Answer:
The Piano Essay Research paper
Explanation:
The piano when invented changed the way music was written, and even created new forms of music. Its invention ushered in new eras and gave people a sense of worth. But this change did not take place overnight, it took many years of hard work and labor to achieve what the piano is today.
The History of the Piano
In 1698 a man named Bartolomeo Cristofori began to design an instrument, which would play both loudness and softness and be able to use an excellent range of dynamics unlike the popular instrument of the day the harpsichord. For years he worked on the instrument that would not only take over the harpsichord?s place in music, but also change how music was written and composed. Maybe one of the most influential instruments we will ever know. In 1709 he finally finished this instrument and named it the gravicembalo col piano e forte (harpsichord with loudness or softness), which was later know, as the pianoforte. This was the first instrument in which composers could effectively display their emotions.
Cristofori faced many problems in the creation of he piano. First he developed a system in which the player could to only hit one of the two strings for each note (una corda). He also developed an effective mechanism to use downward pressure (striking the key) and make it project the hammer towards the strings. He also had to time the hammer?s striking the key directly proportionate to when the sound should be heard, with this improvement came another which is vital to the pianos inner workings, the escapement. The escapement is a device that lets the hammer strike the string and leave the string free to vibrate. The hammer is made to fall back and let the string vibrate, when the player let go of the key a damper would then fall on the string stopping the sound. Though Cristofori?s pianos were softer than the harpsichord they still had a much wider dynamic range. Cristofori produced his earliest surviving piano in 1720, and his last in 1726, 5 years later he dies in 1731.
Once news got around that Cristofori has designed the piano many instrument makers began building pianos. The organ builder Gottfried Silbermann (who developed the prellmechanik-rebound rail) built a piano and showed it to Bach who did not like it because the high notes were poor and the keys too heavy. So Slibermann redesigned his piano and got a much more pleasing result from Bach.
As the seven-year war purged Germany of its musical minds, so the French revolution drove those in France to England, which by now was the piano production capital of the world. One French piano maker, Sebastien Erard contributed enormously to the construction of the piano. The first was his double escapement which allowed a key to be played twice in a row without fully releasing the key. Making the note quick and easy to play(Later improved by Henri Herz). This, when applied to the grand piano, helped his company (the Erard Company) to compete with other companies such as ; Cleminti( collard and collard), Tompkinson and Broadwood.
With the rise of the Romantic Movement in the 19th century the piano endured much wear and tear, composers would go through one piano each performance because the strings would snap and many other problems would arise. So a solution had to be found. It soon came from Broadwood, who developed a way for the tension to be released from the strings by putting iron spacers between the pin block and the belly rail where the high plate is attached. But that did not totally solve the problem. Overstringing, invented by Steinway and sons, also helped. This was done by running bass strings diagonally over treble strings.
How the piano is made
Strings This is the part of the piano in which controls volume and the strength of the piano. The strings are chosen wisely by the maker, either thick for strength or thin for high pitch. The main thing they must always remember is that the strings are withstanding up to 30 tons of pressure. The strings therefore are usually made of carbon steel and are thick or thin according to the level of pitched.
After all the piano has gone through people are still trying to improve it, I personally think that it is at its peak and anything electronic would only take away from the classical skill and craftsmanship which is required to build it. There will always be a demand for the traditional high quality classical style of the piano, but that is only a part of the market as sales of pianos shrink manufacturers are bound to experiment with bolder designs. Many will dismiss these as gimmicks, but if they stimulate interests and sales they are helping to secure the instruments future.
Hope this helps!! =3
