Piano Forum
Piano Board => Student's Corner => Topic started by: amy on April 12, 2003, 05:26:46 AM
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hey guys
can anyone tell me who first invented the piano...
name... information etc...
and any characteristics i should know..
and how it evolved...
thanks!
-Amy
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I don't know much about the history of the piano, but it evolved from the harpsicord to the pianoforte then today's piano.
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Was invented buy some Italian guy Bartholomew Cristofori(?) in 1709(?)
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thanks guys for helping me out! :)
always good to know.
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Amy,
I would recommend reading a wonderful book by Arthur Loesser called "Men, Women, and Pianos." It's a social history of the piano from the 18th century to the present. It's a delightful and engaging read, and I'm sure it will answer all of your questions.
-Scarbo
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https://www.baldwinpiano.com/learn/phistory.html ;D
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A book that I really enjoyed was 'Piano Roles' edited by James Parakilas (https://www.yale.edu/yup/books/080557.htm). It has an interesting discussion of the early development of the piano. I thought that the chapters on the social history of the piano were particularly fascinating.
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Thank you ALL OF YOU....
what would i do without you :)
unfortunately.. i dont have time to read anything at the moment... but ill get on those books in about 3 weeks..
thank you.
cristofori is all i need to know for now...
he invented the pianoforte :)
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Dear amy,
This may be helpful. The harpischord had an action that plucked the strings and no matter how fast the key was depressed the volume was about the same. Composers got round this by writing more notes in a chord when more sound was needed. If you look at Bach's music you can see this when he uses full chords where louder, more dramatic effects are needed.
Cristofori devised the action that played "piano" and 'forte" hence the name "pianoforte". Cristofori's rudimentary piano action was a major innovation in those days of the harpischord and clavichord.
For the first time the player could play softly or loudly depending on the speed the key was depressed.
Kind regards,
Robert.
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\recommend reading a wonderful book by Arthur Loesser called "Men, Women, and Pianos."
Another book that I think should be required reading for any pianist is The Piano Book by Larry Fine. It doesnt have much on history, but it covers every aspect from how it works (I can count on one hand the number of pianists I know who actually know how the action works, trapwork, etc), to what to look for in buying used pianos, a list of manufacturers and brand names, etc. This book helped save me 2 weeks ago, I was playing at a school for a GATE day, and their Yamaha P22 had a broken damper pedal. I was able to fix it since I knew what to look for (adjustment screw on the trapwork and repositioning the steel dowl that connects the damper mechanisim with the pedal). If you were to call a technician out youd end up at least $50 poorer.
Think about it, as pianists we really are the worst out of any intrumentalist when it comes to what we know about our instrument, or even being able to fix minor problems. Im not saying we should all be able to tune and regulate, but at least know how it works!