The History of The Piano By: Shelton O. Young

So who’s behind it all………… The story of the piano begins in Padua, Italy in 1709, in the shop of a harpsichord maker named Bartolommeo di Francesco Cristofori ( ). Many other stringed and keyboard instruments preceded the piano and led to the development of the instrument as we know it today. Bartolommeo C.

Just so, that you’ll know……… Cristofori based his new design on the wooden frame of a harpsichord and implemented a unique keyboarding mechanism that was similar to that of a clavichord.

Wayyyy back in the day……. Mankind’s knowledge that a taut, vibrating string can produce sound goes back to prehistoric times. In the ancient world, strings were attached and stretched over bows, gourds, and boxes to amplify the sound; they were fastened by ties, pegs and pins; and they were plucked, bowed or struck to produce sounds.

Yes the Piano has a lot to do with strings! Eventually, a family of stringed instruments with a keyboard evolved in Europe in the 14th century. The earliest of these was a dulcimer, a closed, shallow box over which stretched wires were struck with two wooden hammers. The dulcimer led to the development of the clavichord, which also appeared in the 14th century. These were followed by the spinet, virginal, clavecin, gravicembalo, and finally, the harpsichord in the 15th century.

Finally………… The harpsichord, however, was limited to one, unvarying volume. Its softness and loudness could not be varied while playing. Therefore, performing artists could not convey the same degree of musical expression as that of most other instruments. The artistic desire for more controlled expression led directly to the invention of the piano, on which the artist could alter the loudness and tone with the force of one’s fingers.

To Sum Things Up……… The harpsichord was a particularly important development leading to the invention of the piano. Its ability to project sound more loudly than its predecessors, and refinements in the action (or touch) inspired many more musicians to compose for the keyboard and thus, to perform keyboard works.

Not to mention………… First exhibited in Florence in 1709, Cristofori’s new instrument was named gravicembalo col piano e forte (roughly “soft and loud keyboard instrument”). Eventually, it was shortened to fortepiano or pianoforte, and finally just piano. His earliest surviving instrument dates from 1720 and is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

What leads up to today’s piano……….. Since its inception, the instrument we know today as the piano has had many innovators over the past 300 years who have shaped its functionality, appearance and sound. But even this does not tell the complete story of piano history, whose origins trace back to the first air-powered and stringed instruments developed and used in ancient civilizations.

New Technology in Pianos We are living in perhaps the most exciting time in history to buy, own or play that eternal instrument, the piano. Whether your goal is to purchase something as small as software that can record what you play, a newly designed player piano, a digital instrument or a classic acoustic model, there have never been as many choices for the consumer as it is today and there are still more and more inventions as it relates to the piano that are sky rocketing and are made to stun the generation of tomorrow. Will there ever be an end to this timeless instrument or shall the legacy of the piano live on as long as history? WHAT DO YOU THINK?