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94-509: The piece, which lasts around six minutes in performance, was originally written for the piano and set in the key of G minor . It was first published in Barcelona , by Juan Bta. Pujol & Co. , in 1892 as the prelude of a three- movement set entitled Chants d'Espagne . The name Asturias (Leyenda) was given to it posthumously by the German publisher Hofmeister , who included it in

188-561: A grand piano , the frame and strings are horizontal, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. The action lies beneath the strings and uses gravity as its means of return to a state of rest. Grand pianos range in length from approximately 1.5–3 m (4 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in). Some of the lengths have been given more-or-less customary names, which vary from time to time and place to place, but might include: All else being equal, longer pianos with longer strings have larger, richer sound and lower inharmonicity of

282-587: A loudspeaker . The electric pianos that became most popular in pop and rock music in the 1960s and 1970s, such as the Fender Rhodes use metal tines in place of strings and use electromagnetic pickups similar to those on an electric guitar . The resulting electrical, analogue signal can then be amplified with a keyboard amplifier or electronically manipulated with effects units . In classical music, electric pianos are mainly used as inexpensive rehearsal or practice instruments. Electric pianos, particularly

376-410: A pedal keyboard at the base, designed to be played by the feet. The pedals may play the existing bass strings on the piano, or rarely, the pedals may have their own set of bass strings and hammer mechanisms. While the typical intended use for pedal pianos is to enable a keyboardist to practice pipe organ music at home, a few players of pedal piano use it as a performance instrument. Wadia Sabra had

470-408: A Dutchman, Americus Backers , to design a piano in the harpsichord case—the origin of the "grand". This was achieved by about 1777. They quickly gained a reputation for the splendour and powerful tone of their instruments, with Broadwood constructing pianos that were progressively larger, louder, and more robustly constructed. They sent pianos to both Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven , and were

564-414: A built-in amp and speaker). Alternatively, a person can play an electronic piano with headphones in quieter settings. Digital pianos are also non-acoustic and do not have strings or hammers. They use digital audio sampling technology to reproduce the acoustic sound of each piano note accurately. They also must be connected to a power amplifier and speaker to produce sound (however, most digital pianos have

658-437: A built-in amp and speaker). Alternatively, a person can practise with headphones to avoid disturbing others. Digital pianos can include sustain pedals, weighted or semi-weighted keys, multiple voice options (e.g., sampled or synthesized imitations of electric piano, Hammond organ , violin , etc.), and MIDI interfaces. MIDI inputs and outputs connect a digital piano to other electronic instruments or musical devices. For example,

752-483: A digital piano's MIDI out signal could be connected by a patch cord to a synth module , which would allow the performer to use the keyboard of the digital piano to play modern synthesizer sounds. Early digital pianos tended to lack a full set of pedals, but the synthesis software of later models such as the Yamaha Clavinova series synthesised the sympathetic vibration of the other strings (such as when

846-636: A few decades of use. Beginning in 1961, the New York branch of the Steinway firm incorporated Teflon , a synthetic material developed by DuPont , for some parts of its Permafree grand action in place of cloth bushings, but abandoned the experiment in 1982 due to excessive friction and a "clicking" that developed over time; Teflon is "humidity stable" whereas the wood adjacent to the Teflon swells and shrinks with humidity changes, causing problems. More recently,

940-627: A form of piano wire made from cast steel ; it was "so superior to the iron wire that the English firm soon had a monopoly." A better steel wire was developed in 1840 by the Viennese firm Martin Miller, and a period of innovation and intense competition ensued, with rival brands of piano wire being tested against one another at international competitions, leading ultimately to the modern form of piano wire. Several important advances included changes to

1034-525: A harmonic produced from three octaves below. This lets close and widespread octaves sound pure, and produces virtually beatless perfect fifths . This gives the concert grand a brilliant, singing and sustaining tone quality—one of the principal reasons that full-size grands are used in the concert hall. Smaller grands satisfy the space and cost needs of domestic use; as well, they are used in some small teaching studios and smaller performance venues. Upright pianos, also called vertical pianos, are more compact with

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1128-421: A key is depressed, the strings inside are struck by felt-coated wooden hammers. The vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a soundboard that amplifies the sound by coupling the acoustic energy to the air. When the key is released, a damper stops the string's vibration, ending the sound. Most notes have three strings, except for the bass, which graduates from one to two. Notes can be sustained when

1222-478: A lower octave's corresponding sharp overtone rather than to a theoretically correct octave. If octaves are not stretched, single octaves sound in tune, but double—and notably triple—octaves are unacceptably narrow. Stretching a small piano's octaves to match its inherent inharmonicity level creates an imbalance among all the instrument's intervallic relationships. In a concert grand, however, the octave "stretch" retains harmonic balance, even when aligning treble notes to

1316-613: A massive, strong, cast iron frame. Also called the "plate", the iron frame sits atop the soundboard , and serves as the primary bulwark against the force of string tension that can exceed 20 tons (180 kilonewtons) in total for a modern grand piano. The single piece cast iron frame for square piano was patented in 1825 in Boston by Alpheus Babcock , combining the metal hitch pin plate (1821, claimed by Broadwood on behalf of Samuel Hervé) and resisting bars (Thom and Allen, 1820, but also claimed by Broadwood and Érard). Babcock later worked for

1410-417: A microtone piano manufactured by Pleyel in 1920. Abdallah Chahine later constructed his quartertone "Oriental piano" with the help of Austrian Hofmann . With technological advances , amplified electric pianos (1929), electronic pianos (1970s), and digital pianos (1980s) have been developed. The first electric pianos from the late 1920s used metal strings with a magnetic pickup , an amplifier and

1504-458: A more powerful sound, a longer sustain, and a richer tone. Later in the century, as the piano became more common it allowed families to listen to a newly published musical piece by having a family member play a simplified version . The piano is widely employed in classical , jazz , traditional and popular music for solo and ensemble performances, accompaniment, and for composing , songwriting and rehearsals. Despite its weight and cost,

1598-400: A musical device exploited by Liszt. When the invention became public, as revised by Henri Herz , the double escapement action gradually became standard in grand pianos and is still incorporated into all grand pianos currently produced in the 2000s. Other improvements of the mechanism included the use of firm felt hammer coverings instead of layered leather or cotton. Felt, which Jean-Henri Pape

1692-441: A piano are made of a steel core wrapped with one or two layers of copper wire, to increase their mass whilst retaining flexibility. If all strings throughout the piano's compass were individual (monochord), the massive bass strings would overpower the upper ranges. Makers compensate for this with the use of double (bichord) strings in the tenor and triple (trichord) strings throughout the treble. The plate (harp), or metal frame, of

1786-439: A piano are made of materials selected for strength and longevity. This is especially true of the outer rim, which is most commonly made of hardwood , typically hard maple or beech , and its massiveness serves as an essentially immobile object from which the flexible soundboard can best vibrate. According to Harold A. Conklin, the purpose of a sturdy rim is so that, "... the vibrational energy will stay as much as possible in

1880-476: A piano can be played acoustically, or the keyboard can be used as a MIDI controller, which can trigger a synthesizer module or music sampler . Some electronic feature-equipped pianos such as the Yamaha Disklavier electronic player piano, introduced in 1987, are outfitted with electronic sensors for recording and electromechanical solenoids for player piano-style playback. Sensors record the movements of

1974-419: A piano is usually made of cast iron. A massive plate is advantageous. Since the strings vibrate from the plate at both ends, an insufficiently massive plate would absorb too much of the vibrational energy that should go through the bridge to the soundboard. While some manufacturers use cast steel in their plates, most prefer cast iron. Cast iron is easy to cast and machine, has flexibility sufficient for piano use,

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2068-471: A piano. An inventory made by his employers, the Medici family, indicates the existence of a piano by 1700. The three Cristofori pianos that survive today date from the 1720s. Cristofori named the instrument un cimbalo di cipresso di piano e forte ("a keyboard of cypress with soft and loud"), abbreviated over time as pianoforte , fortepiano , and later reduced to only piano . Cristofori's great success

2162-434: A position in which it is ready to play again almost immediately after its key is depressed, so the player can repeat the same note rapidly when desired. Cristofori's piano action was a model for the many approaches to piano actions that followed in the next century. Cristofori's early instruments were made with thin strings and were much quieter than the modern piano, though they were louder and had more sustain compared to

2256-596: A small number of acoustic pianos in the 2010s are produced with MIDI recording and digital sound module -triggering capabilities, the 19th century was the era of the most dramatic innovations and modifications of the instrument. Modern pianos have two basic configurations, the grand piano and the upright piano, with various styles of each. There are also specialized and novelty pianos, electric pianos based on electromechanical designs, electronic pianos that synthesize piano-like tones using oscillators, and digital pianos using digital samples of acoustic piano sounds. In

2350-660: A vertical structure of the frame and strings. The mechanical action structure of the upright piano was invented in London in 1826 by Robert Wornum, and upright models became the most popular model for domestic use. Upright pianos take up less space than a grand piano and as such are a better size for use in private homes for domestic music-making and practice. The hammers move horizontally and return to their resting position via springs, which are susceptible to degradation. Upright pianos with unusually tall frames and long strings were sometimes marketed as upright grand pianos, but that label

2444-402: Is called a pianist . There are two main types of piano: the grand piano and the upright piano . The grand piano offers better sound and more precise key control, making it the preferred choice when space and budget allow. The grand piano is also considered a necessity in venues hosting skilled pianists. The upright piano is more commonly used because of its smaller size and lower cost. When

2538-465: Is misleading. Some authors classify modern pianos according to their height and to modifications of the action that are necessary to accommodate the height. Upright pianos are generally less expensive than grand pianos. Upright pianos are widely used in churches, community centers, schools, music conservatories and university music programs as rehearsal and practice instruments, and they are popular models for in-home purchase. The toy piano , introduced in

2632-580: Is much more resistant to deformation than steel, and is especially tolerant of compression. Plate casting is an art, since dimensions are crucial and the iron shrinks about one percent during cooling. Including an extremely large piece of metal in a piano is potentially an aesthetic handicap. Piano makers overcome this by polishing, painting, and decorating the plate. Plates often include the manufacturer's ornamental medallion. In an effort to make pianos lighter, Alcoa worked with Winter and Company piano manufacturers to make pianos using an aluminum plate during

2726-449: Is the same material that is used in quality acoustic guitar soundboards. Low-cost pianos often have plywood soundboards. Marco Misciagna Marco Misciagna ( Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko miʃˈʃaɲɲa] ; born 5 February 1984) is an Italian violinist and violist . Marco Misciagna was born in Bari , Italy. He graduated at the age of 15 in violin and viola at

2820-835: Is viola professor at N.Rota Music Conservatory in Monopoli and Honorary Professor of the S.Rachmaninov State Conservatory in Tambov , the Far Eastern State Academy of Art of Vladivostok (Russia), the Institut Supérieur de Musique de Sousse ( University of Sousse , Tunisia), the Estaban Salas Conservatory of Santiago de Cuba, the Pettman National Junior Academy of Music (Auckland, New Zealand),

2914-461: Is written in the Phrygian mode which is typical of bulerías. The second section is reminiscent of a copla —a sung verse following a specific form. Clark states that it is written in typical Albéniz form as it is "presented monophonically but doubled at the fifteenth for more fullness of sound." The music alters between a solo and accompaniment that is typical of flamenco. The short middle section of

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3008-594: The Chickering & Mackays firm who patented the first full iron frame for grand pianos in 1843. Composite forged metal frames were preferred by many European makers until the American system was fully adopted by the early 20th century. The increased structural integrity of the iron frame allowed the use of thicker, tenser, and more numerous strings. In 1834, the Webster & Horsfal firm of Birmingham brought out

3102-453: The Kawai firm built pianos with action parts made of more modern materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic , and the piano parts manufacturer Wessell, Nickel and Gross has launched a new line of carefully engineered composite parts. Thus far these parts have performed reasonably, but it will take decades to know if they equal the longevity of wood. In all but the lowest quality pianos,

3196-853: The Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory of Bari and later obtained the diploma at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome . He was invited by the former president of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi to the Quirinal Palace in Rome, as the best student of the conservatory. He studied with Corrado Romano and with Đorđe Trkulja (former first violin of Zagreb Quartet ). He progressed to study with Salvatore Accardo at

3290-791: The Steinway concert grand (Model D) weighs 480 kg (1,060 lb). The largest piano available on the general market, the Fazioli F308, weighs 570 kg (1,260 lb). The pinblock, which holds the tuning pins in place, is another area where toughness is important. It is made of hardwood (typically hard maple or beech) and is laminated for strength, stability and longevity. Piano strings (also called piano wire ), which must endure years of extreme tension and hard blows, are made of high carbon steel. They are manufactured to vary as little as possible in diameter, since all deviations from uniformity introduce tonal distortion. The bass strings of

3384-616: The hammered dulcimers , which were introduced in the Middle Ages in Europe. During the Middle Ages, there were several attempts at creating stringed keyboard instruments with struck strings. By the 17th century, the mechanisms of keyboard instruments such as the clavichord and the harpsichord were well developed. In a clavichord the strings are struck by tangents, while in a harpsichord they are mechanically plucked by quills when

3478-399: The tessitura of the guitar, and the key of G minor is not suitable for the guitar—for example, in the standard guitar tuning , the pedal note D4 is not an open string. Many have attributed the first transcription for guitar to Francisco Tárrega who put it in its most recognizable key, E minor. According to the guitarist and guitar scholar Stanley Yates , the first guitar transcription of

3572-549: The transposing piano in 1801. This rare instrument has a lever under the keyboard to move the keyboard relative to the strings, so a pianist can play in a familiar key while the music sounds in a different key. The minipiano is an instrument patented by the Brasted brothers of the Eavestaff Ltd. piano company in 1934. This instrument has a braceless back and a soundboard positioned below the keys—long metal rods pull on

3666-410: The "aliquot" throughout much of the upper range of the piano, always in locations that caused them to vibrate sympathetically in conformity with their respective overtones—typically in doubled octaves and twelfths. Some early pianos had shapes and designs that are no longer in use. The square piano (not truly square, but rectangular) was cross strung at an extremely acute angle above the hammers, with

3760-522: The 1820s, the center of piano innovation had shifted to Paris, where the Pleyel firm manufactured pianos used by Frédéric Chopin , and the Érard firm manufactured those used by Franz Liszt . In 1821, Sébastien Érard invented the double escapement action, which incorporated a repetition lever (also called the balancier ) that permitted repeating a note even if the key had not return to its resting position. This facilitated rapid playing of repeated notes,

3854-478: The 1911 "complete version" of the Suite española , although Albéniz never intended the piece for this suite. Despite the new name, this music is not considered suggestive of the folk music of the northern Spanish region of Asturias , but rather of Andalusian flamenco traditions (although the drama of the music is congruent with the landscape of the region of Asturias). The origin of the presumably misattributed name

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3948-473: The 1940s. Aluminum piano plates were not widely accepted and were discontinued. Prior to this, a piano made almost entirely of aluminum was placed aboard the airship Hindenburg . The numerous parts of a piano action are generally made from hardwood, such as maple, beech, or hornbeam ; however, since World War II, makers have also incorporated plastics. Early plastics used in some pianos in the late 1940s and 1950s, proved problematic when they lost strength after

4042-430: The 19th century, is a small piano-like instrument that generally uses round metal rods to produce sound, rather than strings. The US Library of Congress recognizes the toy piano as a unique instrument with the subject designation, Toy Piano Scores: M175 T69. In 1863, Henri Fourneaux invented the player piano , which plays itself from a piano roll . A machine perforates a performance recording into rolls of paper, and

4136-869: The Accademia Stauffer in Cremona, with Boris Belkin and with Jury Bashmet at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena , where he was awarded two Honour Diplomas and won the Prize Monte dei Paschi di Siena twice, as best violinist and best viola player in the school (first time in the history of the Academy). In 1999 he won the First Prize for young talented musicians “M. Benvenuti” of Vittorio Veneto . For years he has been soloist of

4230-536: The Fender Rhodes, became important instruments in 1970s funk and jazz fusion and in some rock music genres. Electronic pianos are non-acoustic; they do not have strings, tines or hammers, but are a type of analog synthesizer that simulates or imitates piano sounds using oscillators and filters that synthesize the sound of an acoustic piano. They must be connected to a keyboard amplifier and speaker to produce sound (however, some electronic keyboards have

4324-828: The Italian Red Cross , auxiliary of the Armed Forces, with Decree of the President of the Republic . He made a CD produced by the Dynamic record company and sponsored by the Lions Club , the proceeds of which were donated to charity to construct of a multifunctional center dedicated to children. In addition, he has recorded for the record company DAD-Records, in world premiere recording, the Quintet op.128 and

4418-1014: The Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan (Armenia). He is honorary principal soloist of the Arkhangelsk State Chamber Orchestra, the Camerata Esteban Salas and the Orchestra Sinfonica de Oriente (Cuba). In 2018 he received the Gold Medal from the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for the commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Kiev Opera House . He is Officer of the Volunteer Military Corps of

4512-485: The Night " is based on Asturias. The italian violist Marco Misciagna has arranged this piece for solo viola. Piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings . Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temperament . A musician who specializes in piano

4606-612: The Rhapsody op.88 by R.Gervasio. His CD Album dedicated to Bartolomeo Campagnoli 's 41 Caprices for viola op.22, arranged for viola and piano by Carl Albert Tottmann, produced by Brilliant Classics , was awarded of two Global Music Awards Gold Medals. He participated in the radio program Vite in Musica (13 episodes), broadcast on RaiPlay Sound , which was dedicated to the Italian composer Marco Anzoletti . The program, focusing on

4700-2000: The Spanish String Orchestra of Màlaga and has been a guest of the major halls and international institutions, including the Berliner Philarmonie , Essen Philarmonie, Hamburg Laieszahalle, Mannheim Rosengarten, the Meistersingerhalle Nuremberg, the Prinzeregententheater of Monaco, Arriaga Theater in Bilbao, Musikverein in Vienna , Victoria Eugenia Theater in San Sebastian, Komitas Chamber Music Hall , Kiev Opera House, Dar Sebastian in Tunisia, Sala Sinopoli Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Balboa Theater in San Diego in California, Fox Tucson Theatre , St. Francis Auditorium of Santa Fe in New Mexico, C.W. Eisemann Center , Rudder Theater, Empire Theater in Texas, American Theater in Hampton in Virginia, Lehman Center and Carnegie Hall in New York. He has collaborated with Uto Ughi , Alexander Rudin , Sergey Stadler , Alexander Markov , Mariana Sirbu , Gianluigi Gelmetti , Ramin Bahrami, Antony Pay , Franco Petracchi , José Serebrier , and Vladimir Zubitsky. He

4794-418: The best of both of the older instruments, combining the ability to play at least as loudly as a harpsichord with the ability to continuously vary dynamics by touch. Cristofori's new instrument remained relatively unknown until an Italian writer, Scipione Maffei , wrote an enthusiastic article about it in 1711, including a diagram of the mechanism, that was translated into German and widely distributed. Most of

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4888-511: The clavichord—the only previous keyboard instrument capable of dynamic nuance responding to the player's touch, the velocity with which the keys are pressed. While the clavichord allows expressive control of volume and sustain, it is relatively quiet even at its loudest. The harpsichord produces a sufficiently loud sound, especially when a coupler joins each key to both manuals of a two-manual harpsichord, but it offers no dynamic or expressive control over individual notes. The piano in some sense offers

4982-418: The first firm to build pianos with a range of more than five octaves: five octaves and a fifth during the 1790s, six octaves by 1810 (Beethoven used the extra notes in his later works), and seven octaves by 1820. The Viennese makers similarly followed these trends; however the two schools used different piano actions: Broadwoods used a more robust action, whereas Viennese instruments were more sensitive. By

5076-511: The floor, behind the keyboard and very large sticker action . The short cottage upright or pianino with vertical stringing—made popular by Robert Wornum around 1815—was built into the 20th century. They are informally called birdcage pianos because of their prominent damper mechanism. The oblique upright, popularized in France by Roller & Blanchet during the late 1820s, was diagonally strung throughout its compass. The tiny spinet upright

5170-540: The form of upright, baby grand, and grand piano styles (including a nine-foot concert grand). Reproducing systems have ranged from relatively simple, playback-only models to professional models that can record performance data at resolutions that exceed the limits of normal MIDI data. The unit mounted under the keyboard of the piano can play MIDI or audio software on its CD. Pianos can have over 12,000 individual parts, supporting six functional features: keyboard, hammers, dampers, bridge, soundboard, and strings. Many parts of

5264-448: The framework to resonate more freely with the soundboard, creating additional coloration and complexity of the overall sound. The thick wooden posts on the underside (grands) or back (uprights) of the piano stabilize the rim structure and are made of softwood for stability. The requirement of structural strength, fulfilled by stout hardwood and thick metal, makes a piano heavy. Even a small upright can weigh 136 kg (300 lb), and

5358-415: The higher notes were too soft to allow a full dynamic range. Although this earned him some animosity from Silbermann, the criticism was apparently heeded. Bach did approve of a later instrument he saw in 1747 and even served as an agent in selling Silbermann's pianos. "Instrument: piano et forte genandt"—a reference to the instrument's ability to play soft and loud—was an expression that Bach used to help sell

5452-552: The instrument when he was acting as Silbermann's agent in 1749. Piano making flourished during the late 18th century in the Viennese school , which included Johann Andreas Stein (who worked in Augsburg , Germany) and the Viennese makers Nannette Streicher (daughter of Stein) and Anton Walter . Viennese-style pianos were built with wood frames, two strings per note, and leather-covered hammers. Some of these Viennese pianos had

5546-595: The keyboard set along the long side. This design is attributed to Christian Ernst Friderici (a pupil of Gottfried Silbermann) in Germany and Johannes Zumpe in England, and it was improved by changes first introduced by Guillaume-Lebrecht Petzold in France and Alpheus Babcock in the United States. Square pianos were built in great numbers through the 1840s in Europe and the 1890s in the United States, and saw

5640-454: The keys are released by the use of pedals at the base of the instrument, which lift the dampers off the strings. The sustain pedal allows pianists to connect and overlay sound, and achieve expressive and colorful sonority. In the 19th century, influenced by Romantic music trends, the fortepiano underwent changes such as the use of a cast iron frame (which allowed much greater string tensions) and aliquot stringing which gave grand pianos

5734-605: The keys, hammers, and pedals during a performance, and the system saves the performance data as a Standard MIDI File (SMF). On playback, the solenoids move the keys and pedals and thus reproduce the original performance. Modern Disklaviers typically include an array of electronic features, such as a built-in tone generator for playing back MIDI accompaniment tracks, speakers, MIDI connectivity that supports communication with computing devices and external MIDI instruments, additional ports for audio and SMPTE input/output (I/O), and Internet connectivity. Disklaviers have been manufactured in

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5828-510: The levers to make the hammers strike the strings. The first model, known as the Pianette , was unique in that the tuning pins extended through the instrument, so it could be tuned at the front. The prepared piano , present in some contemporary art music from the 20th and 21st century is a piano which has objects placed inside it to alter its sound, or has had its mechanism changed in some other way. The scores for music for prepared piano specify

5922-408: The modifications, for example, instructing the pianist to insert pieces of rubber, paper, metal screws, or washers in between the strings. These objects mute the strings or alter their timbre. Some Viennese fortepianos incorporated percussion effects, brought into action by levers. These would be used in pieces such as Mozart's Rondo alla Turca . The pedal piano is a rare type of piano that has

6016-500: The most visible change of any type of piano: the iron-framed, over-strung squares manufactured by Steinway & Sons were more than two-and-a-half times the size of Zumpe's wood-framed instruments from a century before. Their overwhelming popularity was the result of inexpensive construction and price, although their tone and performance were limited by narrow soundboards, simple actions and string spacing that made proper hammer alignment difficult. The tall, vertically strung upright grand

6110-410: The next generation of piano builders started their work based on reading this article. One of these builders was Gottfried Silbermann , better known as an organ builder. Silbermann's pianos were virtual copies of Cristofori's, with one important addition: Silbermann invented the forerunner of the modern sustain pedal , which lifts all the dampers from the strings simultaneously. This innovation allows

6204-545: The opposite coloring of modern-day pianos; the natural keys were black and the accidental keys white. It was for such instruments that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his concertos and sonatas , and replicas of them are built in the 21st century for use in authentic-instrument performance of his music. The pianos of Mozart's day had a softer tone than 21st century pianos or English pianos, with less sustaining power. The term fortepiano now distinguishes these early instruments (and modern re-creations) from later pianos. In

6298-493: The performer depresses the key. Centuries of work on the mechanism of the harpsichord in particular had shown instrument builders the most effective ways to construct the case, soundboard, bridge, and mechanical action for a keyboard intended to sound strings. The English word piano is a shortened form of the Italian pianoforte , derived from gravecembalo col piano e forte ("harpsichord with soft and loud"). Variations in volume ( loudness ) are produced in response to

6392-467: The period from about 1790 to 1860, the Mozart-era piano underwent significant changes that led to the modern structure of the instrument. This revolution was in response to a preference by composers and pianists for a more powerful, sustained piano sound, which was made possible by the ongoing Industrial Revolution with resources such as high-quality piano wire for strings and precision casting for

6486-437: The pianist to sustain the notes that they have depressed even after their fingers are no longer pressing down the keys. As such, by holding a chord with the sustain pedal, pianists can relocate their hands to a different register of the keyboard in preparation for a subsequent section. Silbermann showed Johann Sebastian Bach one of his early instruments in the 1730s, but Bach did not like the instrument at that time, saying that

6580-439: The pianist's touch (pressure on the keys): the greater the pressure, the greater the force of the hammer hitting the strings and the louder the sound produced and the stronger the attack . Invented in 1700, the fortepiano was the first keyboard instrument to allow gradations of volume and tone according to how forcefully or softly the player presses or strikes the keys, unlike the pipe organ and harpsichord. The invention of

6674-547: The piano is credited to Bartolomeo Cristofori of Padua , Italy, who was employed by Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany , as the Keeper of the Instruments. Cristofori was an expert harpsichord maker and was well acquainted with the body of knowledge on stringed keyboard instruments. This knowledge of keyboard mechanisms and actions helped him to develop the first pianos. It is not known when Cristofori first built

6768-561: The piano's versatility, the extensive training of musicians, and its availability in venues, schools, and rehearsal spaces have made it a familiar instrument in the Western world. The piano was based on earlier technological innovations in keyboard instruments . Pipe organs had been used since antiquity, and as such the development of pipe organs enabled instrument builders to learn about creating keyboard mechanisms for sounding pitches . The first string instruments with struck strings were

6862-444: The piece as "pure Andalusian flamenco". In the main theme the piano mimics the guitar technique of alternating the thumb and fingers of the right hand, playing a pedal-note open string with the index finger and a melody with the thumb. The theme itself suggests the rhythm of the bulería —a fast flamenco form. The "marcato"/"staccato" markings suggest both guitar sounds and the footwork of a flamenco dancer. The piece sounds as though it

6956-437: The piece is written in the style of a malagueña —another flamenco style piece. The malagueña borrows two motives from the previous copla and builds on them. The piece returns to its first theme until a slow "hymn-like" passage ends the piece. Though originally written to imitate guitar playing, the piece cannot be transcribed note for note for guitar. The original version makes uses of the piano keyboard's wider range compared to

7050-711: The piece was probably by Severino García Fortea, although Andrés Segovia 's transcription is the most famous and most influential. The piece has become one of the most important works of the classical guitar repertoire. Robbie Krieger , guitarist of The Doors , uses a reworking of the melody from this classical piece in The Doors song "Spanish Caravan" from their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun . Iron Maiden quotes Asturias in their songs Mother Russia and To Tame A Land . Also Children of Bodom attributed their Angels don't Kill song to Asturias and Elley Duhé song " Middle of

7144-523: The player piano replays the performance using pneumatic devices. Modern equivalents of the player piano include the Bösendorfer CEUS, Yamaha Disklavier and QRS Pianomation, using solenoids and MIDI rather than pneumatics and rolls. A silent piano is an acoustic piano having an option to silence the strings by means of an interposing hammer bar. They are designed for private silent practice, to avoid disturbing others. Edward Ryley invented

7238-418: The production of massive iron frames that could withstand the tremendous tension of the strings. Over time, the tonal range of the piano was also increased from the five octaves of Mozart's day to the seven octave (or more) range found on today's pianos. Early technological progress in the late 18th century owed much to the firm of Broadwood . John Broadwood joined with another Scot, Robert Stodart, and

7332-450: The rim was constructed from several pieces of solid wood, joined and veneered, and European makers used this method well into the 20th century. A modern exception, Bösendorfer (an Austrian manufacturer of high-quality pianos) constructs their inner rims from solid spruce, the same wood that the soundboard is made from, which is notched to allow it to bend; rather than isolating the rim from vibration, their "resonance case principle" allows

7426-403: The soundboard instead of dissipating uselessly in the case parts, which are inefficient radiators of sound." Hardwood rims are commonly made by laminating thin (hence flexible) strips of hardwood, bending them to the desired shape immediately after the application of glue. The bent plywood system was developed by C.F. Theodore Steinway in 1880 to reduce manufacturing time and costs. Previously,

7520-402: The soundboard is made of spruce boards glued together along the side grain. Spruce's high ratio of strength to weight minimizes acoustic impedance while offering strength sufficient to withstand the downward force of the strings. The best piano makers use quarter-sawn , defect-free spruce of close annular grain, carefully seasoning it over a long period before fabricating the soundboards. This

7614-417: The string, such as rust on plain strings and dirt in the windings of bass strings. The higher the partial, the further sharp it runs. Pianos with shorter and thicker string (i.e., small pianos with short string scales) have more inharmonicity. The greater the inharmonicity, the more the ear perceives it as harshness of tone. The inharmonicity of piano strings requires that octaves be stretched , or tuned to

7708-418: The strings are placed in two separate planes, each with its own bridge height, allowed greater length to the bass strings and optimized the transition from unwound tenor strings to the iron or copper-wound bass strings. Over-stringing was invented by Pape during the 1820s and first patented for use in grand pianos in the United States by Henry Steinway Jr. in 1859. Some piano makers added variations to enhance

7802-448: The strings when the sustain pedal is depressed, key release, the drop of the dampers, and simulations of techniques such as re-pedalling. Digital, MIDI-equipped pianos can output a stream of MIDI data, or record and play MIDI format files on digital storage media, similar in concept to a pianola. The MIDI file records the physics of a note rather than its resulting sound and recreates the sounds from its physical properties (e.g., which note

7896-464: The strings. Inharmonicity is the degree to which the frequencies of overtones (known as partials or harmonics ) sound sharp relative to whole multiples of the fundamental frequency. This results from the piano's considerable string stiffness; as a struck string decays, its harmonics vibrate from a point very slightly from its termination toward the center (or more flexible part) of the string. The inharmonicity may also result from imperfections within

7990-437: The sustain pedal is depressed) and full pedal sets can now be replicated. The processing power of digital pianos has enabled highly realistic pianos using multi-gigabyte piano sample sets with as many as ninety recordings, each lasting many seconds, for each key under different conditions (e.g., there are samples of each note being struck softly, loudly, with a sharp attack, etc.). Additional samples emulate sympathetic resonance of

8084-415: The tone of each note, such as Pascal Taskin (1788), Collard & Collard (1821), and Julius Blüthner , who developed Aliquot stringing in 1893. These systems were used to strengthen the tone of the highest register of notes on the piano, which up until this time were viewed as being too weak-sounding. Each used more distinctly ringing, undamped vibrations of sympathetically vibrating strings to add to

8178-550: The tone, except the Blüthner Aliquot stringing , which uses an additional fourth string in the upper two treble sections. While the hitchpins of these separately suspended Aliquot strings are raised slightly above the level of the usual tri-choir strings, they are not struck by the hammers but rather are damped by attachments of the usual dampers. Eager to copy these effects, Theodore Steinway invented duplex scaling , which used short lengths of non-speaking wire bridged by

8272-408: The way the piano was strung. There are one string for each note in the bass, two for each note in the tenor, and three for each note in the tenor. The use of a Capo d’Astro bar instead of agraffes in the uppermost treble allowed the hammers to strike the strings in their optimal position, greatly increasing that area's power. The implementation of over-stringing (also called cross-stringing ), in which

8366-424: Was arranged like a grand set on end, with the soundboard and bridges above the keys and tuning pins below them. " Giraffe pianos ", " pyramid pianos " and " lyre pianos " were arranged in a somewhat similar fashion, using evocatively shaped cases. The very tall cabinet piano was introduced about 1805 and was built through the 1840s. It had strings arranged vertically on a continuous frame with bridges extended nearly to

8460-537: Was designing a stringed keyboard instrument in which the notes are struck by a hammer. The hammer must strike the string but not remain in contact with it, because continued contact would damp the sound and stop the string from vibrating and making sound. This means that after striking the string, the hammer must quickly fall from (or rebound from) the strings. Moreover, the hammer must return to its rest position without bouncing violently (thus preventing notes from being re-played by accidental rebound), and it must return to

8554-411: Was manufactured from the mid-1930s until recent times. The low position of the hammers required the use of a "drop action" to preserve a reasonable keyboard height. Modern upright and grand pianos attained their present, 2000-era forms by the end of the 19th century. While improvements have been made in manufacturing processes, and many individual details of the instrument continue to receive attention, and

8648-494: Was struck and with what velocity). Computer based software, such as Modartt's 2006 Pianoteq , can be used to manipulate the MIDI stream in real time or subsequently to edit it. This type of software may use no samples but synthesize a sound based on aspects of the physics that went into the creation of a played note. By the 2000s, some pianos included an acoustic grand piano or upright piano combined with MIDI electronic features. Such

8742-476: Was that in fact Albéniz did compose a piano work actually called (by himself) 'Asturias', which made part of a set of pieces of folk music from all over Spain for the then Queen of Spain, but this piece is lost, and maybe its name was passed on the now so called one. Leyenda , Hofmeister's subtitle, means legend . The piece is noted for the delicate, intricate melody of its middle section and abrupt dynamic changes. Albéniz's biographer, Walter Aaron Clark, describes

8836-403: Was the first to use in pianos in 1826, was a more consistent material, permitting wider dynamic ranges as hammer weights and string tension increased. The sostenuto pedal ( see below ), invented in 1844 by Jean-Louis Boisselot and copied by the Steinway firm in 1874, allowed for a wider range of effects. One innovation that helped create the powerful sound of the modern piano was the use of

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