All About the Piano

You play the piano, one of the most popular musical instruments in the world, by means of a keyboard. Composers use the piano a lot as an aid, as well as for rehearsal purposes.  The piano is used for a wide variety of music such as classical music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment. Despite the cost of the piano and the fact that it is not very mobile, the piano is still one of the worlds most familiar musical instruments.

The basics on how the piano works

The pianos' keyboard are connected to felt-covered hammers which strike metal strings. As the hammers rebound, the strings continue vibrating.  The vibrations caused by this action are passed through a bridge to a sounding board that amplifies the sound. Without this the sound would be no louder than that produced by the strings. The strings vibration is stopped by a dampener when the key is released.

The word piano is a shortened form of the word pianoforte, which was derived from the Italian name for the piano, clavicembalo col piano e forte.

Piano Construction

Pianos' are made to last, the materials used in their construction are specially selected for there strength and longevity. The outer rim of the piano needs to be extra strong and is usually made of hard wood, such as beech or maple. The size of the piano, makes it almost immovable, so that the soundboard can have a solid structure from which to best vibrate the music of the piano player.