Early virginals led to the invention of the harpsichord. The limitations of the spinet caused many to attempt new versions with greater volume or depth of tone as well as an improvement case shape. The harp shape remained popular, and many European instrument makers introduced new versions of the spinet or virginal in a new case shape similar to a harp.
This triangular or harp-like appearance is the shape of grand pianos today. The invention and evolution of the harpsichord began as an experiment to improve the sound quality of the spinet. The longer strings produced the desired volume, but the string plucking on the larger scale increased the intensity of the wiry and harsh tone. Many listeners and reviewers of the instrument deemed it not desirable unless softened by an accompanying instrument or orchestra.
While many attempts were made to improve the sound of the harpsichord, like with the lengthening of the case and the introduction of leather buffs and stops to soften the tone, the pianoforte entered the scene in the early s and soon became the preference of musicians and listeners.
The pianoforte and spinet allowed musicians the ability to play dynamically with artisanship unlike the harpsichord and its predecessors. Born out of the need to improve the sound quality of the harpsichord, the pianoforte was the combination of many ideas that had been tried on the clavichord and harpsichord.
Several inventors began adding hammer actions to restore the smooth tone of the clavichord on the frame and case design of the harpsichord. By , the Christofori pianoforte was admired as the best version of the new instrument on the market. Many other contemporaries were attempting to improve and iterate on the design, and by , Johannes Zumpe had produced the first square piano.
The square piano can be summarized as a clavichord with metal strings, a hammer action and a reinforced frame. By , England, Germany, France and America all had versions of the square piano. A critical advancement allowed the tone and sound to resonate louder previously a downfall of the square shape as opposed to the grand, wing form pianofortes.
Soon, all pianoforte makers were adopting this change. Additional changes to the square piano were mostly regarding the material from which frames were being made to achieve a better tone. The English makers were attempting iron and iron hybrid frames to allow for heavier strings and louder, more sonorous tone emanation. Whereas, German makers were devoted to the traditional, wooden frames, claiming the sound was too metallic and wiry when the strings were connected to the iron plate or frame.
This was a key milestone in American piano making that catapulted many other manufacturers to being production of square pianos, which soon led into the design of both uprights and grands. During the time in which the square piano was rapidly being developed and rising in popularity, several unconventionally-minded inventors began experimenting with an upright piano.
The first recorded upright piano was by Johann Schmidt from Salzburg, Austria in Several others were patented throughout the late s and early s. John Isaac Hawkins from Philadelphia introduced an upright piano in that gained a poor reputation for its sound quality and engineering. The introduction of an upright piano in with diagonal strings by Robert Wornum in London, England, changed the landscape for the unusual piano style.
By , nearly all square pianos in Europe were being replaced with uprights thanks to the increasingly industrialized city planning that mandated smaller, more compact pianos for urban spaces and in-home enjoyment. Around this time, American piano manufacturers began to shift their attention to developing uprights that could compliment the square piano market that had become so hot that they could hardly keep up with demand.
By , the upright piano had completely replaced the square piano production in America, causing the extension of the square piano. Piano-making flourished during the late 18 th century in Europe, where pianos were built with wooden frames, two or three strings per note, and leather covered hammers.
In the period from about to , the piano underwent tremendous 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 sound. This was made possible by the ongoing Industrial Revolution, with resources such as high-quality piano wire for strings, and precision casting for the production of massive iron frames that could withstand the tremendous tension of the strings, suddenly available in great quantities.
The upright piano with diagonal strings was invented in London in the early s and they became very popular for domestic music-making and practice because of their compact size and affordability. In , felt a more consistent material than leather was first introduced for use in hammer coverings, which permitted wider dynamic ranges as hammer weights and string tension increased. A major innovation that helped create the powerful sound of the modern piano was the use of the large cast iron frame mentioned earlier, which sits atop the soundboard.
This single cast iron frame was patented in and allowed the use of thicker and more tense strings. Design changes, such as the invention of the sostenuto pedal , the patent of cross-stringing , invention of duplex scaling and the standardisation of the key format during the s and s were all notable additions to the earlier piano models.
As manufacturing processes were further streamlined and new materials were tested and improved, the piano has continued to change. The introduction of carbon fibre in the action could make it stronger, so that it could be lighter, so that it could be faster and more responsive. They build harpsichords together, and apparently around Cristofori built his gravicembalo col piano e forte , the harpsichord that plays soft and loud.
The name of the Cristofori piano e forte later came to be shortened to the piano. It was indeed Cristofori who achieved the effect of soft and loud playing by replacing the plucking mechanism of the harpsichord with a hammer action capable of striking the strings with greater or lesser force.
It included two chords and wedge-shaped dampers. Apparently, the instrument was not an instant success. By Cristofori fitted the piano e forte action with a stop to make the hammers strike only one of two strings. He made approximately twenty pianos and then it is surmised that he went back to making harpsichords, presumably from a lack of interest in his pianos.
Another one is in the Museum of Musical Instruments in Rome dated and one with four and a half octaves, from , is in the Leipzig museum in Germany. There are perhaps altogether ten instruments with the name Cristofori on them surviving today. Just for perspective, it is interesting to note that J. Bach was born in and Mozart was born in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote twenty-three piano concertos for piano and orchestra. Most of them he played himself in the Vienna Concert Series of to The use of the piano spread across Europe and before long, the piano was being used and manufactured in the United States, as well.
The decades of European expertise in piano making accounts for some of the best and most acclaimed instruments in the world, until this day. There are too many piano manufacturers to name, but the quality level is remarkable. Hundreds of American piano companies also sprang up to compete with the more expensive European piano makers.
Wurlitzer, for example, developed the first electronic piano. Many factories have gone out of business, their names sold to other companies, but there are a few that are still with us today, and still making an impact on the development of the piano.
It may surprise you to know that Japan is the largest producer of pianos, however Europe still holds title to the best quality and most expensive pianos. Steinway has made their presence known both in Europe where they have a factory to supply Europeans and the United States where they have a factory that supplies Americans.
Within a relatively short time, the Steinways were granted patents they have patents total that revolutionized the piano, and which were eventually adopted or imitated by other makers.
Many of these patents concerned the quest for a stronger frame, a richer, more powerful sound, and a more responsive action. By the s, the Steinway piano was pretty much the same Steinway you buy today. Theodore Steinway developed the continuous bent case rim, which enhanced sound transmission by using the acoustic properties of long wood fibers. These improvements were adapted to all styles of pianos including grand, upright, and the square piano which is no longer being produced today.
Steinway developed a strategic marketing and production plan that enabled the company to put lower priced Steinways into the parlors of most American households during the turn of the century. Steinway also made their iconic concert grands available to every major performance venue. The company is known to be fiercely protective of its hard won market share.
Other famous piano makers also made contributions to the evolution and improvement of the piano. Among them — Paulo Fazioli — whose is revered as a piano innovator. Case in point, to produce the famed Fazioli sound, the soundboard wood on a Fazioli piano is selectively harvested from the same forest Stradivarius used for his violins. Dominico del Mela, an assistant to Cristofori, is said to have developed the upright piano in , but it would not be the upright that we know.
In the earlier version of this instrument, the strings began at the level of the keys which necessitated a very tall instrument in order to get the tone and enough soundboard. John Isaac Hawkins, an Englishman who lived in the U.
He became an important piano maker in Philadelphia. His upright pianos had strings running upward from the bottom of the case , near the floor. Modern upright pianos have come a long way in both quality and styling. Sauter , a German piano maker has specialized in models for the 21 st Century home, in co-operation with awarded European lifestyle designer Peter Maly to create some unforgettable uprights.
Sauter uprights feature a patented action with an auxiliary jack spring to aid in faster repetition. Thus, a Sauter upright responds almost like a grand piano.
Sauter calls this the R2 Double Escapement action. In true musical terminology, an electronic keyboard is a simple synthesizer equipped with built-in power amplifier and small loudspeakers. Electronic keyboards are capable of recreating a wide range of instrument sounds piano, Hammond organ, pipe organ, violin, etc.
The development of synthesizers continued through the sixties and right up to the present, with Moog, Fender, Roland Corp. Portable keyboards are just that, portable. They usually weigh less than 30 lbs.
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