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The Evolution of the Piano
- 1. PIANOS Michael Remer http://www.netinstruments.com/electric-pianos/electric-piano/buy-new-williams-symphony-elite-digital-piano/image/39942.jpg/
- 2. THESIS Throughout time and change, the piano has gradually become the most popular musical instrument in the world. It has completely changed music itself by contributing different styles of music.
- 3. PERSONAL RELEVANCE As a child growing up, I never played any musical instruments. Instead of playing sports, skateboarding, or playing video games, I never really had any other hobbies. So I saw this as an opportunity to learn how to play the piano and learn a little bit about the piano’s journey at the same time.
- 4. BARTOLOMEO CRISTOFORI Born May 4, 1665 Maker of Musical Instruments “Gravecembalo col piano e forte” http://seanmenne.com/ai/quarterreview/inventor.html
- 5. PRINCE FERDINAND Living the High Life Working for Prince Ferdinand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:LouisPhilippe Charles/Ferdinando_de'_Medici
- 6. Harpsichord Piano 1400’s 1700’s Monotone Loud and Soft
- 10. PIANOS TODAY Popular Over 10,000,000 Various kinds http://www.gizkid.com/category/miscellaneous-gadgets-for-kids/page/2/
- 11. http://www.broussardsmusic.com/BaldwinVerticalPianos2096.html • Vertical http://www.mcq.org/code/en/objects/square-piano-112.html • Horizontal • Square tp://louderpiano123.en.made-in-china.com/product/qboJVaQMblWK/China-Grand-Piano-GP-148-.html
- 12. • Petite Grand Piano. 4’ 5” - 4’ 10” • Baby Grand Piano. 4’ 11” - 5’ 6” • Medium Grand Piano 5’ 7” - 5’ 9” http://babygrandpiano.biz/ http://www.babygrandpianodiscounts.com/ http://www.yourmusicnetwork.com/shop/product_view.asp? storeID=AVPBXMM3S0DQ8PB5BNW1PCB9FHPQ3GUC&menu=&seg=0&subtype=&subtypeid=0&brand=Steinway+%26amp%3B +Sons&brand_id=863&private_brand=&pr=203016&priv=0
- 13. Parlor Grand Piano 5’ 9” - 6’ 1” Concert Grand Piano 9’ http://www.teach-me-piano.com/grand-pianos.html
- 14. http://corribmoving.com/services/piano-moving/ http://www.williamsmithandsonspianomovers.com/console.html Spinet Piano Console Piano Upright Piano http://www.read-and-play-piano.com/kawai-upright-piano.html
- 15. Square Piano
- 16. STRING OR PERCUSSION? String Instruments Violin, Guitar, Bass, Harp, etc. Percussion Drums, Snare, Xylophone, Bongos, etc. http://dalmationmusic.net/thecello.aspx http://musformation.com/2009/08/dont-tighten-your-snare-stand-too-hard.html
- 17. WHAT MAKES A PIANO Case Keyboard Action Soundboard Bridge Pinblock http://www.internetmeridian.com/piano/Anatomy/index.html Frame
- 18. CASE http://www.radfordpiano.com/q.case.htm
- 19. KEY BOARD http://loumemusic.capwebdesign.com/?paged=3
- 21. SOUNDBOARD http://www.rivertonmusic.com/greatpiano.html
- 23. PINBLOCK http://www.cmpiano.com/1923_weber.html
- 24. FRAME
- 25. FAMOUS PIANISTS Beethoven Began at age 4 Went deaf in late 20’s Became famous http://www.tabondant.com/en/artistes/beethoven,612.html
- 26. RAY CHARLES Began at age 5 Went blind at age 7 Dropped out at age 15 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame “Hit the Road Jack” http://www.offthetopradio.com/genius.htm
- 28. All types of Music http://theurbandaily.com/music/theurbandailystaff2/kanye-wests-runaway-film-is-a-beautiful-mess/ http://coolspotters.com/musicians/alicia-keys/and/activities/playing-piano/media/271324#medium-271324 http://joe-ferraro.com/2009/01/piano-practice-audio-2-imagine-john-lennon/ http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/facts_about__isaac_slade
- 29. Why the Piano? • Range of notes • Distinct sound
- 30. APPLICATION
- 31. APPLICATION
- 33. APPLICATION “California Gurls” by Mike Remer http://www.weekinrewind.com/2010/07/katy-perrys-california-gurls-music.html
- 34. Class activity
- 35. WORK CITED Ballantine, Bill. The Piano: An Introduction to the Instrument. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Doherty, Jim. "In praise of pianos." Smithsonian 30.12: 60-64. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 22 Dec. 2010. "From Harpsichord to Pianoforte." MasterFILE Premier. Calliope, Apr. 2004. Web. "A lesson in piano history and construction." Rodgers' Piano Restorations. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2010. Piano Anatomy. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2011. < .
- 36. WORK CITED "Pianoforte." Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Eric Blom. Fifth ed. Vol. VI. U.S.A., 1955. 724-50. Print. IX vols Rowland, David, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Piano. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print . Seaman, Gerald. "Piano." MasterFILE Premier. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2011. http://www.favorite-classical-composers.com/famous-piano-players.html bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.biography.com/articles/ Ray-Charles-9245001>. bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.biography.com/articles/ Ludwig-van-Beethoven-9204862 >.
- 37. CONCLUSION Throughout all of my research, I learned a lot of information on pianos and I plan on utilizing this information in the future. I hope you all learned as much as I did and you get a chance to play the piano at some point in your life.
Editor's Notes
- \n
- Throughout time and change, the piano has gradually become the most popular musical instrument in the world. It has completely changed music itself by contributing different styles of music.\n
- As a child growing up, I never played any musical instruments. Instead of playing sports, skateboarding, or playing video games, I never really had any other hobbies. So I saw this as an opportunity to learn how to play the piano and learn a little bit about the piano&#x2019;s journey at the same time. \n
- It all began with Bartolomeo Cristofori. He was born in Padua, Italy on May 4, 1665. His profession was mainly based on building harpsichords. Harpsichords were the instrument of the 15th and 16th century. He is generally known for inventing the piano in 1709, but at the time, it was known as the gravecembalo col piano e forte which was italian for &#x201C;harpsichord with soft and loud&#x201D;. Bartolomeo was considered one of the bright minds during the 1600s. There is very little information on Cristofori&#x2019;s childhood and any time before he invented the piano. Once he invented the piano, however, he was like a celebrity. \n
- Bartolomeo&#x2019;s invention was such a hit that he was almost immediately recruited to work as custodian of musical instruments for Prince Ferdinand de Medici. In the Florentine Court, Bartolomeo cared for all of the prince&#x2019;s harpsichords and other instruments. He did some work on his pianoforte, but he stuck mostly with the harpsichords. It wasn&#x2019;t until later in the century, after Bartolomeo&#x2019;s death, that the piano really rose up and became popular. It&#x2019;s a shame that he wasn&#x2019;t alive to see how great of a job he did. \n
- The harpsichord, already being invented hundreds of years earlier than the piano (around 1400), is very similar to the piano. The main difference between the two is that you are able to control how loud a piano can play, whereas on a harpsichord, the noise is the same level every time you strike a key. When you strike a key on a harpsichord, the string is plucked. So no matter how hard you hit the key, the string is plucked by the same intensity every time. Cristofori changed this by replacing the plucking mechanism with a hammer mechanism. Depending on how hard you hit a key on the piano, the hammer inside the case will strike the string at that intensity. \n
- The 1700&#x2019;s were the starting point of the Piano. After their creation in Italy by Bartolomeo, they made their way to England and they exploded. At first, the piano was considered royal and was only for the kings to have music played for them at their parties, or during dinner, and even sometimes for their own personal entertainment. Towards of the end of the 1700&#x2019;s more and more pianos were being built and it was more of an option for other people to get it. So its popularity grew much faster.\n
- In the 1800&#x2019;s, the piano had some major changes. The frames were being built with iron instead of wood to make the frame much stronger. This allowed heavier hammers to be used. With heavier hammers being used, thicker and tighter strings could be used. This combination made a richer and louder sound. The piano became more of a common name and a lot more people had access to it. The newer pianos though became taller and louder. \n
- In the 1900&#x2019;s, the piano was still evolving. New kinds were being created like the upright piano. People began to take advantage of the piano. People who played used it as a profession. Some used it to teach children how to play, people formed bands, some played by themselves and made their own music. The piano exploded the music world leaving all of the other intrusments behind. When the electrical piano came out the world was shocked and amazed and everyone wanted to have one. Since bands were starting to really get into the Piano&#x2019;s they owned most of them.\n
- Today the Piano is one of the most popular instruments in the world. We see pianos in churches, bands, movies, schools, concerts, ballrooms. There are over ten million pianos in America alone. Including electric keyboards, there are over 100 different types of pianos, making the piano the most diverse and widespread instrument. \n
- There are three different groups of pianos. Vertical pianos, horizontal pianos, and square pianos. \n
- Horizontal pianos were the first pianos to be created and are also known as grand pianos. There are a couple different sizes. The petite grand piano is the smallest of all the grand pianos ranging from around 4 feet and 5 inches to 4 feet and 10 inches long. The baby grand piano is the most popular out of all pianos. Measuring at 5 to 5 and a half feet long. They are one of the most popular pianos because of their proportion size and because they have tremendous sound quality and, depending on the person, they are affordable. The next piano is the medium grand piano. Measuring around 5 feet and 8 inches long, medium grands are not very common. \n
- The parlor grand pianos are between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet and 1 inch. They are sometimes referred to as living room pianos. This is the kind of piano that sits in a very nice upper class home and is not played very much. It just looks cool. Concert grands are the largest of all pianos. They measure up to 9 whole feet! Wowsers! Concert grands are pianos used for really big shows. They are mainly only seen at a concert or any kind of big musical event. It is extremely uncommon to find one of these in somebody&#x2019;s home because of their huge size.\n
- Vertical pianos were made after grand pianos. They are also known as upright pianos. The idea of making vertical pianos is to take up less space. Because all horizontal pianos require a large amount of space in order to find a nice home, vertical pianos were created. The main difference between the two types is that in an upright piano, the strings are all vertical. The advantage to a piano like this is that it takes up very little space, but the sound that comes out of it is not as nice as a grand piano. The smallest of all vertical pianos is the spinet. The spinet has a height of about 36 to 38 inches high and about 58 inches wide. Spinets are very popular for people who live in small homes or apartments. They are also very cheap, but it is said that their sound is not as powerful as other pianos because they are so small. The next biggest piano is the console. It is a little bit bigger than the spinet at 40 to 43 inches in height. They have the same width, though, at 58 inches. The upright piano is the largest out of all vertical pianos. They are between 50 and 60 inches in height. These are the most popular out of all vertical pianos. If they are treated right they can last a very long time and still keep their beautiful sound.\n
- Square Grands were most popular in the mid 1800s, but fell by the end of the century. These square pianos are smaller than most other pianos and the parts are a lot shorter than vertical or grand pianos. It has much shorter strings and a smaller sound board. No one really owns square pianos anymore. They are mostly seen in antique shops and are more of a furniture piece than a musical instrument. \n
- String instruments are any type of musical instrument that have strings in or on them. Some examples are the violin, guitar, bass, cello, harp, and many more. When the strings of any string instrument are plucked or hit, they will vibrate. The strings move back and forth so fast that it makes beautiful noises. Percussion instruments are any type of musical instrument that produce noise with a striking or hitting motion. For example, when a drum is struck with a drumstick, it makes noise. Percussion instruments include drums, snare, xylophone, bongos, and many more. So the question is, does the piano belong to the string group, or the percussion group? Because there are striking motions to make noise on the piano, there are also over 200 strings inside the piano. People will usually say that it is a percussion instrument because you strike the keys of the piano and it makes noise and the fact that the strings of the piano are struck with a hammer in order to make noise makes pianos a part of the percussion group.\n
- The piano is a very, very, very complicated instrument. There are actually over 2,500 different parts of a piano, but I am only going to talk about the main ones. These include the case, keyboard, action, soundboard, bridge, pinblock, and frame. \n
- The piano case is the whole outer shell of a piano. Depending on the piano, the materials used for the case can be different, but in almost all grand pianos and most vertical pianos, wood is the main component. It is an extremely long process to create the case. There are twenty some coats of wood put on certain parts of the frame. The sound from the action is then echoed through out the case. You could probably say that the case is the most important part of the piano because it holds everything up which then makes the piano work to its most proficient. \n
- They keyboard of the piano is made up of 88 keys. The keys used to be made from ivory that came from elephants&#x2019; tusks. This was, however, frowned upon and made illegal by the end of the 1900&#x2018;s because elephants were endangered. Now, piano keys are made of high-grade plastic. This material is extremely hard to crack and it will not turn yellow. Ivory keys tended to turn yellow from oils absorbed from a piano player&#x2019;s fingers after a long period of time. Each key on the keyboard is weighed down with iron weights so you don&#x2019;t have to strike the key very hard and it activates the key action very quickly.\n
- The action is the part of the piano that begins the process of noise to be created. The keyboard and action are connected to each other and are basically one part of the piano. Keys on the piano are like a see-saw. When you press it, it goes down where you hold it, and rises in the back. Once a key from the keyboard is pressed down, the hammer is released. Once the hammer is released, the damper is released. (The damper is a part of the action that holds the strings down and keeps them from moving.) When the hammer is about to hit the string, the jack engages and forces the hammer to hit the string a lot faster. When the hammer strikes the string, it vibrates accordingly. As long as the key is being held down, the damper is picked up off the string allowing it to continue making noise. Once the key is let go, the damper presses back down on the string and the hammer is back in its resting position.\n
- The soundboard is connected to the action of the piano. It is a large and very thin piece of wood. It is almost always made out of spruce. The soundboard is a very important part of the piano because it enhances the sound of the strings and allows vibrations to last longer. It is located on the roof of the frame. The sound is meant to be coupled by the soundboard and pushed out into the air. The soundboard kind of transmits the sound of the vibrating strings into a much louder and more powerful noise. \n
- There are two bridges in a piano. One small bridge is used for the bass strings and a bigger bridge is used for the treble strings. They are connected to the strings and the soundboard. The bridges are drilled into the soundboard along with the strings. When the string vibrates, the sound is sent through the bridges and out through the soundboard. It is important that the bridges are made out of some of the strongest wood possible because the tension of one single string reaches up to 150 pounds. When it vibrates, it can cut through soft wood. They are usually made of maple. \n
- The pinblock is a piece of strong wood that runs the whole width of a piano. It is attached to the inner rim. (the back of the action of the keyboard) In the pinblock are tuning pins made out of steel. You can see all of the holes in the pinblock. There are about 240 of them and each one of them, a tuning pin is inserted. They act as anchors for the strings. Every string is rapped around one of the tuning pins. It is the pinblock&#x2019;s job to hold all of the tuning pins in tightly in order to keep the tension of all the strings at the proper level. The pinblock is also meant to keep the action keys from hitting the soundboard. Damages to a piano can be very costly. \n
- The Frame is the main source of support for all of the tension of the strings. It is made out of cast-iron in order to withstand all of the pressure. Frames are known as harps or plates. In early 1800s they were made out of wood, but they would bend very easily. In order to keep them from bending, the tension of the strings had to be reduced. This would result in a much softer sound. Today&#x2019;s iron frame, on the other hand, can hold more than 60,000 pounds of pressure. \n
- Ludwig van Beethoven is one of, if not, the most well known pianists of all time. Born in Germany in 1770, his father began teaching him how to play the piano when he was just four years old. He immediately found a passion for the piano and played nearly every day. In his late 20&#x2019;s he suddenly began to lose his hearing. It made him very depressed because music was his passion in life. It was all he cared about and it was being taken away from him. Although it is a horrible thing to happen to him, he still pressed forward and worked even harder. He became well known in the early 1800s. He had begun writing his own symphonies. by 1815, Beethoven was completely deaf. The music that he wrote from this time period is very intense and intellectual. Some of his most famous pieces were Septet, Moonlight, and Pathetique. Beethoven is very inspirational to anyone who plays the piano because he didn&#x2019;t let his deafness hold him back. He still carried on making music and he didn&#x2019;t give up. \n
- Another inspirational and successful piano player was Ray Charles. He was born on September 23, 1920. He began playing piano at the age of 5. Like Beethoven, Ray Charles fell in love with the piano, but had a tragedy happen to him as well. He began losing his eyesight when he was only 6 years old and was completely blind by the age of 7. He still pursued the piano and became extremely good. He became so good at the piano that he actually dropped out of school at the age of 15 to play professionally. This was also after both of his parents died. His music could be described as a combination of gospel, blues, jazz, and rhythm. One of his most famous songs was &#x201C;Hit the Road Jack.&#x201D; He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and passed away in 2004. \n
- A little video about Ray Charles.\n
- The piano is used in any kind of music. Whether it be rock, rap, R&B, classical, or anything else, the piano can be fit in anywhere. You see Kanye West in the upper left hand corner doing his thing on the piano. That&#x2019;s from the music video for his song &#x201C;Runaway&#x201D;. Alicia Keys is very well known for using the piano in almost all of her R&B songs. This is Isaac Slade in the bottom right hand corner. He is the lead vocalist of the band, The Fray. He uses the piano in the majority of his songs. In the bottom left hand corner is John Lennon from The Beatles. He&#x2019;s getting down on the piano. \n
- The question is why can the piano be used in any genre of music? Because the piano has such a huge range of notes, it can fit in almost any song. The notes can go low enough to act as a bass and high enough to act as a lead in a song. Pianos have such a loud and distinct sound that they can be heard through just about any other instrument. \n
- My application began with this guy right here. I got her back in November or December. She&#x2019;s what we call a PSR-170 keyboard. I know she doesn&#x2019;t look like much, but she has a strong and powerful voice. \n
- This is basically my work station where I practice the piano. Coming into this project, I knew absolutely nothing about how to play the piano so for my application, I taught myself how to read music and play the piano. Here in my right hand is a book that I got for beginners to learn how to play the piano. It started from the very basics like sitting up straight and having your wrists and fingers at the proper position at the keyboard. I learned which fingers go on which notes and I learned that the black keys are called flats and when you play a black and white key together it makes a really cool noise called a sharp. This book taught me how to read music, which is reading notes on paper and being able to play it on the piano. In this book I learned how to play a few short songs like Jingle Bells, Ode to Joy, and When the Saints Go Marching In. When I got through this book, I got another one that had more difficult and more popular songs. That&#x2019;s the one in my left hand. With songs like Party int he U.S.A., Teenage Dream, and more. From this book, I taught myself how to play &#x201C;Baby&#x201D; by Justin Bieber and &#x201C;California Gurls&#x201D; by Katy Perry.\n
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- For my class activity, you will all take out your computers and open up garage band. \n
- http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/ detail?hid=21&sid=c155f2eb-8731-4680-9837-c6378bdc32ec%40sessionmgr14&vid=4&bdata =JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=2812576>\n <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/ detail?vid=6&hid=13&sid=c88f51d0-4222-41d4-9f82-3d5a9de041c5%40sessionmgr15&bdata =JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=9451957\n<http://www.pianorestoring.com/History_Education/ Piano%20History.htm>.\nhttp://www.internetmeridian.com/piano/Anatomy/Strings_Structure.html>\n
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- Throughout all of my research, I learned a lot of information on pianos and I plan on utilizing this information in the future. I hope you all learned as much as I did and you get a chance to play the piano at some point in your life. \n