A Lesson in piano history and
construction
Note: The following article and the articles on the harpsichord and clavichord are
drawn from the Microsoft Encarta:
Go to the Gallery of Unique Pianos to see pictures of interesting, historical or one of a kind instruments.
Piano, stringed keyboard musical instrument, derived from the harpsichord and the clavichord. Also called the pianoforte, it differs from its predecessors principally in the introduction of a hammer-and-lever action that allows the player to modify the intensity of sound by the stronger or weaker touch of the fingers. For this reason the earliest known model (1709) was called a gravicembalo col pian e forte (Italian for “harpsichord with soft and loud”). It was built by Bartolomeo Cristofori, a harpsichord maker of Florence, Italy, who is generally credited with inventing the piano. Two of his pianos still exist. The case of one, dated 1720, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; the other, dated 1726, is in a museum in Leipzig, Germany.
Early Evolution of the Piano
Beginning about 1725, when the noted German organ maker Gottfried Silbermann of Freiberg
adopted Cristofori's action, the next major developments took place in Germany. Perhaps
the most important contribution was made by Johann Andreas Stein of Augsburg, who is
credited with inventing an improved escapement that became the foundation of the
“Viennese” piano praised by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and favored by most German
composers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Twelve masters from central Germany
migrated to London about 1760 and established the English school that, under John
Broadwood and others, turned to the production of pianos of a stronger build, resembling
those of our own day. The French manufacturer Sébastien Erard founded the French school
in the 1790s, and in 1823 created the double action that is still in general use. By this
time artisans in all Western nations were working to perfect the pianoforte. Numerous
improvements were and are still being made in design and construction. Germany and the
United States have long been distinguished for fine pianos, notably those of the German
firm founded by Karl Bechstein and the American firms of Baldwin, Mason & Hamlin,
Steinway, and Chickering. The pianos of the Austrian Bösendorfer firm are also highly
respected.
The compass of the early piano was, like that of the harpsichord, only four, or at most,
five octaves, but it has gradually increased to a compass of more than seven octaves as
structural changes allowed for increases in tension amounting to several tons.
Modern Structure
The modern pianoforte has six major parts (in the following discussion, the numbers in
parentheses refer to the accompanying diagram (Diagram #1 below) of the structure of a
pianoforte): (1) The frame is usually made of iron. At the rear end is attached the string
plate, into which the strings are fastened. In the front is the wrest plank, into which
the tuning pins are set. Around these is wound the other end of the strings, and by
turning these pins the tension of the strings is regulated. (2) The soundboard, a thin
piece of fine-grained spruce placed under the strings, reinforces the tone by means of
sympathetic vibration. (3) The strings, made of steel wire, increase in length and
thickness from the treble to the bass. The higher pitches are each given two or three
strings tuned alike. The lower ones are single strings made heavier by being
overspun—that is, wound around with a coil of thin copper wire. (4) The action is the
entire mechanism required for propelling the hammers against the strings (see Operation of
the Action below). The most visible part of the action is the keyboard, a row of keys
manipulated by the fingers. The keys corresponding to the natural tones are made of ivory
or plastic; those corresponding to the chromatically altered tones, of ebony or plastic.
(5) The pedals are levers pressed down by the feet. The damper, or loud pedal, raises all
the dampers so that all the strings struck continue to vibrate even after the keys are
released. The soft pedal either throws all the hammers nearer to the strings so that the
striking distance is diminished by one-half, or shifts the hammers a little to one side so
that only a single string instead of the two or three is struck. Some pianos have a third,
or sustaining, pedal that does not raise all the dampers, but keeps raised only those
already raised by the keys at the moment this pedal is applied. The use of these pedals
can produce subtle changes in tone quality. Many upright pianos have been built in which
the application of a pedal interposes a strip of felt between the hammers and strings so
that only a very faint sound is produced. (6) According to the shape of the case, pianos
are classified as grand, square, and upright. The square form (actually rectangular) is no
longer built. For use in private homes it has been entirely superseded by the upright,
which takes up far less room. Grand pianos are built in various sizes, from the full
concert grand, 2.69 m (8 ft 10 in) long, to the parlor or baby grand, less than 1.8 m (6
ft) long.
Upright pianos include the late 19th-century cottage piano, of which the upright grand is
merely a larger form. The modern spinet and console pianos are small uprights related to
the cottage piano. In the upright pianos the strings run vertically, or diagonally, from
the top to the bottom of the instrument. Uprights and small grands are sometimes
overstrung; that is, the bass strings are stretched diagonally across the shorter treble
strings, thereby gaining extra length and improved tone quality. The combined tension of
the strings on a concert grand piano is about 30 tons, on an upright about 14.
Diagram #1
Operation of the Action
Essentially, when a piano key is pressed down, its tail pivots upward and lifts a lever
that throws a hammer against the strings for that key's note. At the same time a damper is
raised from these strings, allowing them to vibrate more freely. The following is a much
more detailed description of how the action works; the numbers in parentheses refer to the
accompanying diagram (Diagram #2 below) of the action of a grand piano.
The piano key (1) is a lever that pivots on a balance pin (2). When the player depresses
the key, the tail rises and the capstan screw (3) in the key pushes up the whippen (4),
which is hinged. The free end of the whippen rises, taking with it an L-shaped piece
called the jack, or escapement lever (5), and the repetition lever (9).
The jack pushes the knuckle, or roller (6), a roll of felt that is fixed to the hammer
shank (7); the hammer thus rises. The jack's upward motion is stopped when its protruding
end hits the regulating button (8). The hammer flies up away from the jack and strikes the
appropriate strings. The repetition lever (9) also rises, but only until the end where the
jack passes through it and touches the drop screw (10); this lever stays raised until the
key is released.
The hammer falls back, but only partway. It is stopped by the knuckle (6) hitting the
raised repetition lever (9). The jack (5) can thus slip back under the partially raised
hammer shank and into its original position. At the same time, the backcheck (11) keeps
the hammer from rebounding against the strings.
If the key is partly released, the hammer moves free of the backcheck, and the repetition
lever stays raised. If the player again depresses the partially released key, the jack (5)
can once more push the knuckle (6) and hammer shank (7) upward. (This system allows rapid
repetition of notes before the key and hammer have time to return to their original
positions. It was an important improvement over early, simpler piano actions.)
Meanwhile, the tail of the key has also pushed up the damper lever (12), which lifts the
damper (13) off the strings for that key. When the key is even partially released, the
damper falls back onto the strings and silences the note.
When the key is fully released, all parts of the mechanism return to their original
positions because of gravity. Unlike grand pianos, upright pianos cannot rely on gravity
to cause everything to return to place. In a grand piano the action sits horizontally on
the key; in an upright piano the action is adapted so that it sits more or less
vertically. Because it cannot completely rely on gravity, it includes various springs and
small strips of cloth to pull some of the action parts back into place.
Diagram #2
Note: Due to space concerns on the server I have had to remove the audio
examples that were in the form of zip files originally. Sorry if this inconveniences
anyone.
Eminent Soloists
The piano has always been an instrument for virtuosos. Composers played their own
compositions in the 18th and 19th centuries, among them Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig
van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, and the Hungarian Franz Liszt. The noted German pianist
Clara Schumann played the compositions of her husband, Robert Schumann. The end of the
century was dominated by the Russian composer-performer Anton Rubinstein, and in the early
20th century many performers traveled constantly on concert tours throughout Western
Europe and the United States. Among such performers were the Polish Ignace Paderewski and
the Polish-Americans Josef Hofmann and Arthur Rubinstein. In the period between World Wars
I and II (1918-1939), the Russian-American composer-performer Sergey Rachmaninoff, the
Austrian-American Artur Schnabel, the British Dame Myra Hess, the German Walter Gieseking,
and the Brazilian Guiomar Novaes were popular concert recitalists. After the end of World
War II in 1945, Russian pianists again appeared in the United States, among them Emil
Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter. Perennially popular recitalists included the Chilean
Claudio Arrau, master of a particularly broad repertoire; Rudolf Serkin, a Czech-born
American performer and teacher; the Russian-American virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz; and the
Spanish Alicia de Larrocha. Other highly accomplished players who appeared after World War
II included the Austrian-English Alfred Brendel, whose scholarly approach aroused some
aesthetic controversy; the Canadian Glenn Gould, whose recordings of Bach won great
acclaim; the Americans Van Cliburn, André Watts, and Murray Perahia; and the Russian-born
Vladimir Ashkenazy, later a citizen of Iceland. Today, with the level of technical
proficiency among pianists rising, an increasing number of international piano
competitions generate wide interest and serve to launch the careers of promising artists.
Ludwig Von Beethoven
Beethoven's Piano Concerto no. 4 in G Major, op. 58
An extraordinary pianist in his own right, 19th-century composer Ludwig van Beethoven
wrote many piano concertos early in his career. Therefore, it is not surprising that many
of his piano concertos were written to suit his own improvisational style. As this excerpt
from the third movement (a rondň) of his fourth concerto shows, Beethoven was
structurally dependent on classical concerto form although he expanded on the established
framework by intensifying the solo voice of the piano with expressive contrapuntal
inventiveness and phrasing.
Sergey Rachmaninoff
Chopin's Nocturnes
As both a pianist and composer, Frédéric Chopin composed almost exclusively for piano.
The impressionistic and deeply introspective character of his style is evident in his
ballads, preludes, and nocturnes. As a result, all of his works require a high level of
technique and creative use of the pedals. Chopin’s Nocturnes, from which this excerpt
is taken, reveal his most intimate harmonic explorations and are clearly influenced by the
dramatic use of melody developed by Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini.
Johannes Brahms
Brahms' Piano Quintet in F Minor, op. 34
In 1862 Johannes Brahms originally composed the Piano Quintet in F Minor for a string
quintet with two violoncellos. Later, he arranged it for two pianos, only to change his
mind once again to combine stringed instruments with the pianoforte. The first movement
opens with a rather restrained allegro in sonata form, from which the theme explodes in
fuller glory. Throughout the quintet, the intricate relationships between themes and
motifs are explored, bringing to surface an extraordinary balance between freedom and
logic in the composition.
"Brahms: Quintet for Two Violins,Viola, Cello and Piano in F Minor,Op. 34" from
Schumann, Brahms:Piano Quintets (Cat. # 8.550406)(p)1990 Naxos of America, Inc. Allrights
reserved.
Béla Bartók
Bartok's Microcosmos
As a pianist and composer, Hungarian Béla Bartók contributed a great deal to
20th-century music. Though he composed music for orchestra, ballet, choir, opera, and
chamber instruments, his works for piano were his most intensely expressive. Interested in
exploring new sounds, he would treat the piano almost as a percussion instrument or
attempt to imitate East European folk instruments such as the Serbian bagpipe. Interrupted
melodies and dissonant intervals, another influence from East European folk music, also
peppered his unique compositions.
Jazz:
Meade Lux Lewis
Boogie-Woogie Pianist Meade Lux Lewis
Early boogie-woogie pianist Meade “Lux” Lewis helped popularize a blues-based
piano style in the 1930s. His biggest hit, “Honky Tonk Train Blues,”
is one of the most vibrant examples of the idiom, featuring Lewis’ percussive
right-hand melody contrasted with repeating left-hand syncopated rhythms. Boogie-woogie
piano, made popular in southern honky tonks and later making its way to Chicago, was a
precursor to popular jazz piano styles such as the “stride” and
“trumpet-style” piano playing that became part of early New Orleans jazz.
Jazz Pianist Bill Evans
Contemporary jazz pianist Bill Evans was known for expanding the typical jazz
trio—piano, bass, and drums—popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Typically, the piano
serves as the lead melodic voice while the bassist and drummer set the rhythm. As a
pianist and composer Evans exchanged those musical voices and worked for a creative
interaction among all instrumentalists. His work emphasized feeling and attitude and
served to develop a shared philosophy among modern-day jazz performers.
"Piano," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation.
Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.