's hand is free to play additional notes (which do not support). This can be useful for music parts with low bass pedal spots, where the bass tone is maintained while a series of chords changes over it, and other parts are difficult. On many upright pianos, the middle pedal is called the "exercise" or "celeste" pedal. It drops a piece of feel between the hammer and the string, very lethal sound. This pedal can be shifted while pressed, to the position of "lock".
There are also nonstandard variants. On some pianos (grands and verticals), the middle pedal can be a bass support pedal: when pressed, the silencer lifts the strings only on the bass. Players use this pedal to maintain single bass or chord tones through a variety of sizes, while playing melodies in the treble.
The rare transposal piano (an example owned by Irving Berlin) has a center pedal that acts as a clutch that releases the keyboard from the mechanism, so players can move the keyboard left or right with the lever. It shifts the whole piano action so that the pianist can play music written in one key so it sounds in a different key.
Some piano companies have incorporated extra pedals in addition to two or three standards. On Stuart and Sons pianos and the largest Fazioli piano, there is a fourth pedal to the left of the three main. The fourth pedal works in the same way as the upright piano pedal, moving the hammer closer to the strings. The Crown and Schubert Piano Company also produce four pedal pianos.
Wing and Son of New York offered five-pedal pianos from around 1893 to the 1920s. No mention of the company past the 1930s. Labeled left to right, pedal is Mandolin, Orchestra, Expression, Soft, and Forte (Sustain). The orchestral pedals produce a sound similar to the feel of a tremolo by reflecting a set of small beads that hang on the strings, allowing the piano to mimic the mandolins, guitars, banjo, harp and harp, the Orkestral name suggests. The Mandolin pedal uses the same approach, lowering a set of flavored strips with a metal ring between the hammer and string (aka rinky-tink effect). This extends the life of the hammer when the Orch pedal is used, a good idea to practice, and creates an echo-like sound that mimics play in the orchestra hall.
The pedalier piano, or piano pedal, is a rare piano type that includes a pedalboard so players can use their feet to play bass register notes, just like the organs. There are two types of piano pedals. On one, the pedal board is an integral part of the instrument, using the same string and mechanism as the manual keyboard. The other, the more rare type, consists of two independent pianos (each with a separate mechanical and string) placing one on top of the other - one for the hand and one for the legs. It was developed primarily as an exercise instrument for the organic, although there was a small repertoire written specifically for the instrument.
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Mechanics
When a key is hit, a chain reaction occurs to produce a sound. First, the key gives rise to a "wippen" mechanism, which forces the jack against a hammer (or knuckle) roller. The hammer roller then lifts the lever that carries the hammer. The key also causes silencers; and as soon as the hammer hit the wire, the cable fell back, allowing the wire to resonate and produce sound. When the key is released, the silencer falls back onto the strings, stops the wire from vibrating, and thus stops the sound. The self-vibrating piano strings are not too loud, but their vibrations are transmitted to large sound boards that move the air and thus convert energy into sound. The irregular shape and off-center placement of the bridge ensure that the soundboard vibrates strongly at all frequencies. (See Piano action for diagrams and detailed descriptions of the piano parts.) The piano hammer "thrown" against the strings. This means that once a pianist presses or pushes a button, and the hammer is moved toward the strings, the pressure on the key no longer leads to the player controlling the hammer. The silencer makes the tone audible until the key is released (or continuous pedal).
There are three factors that affect the tone of the vibrating wire.
- Length: All other factors are the same, the shorter the cable, the higher the tone.
- Mass per unit length: All other factors are the same, the thinner the wire, the higher the tone.
- Suspension: All other factors are the same, the more stringent the cable is, the higher the tone.
The vibrating wire splits into many parts that vibrate at the same time. Each part produces its own tone, called partial. A vibrating string has one fundamental and a partial series. The purest combination of two pitches is when one doubles the other frequency.
For recurring waves, the velocity v is the same as the wavelength ? times its frequency f ,
- v = ? f
On the piano strings, the waves bounce off both ends. The superposition of the wave reflection produces a standing wave pattern, but only for the wavelength ? = 2 L , L , 2 L / 3 , L / 2 ,... = 2 L / n , where L is the length of the string. Therefore, the only frequency generated on a single string is f = nv / 2 L . Timbre is highly determined by this harmonic content. Different instruments have different harmonic content for the same tone. Real strings vibrate at harmonics that are not a perfect multiple of fundamentals. This results in a bit of disharmony, which gives wealth to the tone but causes significant tuning challenges throughout the instrument compass.
Striking a piano key with a larger speed increases the amplitude of the wave and therefore its volume. From pianissimo ( pp ) to fortissimo ( < b> ff ) the hammer speed changed almost one factor out of a hundred. The hammer contact time with a shortened string of 4 milliseconds on pp to less than 2 ms in ff . If two wires adapted to the same tone are struck at the same time, the sound produced by one reinforces the other, and a lighter combined sound of the shorter duration is generated. If one wire vibrates out of sync with another, they reduce each other and produce a softer tone with a longer duration.
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Maintenance
Piano is a heavy and powerful tool, but smooth. Over the years, professional piano propulsion has developed a special technique for transporting both grands and uprights, which prevents damage to the case and the mechanical elements of the piano. Pianos need regular tuning to keep the tone correct. Piano hammers are voiced to compensate for gradual hardening, and other parts also require periodic regulation. Pianos require routine maintenance to ensure that the hammers are felt and the key mechanisms function properly. The aged and worn pianos can be rebuilt or reconditioned by piano rebuilders. The string must eventually be replaced. Often, by replacing a large number of their parts, and adjusting it, the old instruments can look just like a new piano.
Piano tuning involves adjusting the strain of a piano string with a special wrench, thus aligning the interval between their tones so that the instrument is aligned. While guitar players and violins set their own instruments, pianists usually hire piano tuners, special technicians, to tune their pianos. Piano tuners use special tools. The meaning of the term in harmony in the piano tuning context is not just a set of pitches. The fine piano tuning carefully assesses the interaction between all the tones of the chromatic scale, different for each piano, and thus requires a slightly different tone than any theoretical standard. Pianos are usually set to a modified version of a system called the same temperament (see Piano key frequency for theoretical piano tuning). In all adjustment systems, each tone comes from its relationship to the fixed pitch selected, usually the internationally recognized standard concert pitch of A 4 (A above middle C). The term A440 refers to the widely accepted frequency of this pitch - 440 Hz.
The relationship between two tones, called intervals, is their absolute frequency ratio. Two different intervals are considered equal when the pitches pair are involved sharing the same frequency ratio. The easiest interval to identify, and the easiest interval to adjust, are those that are fair, which means they have a simple rounded number ratio. The term temperament refers to a tuning system that gives tempers at fair intervals (usually the fifth perfect, having a 3: 2 ratio) to satisfy other mathematical properties; in the same temperament, one fifth is angry by narrowing it a bit, achieved by flattening the tone slightly, or raising the lower tone slightly. The temperament system is also known as a series of "bearings". Tempering intervals cause it to defeat, which is a fluctuation in the intensity of the perceived sound due to intermediate disturbances (but not equivalent). The beating rate is equal to the frequency difference of each harmonic that is present for both pitch and which coincides or almost simultaneously. Piano tuners must use their ears to "stretch" the piano tuning to sound in sync. This involves tuning the higher pitched strings slightly higher and the lowest pitched strings slightly lower than what the mathematical frequency tables (where octaves originate by doubling the frequency) would suggest.
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Play and techniques
As with any musical instrument, the piano can be played from written music, through ears, or through improvisation. The piano technique evolved during the transition from harpsichord and clavichord to fortepiano, and continued with the development of modern pianos. Changes in musical style and audience preferences during the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the rise of virtuoso players, contributed to this evolution and the growth of different approaches or schools playing the piano. Although the technique is often seen solely as a physical exercise of musical ideas, many pedagogues and players emphasize the interrelationship of physical and mental aspects or emotional play of the piano. The famous piano technique approaches include those by Dorothy Taubman, Edna Golandsky, Fred Karpoff, Charles-Louis Hanon and Otto Ortmann.
Performance style
Many classical music composers, including Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, are structured for fortepiano, a somewhat different instrument from modern pianos. Fortepiano is a quieter instrument with a narrower dynamic range and smaller octave ranges. Even Romantic composers, such as Liszt, Chopin, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, and Johannes Brahms, wrote for pianos substantially different from modern 2010-era pianos. Contemporary musicians can adjust their interpretations of historical compositions from the 1600s to the 1800s to account for differences in sound quality between old and new instruments or to change performance practices.
Starting from Beethoven's career in the future, fortepiano evolved into instruments like a modern piano of the 2000s. Modern pianos were used extensively in the late 19th century. They display a greater octave range than previous fortepiano instruments, adding about 30 more keys to the instrument, which extend the deep bass range and high treble range. The mass production of an upright piano factory makes them more affordable for more middle-class people. They appeared in music and pub halls during the 19th century, providing entertainment through piano solos, or in combination with a small dance band. Just as harpsichordists have accompanied singers or dancers performing on stage, or playing for dance, pianists took on this role in the late 1700s and in subsequent centuries.
During the 19th century, American musicians who played for the working-class audience in small pubs and bars, especially African-American composers, developed a new musical genre based on modern pianos. Ragtime music, popularized by composers like Scott Joplin, reached a wider audience in 1900. The popularity of ragtime music was quickly replaced by Jazz pianos. New techniques and rhythms were created for the piano, including ostinato for boogie-woogie, and Shearing voicing. Rhapsody in Blue Blue by George Gershwin breaks new music by combining American jazz pianos with symphonic sound. Comping, a technique for accompanying jazz vocalists on the piano, is exemplified by the Duke Ellington technique. Honky-tonk music, featuring another style of piano rhythm, became popular in the same era. Bebop technique grew out of jazz, with prominent composers like Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. At the end of the 20th century, Bill Evans composed pieces that incorporated classical techniques with his jazz experiments. In the 1970s, Herbie Hancock was one of the first jazz-composers to find mainstream popularity working with newer urban music techniques such as jazz-funk and jazz-rock.
The piano has also been used prominently in rock and roll and rock music by entertainers such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), Elton John, Ben Folds, Billy Joel, Nicky Hopkins, and Tori Amos , to name a few. The style of modernist music also appeals to songwriters for modern grand pianos, including John Cage and Philip Glass.
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Roles
Piano is an important instrument in Western classical music, jazz, blues, rock, folk music, and many other Western music genres. A large number of composers and songwriters are pianists adept because the piano keyboard offers an effective way to experiment with complex melodic and harmonic interactions and try some of the independent melody lines played at the same time. Pianos are used in the assessment of film and television, since the wide range allows the composer to try melodies and bass lines, even if the music will be set for other instruments. Bandleaders often learn piano, as this is an excellent instrument for learning new songs and songs to take the lead in performance. Piano is an important tool in music education in primary and secondary schools, and universities and colleges. Most music classrooms and exercise rooms have a piano. Pianos are used to help teach music theory, music history, and music appreciation classes. Many conductors are trained on the piano, because it allows them to play the symphonic parts they do (using piano reduction or doing the bending
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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