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A Short History of the Piano
Lesson 11: A Short History Of The Piano
The origins of the piano are in the Greek water organ known as the hydraulis. Water power pushed air through tubes to make the sound. There were seven levers, which correspond to the seven white keys of the piano keyboard. Later, another lever was added, a “black key,” and as time passed other black keys were added, eventually leading to the arrangement of black and white keys we have today.
The history of the piano developed in four stages from clavichord, harpsichord and fortepiano to, finally, the modern piano.
The Hydraulis
Start with seven white levers:
| 1 2 3 4 | 5 6 7 |
Add a "black" lever (b7 "flat seven" is the black key between 6 and 7)
|1 2 3 4 | 5 6 b7|
They added more levers (b3 "flat three" is the black key between 3 and 4.)
| 1 2 b3 4 | 5 6 b7|
Early Versions
In medieval times, the first instrument that resembles the piano was called the clavichord. The clavichord has brass strings struck with triangular metal pieces called “tangents.” In comparison to the modern piano, the clavichord’s strings were much smaller and were strung on a small wooden frame, whereas the modern piano has massive steel and copper strings and they are held by a heavy cast-iron frame.
If you have ever heard a clavichord played, you will realize the meaning of the term “lean forward and listen,” because the sound of the clavichord is tiny. It does have expressive possibilities that its successor, the harpsichord, lacked. For example, one can vibrate the string by gently pushing the string up and down with the keyboard key, producing a primitive vibrato. One can also make a crescendo (getting louder or softer) with a clavichord by simply pressing the keys with a faster stroke.
Easy Classical Piano
The Harpsichord
Next came the harpsichord in the Baroque era, around the 1600s. It may have evolved as musicians simply wanted a louder sound. Sound on the harpsichord is produced by goose quills plucking a thicker brass or iron string. Harpsichords must have sounded like electric guitars to baroque ears used to the minuscule clavichord. They made a wonderful, metallic racket.
Some have double strings, and more than one keyboard so that the volume can be lowered or raised. In addition, the harpsichord had a few novelty sounds, such as a “lute” stop, which produced a fluffy, muted pluck.
The Invention Of Felt Hammers
Around 1700, an Italian named Cristofori came up with a mechanism that made sound via felt covered hammers striking heavy iron strings. This became known as the fortepiano, the name itself derived from the Italian words “forte” (loud) and “piano” (soft). The great Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the first owners of a fortepiano. He had a primitive model that had pedal mechanisms worked by the pianist bringing their knees together.
The pedal was one of the keys to the success of the fortepiano, for it made the sound ring and resound in the room, giving a “reverb” quality to the sound. The development of the modern style grand piano was largely a search for both volume and clarity of expressive power.
The Evolution Of Modern Pianos
The final development was the introduction of the cast iron frame in the 1800s. The cast iron frame allowed the strings to be stretched to thousands of pounds of pressure, producing the massive sound we take for granted today as the modern piano.
The golden age of the piano was from about 1800 to 1925, when everyone had a piano. There were no cars, no radio, no electricity, and no telephone. There was only the piano. By 1925, the radio became the rage, then the television, and then the computer. The piano was finished.
Still, do you know any other machine that dates from the Renaissance, has thousands of moving parts, and may be sitting in your living room? The piano is arguably the oldest living complex machine humans have ever made.
COURSE ONE: TEACHING TOOLS
#2 WHAT A CHILD SHOULD EXPECT FROM PIANO LESSONS
#3 WHAT IS FINGERING AND WHEN DO WE USE IT
#4 PIANO BY NUMBER AND OTHER STARTING METHODS
#6 MINUTE BY MINUTE PIANO LESSON
#7 TOYS AND ACCESSORIES FOR FUN PIANO LESSONS
#8 READING MUSIC FOR KIDS STEP BY STEP
#9 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WORST AND BEST TEACHER
#10 A CHILD’S CLASSICAL MUSIC LISTENING LIST
COURSE TWO: TEACHING BACKGROUND
#11 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PIANO
#12 A SHORT HISTORY OF PIANO METHODS
#13 A PLEASANT PIANO LESSON ATMOSPHERE
#14 ADVICE TO A YOUNG PIANO TEACHER
#16 A PIANO TEACHER’S EMOTIONS
#17 PACE AND CHILDREN’S PIANO LESSONS
#18 CHILDREN’S PIANO MOTOR SKILLS DEFINED BY AGE
#19 CHILDREN’S PIANO FINGERING OVERVIEW
#20 GUILT IS THE WRONG WAY TO BUY ATTENTION
COURSE THREE: PIANO GAMES
#21 FOURS, A PIANO COUNTING GAME
#24 THE USE OF HUMOR IN PIANO LESSONS
#25 HAPPY OR SAD: EAR TRAINING FOR KIDS
#26 FOLLOW THE LEADER: VISUAL PIANO GAMES
