With wooden pieces called “hammers” which, activated by the keys, hit extended strings, making them vibrate. Many people consider the piano a keyboard instrument, but according to the Hornbostel-Sachs classification (the most used by music scholars) it belongs to the string family, like guitars and violins. For some, this mechanism of hitting the strings to produce sound could also classify the piano as a percussion instrument. The instrument was created in 1709 by Bartolomeo Cristofori, a harpsichord maker – an instrument ancestor of the piano, very similar in appearance, in which the strings were plucked instead of plucked. Other differences between the piano and the harpsichord: it manages to reproduce intensity contrasts (softer or stronger) in the notes and allows the execution of melodies (sequenced sounds) and harmonies (simultaneous sounds) at the same time.
– (Filipe Campoi/)
1. A piano has between 85 and 88 keys, made of wood, the black ones usually coated with ebony and the white ones with ivory or plastic material. The natural notes (do, re, mi, fa, sol, there and si) are the white ones and the accidentals (intermediate sounds between one note and another, called sharps and flats) are the black ones. A piano has between seven and eight octaves – each comprising 12 notes
– (Filipe Campoi/)
two. Each key acts as a lever. When pressed, it activates a mechanism with more than 100 parts that makes the hammer touch the strings, making them vibrate. The force that the pianist puts on the key causes the beat and, consequently, the vibration of the strings to produce a stronger or softer sound. When releasing the key, the hammer returns to the initial position. A layer of felt, located in the head of the hammer, helps the sound to be more homogeneous
3. All strings have a muffler, a piece that is on top. Each key raises its corresponding damper when played. It stays up, letting the sound flow, until the pianist releases the key and returns it to its initial position, muffling the sound and creating silence. The dampers are also activated (all at the same time) by the sustain pedal.
– (Filipe Campoi/)
4. Piano strings are different from each other. The lowest notes have a single, thick steel string wrapped in copper wire. Middles are formed by pairs of thinner strings. And the treble ones are shorter and trigger three strings at once. These “extra strings” are necessary for the sound to have the same intensity in all areas.
5. Depending on the piano model, it may have two or three pedals, which have different functions. The muted one (left) brings the hammer closer to the strings, decreasing the distance and force of the stroke, which results in a shorter sound with less volume. Sustain (right) does the opposite: it moves the hammer away from the strings and produces a louder sound that resonates longer. The middle one varies, depending on the piano: it can be used to muffle the sound or sustain a low note.
6. The string vibrates and produces sound, which is amplified by the sounding board, the body of the piano. Grand pianos generally sound more powerful than wall pianos because of the size of the box in which the notes can resonate. The quality of the wood the piano was made of also influences its acoustics.
– (Filipe Campoi/)
7. At the end near the key, the strings are held together by a peg called a peg. In the other, by a screw. To tune a piano, you use a key that is fitted to the tuning peg and, turning, tightens or loosens the strings. The instrument goes out of tune for two reasons: the wear and tear of use and the temperature and humidity conditions to which it is exposed. It is recommended to tune the piano every six months (if use is very frequent) or one year
SOURCES Everyone’s Piano Sites, Everything Piano, Kersten Pianos, Que Es el Piano, and eHow