Piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. It is widely used in Western Music for solo performance; it is very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Piano is the most familiar instrument for its versatility and ubiquity. It is classified as both percussion and stringed instrument.
The word piano is a shortened word for pianoforte which is seldom used except in formal language and derived from the original Italian name for the instrument “clavicembalo”.
Types of Modern Piano
Grand Piano – frame and strings are horizontal, the strings extending away from the keyboard. A grand piano action has a repetitive lever for each key.
Upright Pianos – also called as vertical piano. They are more compact because the frame and strings are vertical. It has usually tall frames and long strings are sometimes called “upright grand” piano.
Studio Pianos – are round 42 – 45 inches tall, the shortest cabinet that can accommodate a “full-sized” action located above the keyboard.
Console Pianos – have a compact action, shorter hammers and are a few inches shorter than studio models.
Spinet Pianos – the top barely rises above the keyboard. The action is located below, it is operated by vertical wires that are attached to the backs of the keys.
Main Parts of a Piano
Keyboard – has 36 black keys and 52 white keys for a total of 88 keys. Extra keys are added to increase resonance from the associated strings.
Pedals – most pianos have 3 pedals.
a. Sustain Pedal or damper pedal – simply called “the pedal”, it is the most frequently used. It is placed as the rightmost pedal in the group. It lifts the dampers from all keys sustaining all played notes.
b. Soft Pedal or una corda pedal – placed leftmost in the row of pedals, it shifts the entire action including the keyboard to the right so that the hammers hit only one of the three strings in each note.
c. Sostenuto Pedal – keeps raised any damper that was already raised at the moment the pedal is depressed. This makes it possible to sustain some notes while the player’s hand are free to play other notes.
Visit wiki for more information on piano.
