The first true piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori(1655–1731)who had been appointed in 1688 to the Florentine court of Grand Prince Ferdinando de' Medici to care for its entire collection of musical instruments. He solved many of the technical problems that continued to puzzle other piano designers for the next seventy-five years of its evolution. His action was highly complex and expensive, causing many of its features to be dropped by following eighteenth-century makers, and then progressively reinvented and reincorporated in later decades.

 The piano may be the best known and loved of all musical instruments. It also has the broadest range of any instrument, so music for all other instruments can be composed on it. It can be played solo, but most other instruments, including the voice, use the piano for addition.  The piano may also be the most complicated musical instrument with over 2,500 parts. Its many parts are organized into five general structural and mechanical areas of either grand or vertical pianos.

 There are several reasons a piano loses its tune, but the main one is moisture changes in the air. As you know, the piano is made mostly of wood and wood and moisture don't get along so well. When the soft wood of your piano soundboard soaks up the moisture from the air, it swells up a bit and puts more tension on the strings, making them sound sharper. On the other hand, as the air dries out, so does the soundboard, causing it to shrink slightly, reducing the string tension and making the whole contraption go flat again. This kind of change is mostly seasonal since the humidity tends to rise in the summer months and drop in the winter months

 Grand cost more so they must be better. It is also much superior to even the best verticals due to its superior overall design. The horizontal layout of the grand allows gravity to a lot of work, eliminating a bunch of springs and straps that the vertical action is obliged to use.

 Vertical pianos also called ‘Up Right’ pianos. They are more compact because the frame and strings are vertical. The hammers move horizontally, and return to their resting position which are prone to wear and tear. Upright pianos with unusually tall frames and long strings are sometimes called upright grand pianos. Some authors classify modern pianos according to their height and to modifications of the action that are necessary to accommodate the height.

The Frame: Piano frames support all the other features of a piano. They are normally made of cast iron and painted gold and can be seen in grand or upright pianos when opening the lid. The Action: The action of a piano is made up of the different parts that produce sound. This includes the keyboard, which usually has 52 white and 36 black keys, for a total of 88. The Case: The case is the outer shell of the piano. It is usually crafted of high quality wood and has the look of a fine piece of furniture

 Source: What Are the Different Parts of the Piano? | eHow.com parts-piano_.html#ixzz1DNSZo1agWhat Are the Different Parts of the Piano? | eHow.comhttp:// parts-piano_.html#ixzz1DNSZo1ag  Source: The Piano: The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Piano: The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art  Source: What Are the Different Parts of the Piano? | eHow.com parts-piano_.html#ixzz1DNSO2gI4 Source: The Piano: The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art Source: What Are the Different Parts of the Piano? | eHow.com parts-piano.html#ixzz1DNSmhBUWWhat Are the Different Parts of the Piano? | eHow.comhttp:// parts-piano_.html#ixzz1DNSO2gI4The Piano: The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of ArtWhat Are the Different Parts of the Piano? | eHow.comhttp:// parts-piano.html#ixzz1DNSmhBUW