A very brief history of the piano (bonus article)
I’m sometimes asked if pianos and harpsichords are the same instrument. They both have keyboards, right?
Well, not really. Yes, they both have keyboards; and no they actually are very different instruments.
We call our modern instrument a piano, although its full name is “pianoforte,” which means “soft-loud.” It’s a great innovation in expressive keyboard playing, in that a rich dynamic range from very soft to very loud is available to the performer just in the way the keys are depressed. Electronic keyboards sometimes try to imitate this responsiveness. By contrast, the harpsichord, also a keyboard instrument, can only be played at one dynamic level unless we play more than one note at a time, which makes it louder.
When one depresses a key on the piano, a complicated set of mechanical actions occurs. For a diagram comparing harpsichord and pianoforte mechanisms see here.
While the modern pianoforte is the product of many years of craftsmanship, technology, and development, an Italian harpsichord builder Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) is credited with creating the escapement mechanism around 1700--that complicated set of actions that occurs every time a key is depressed. It allows the piano to change dynamics with the touch of the pianist’s finger on the key.
Another feature of the modern instrument is the collection of strings attached to an iron frame. This innovation allows for far more tension on the strings (the total tension on a grand piano frame can be around 45,000 pounds!) The older fortepianos often had wooden frames, allowing far less tension and less resonance. The modern instrument is a marvelous combination of wood, iron, years of tradition, and artistic craftsmanship!
Keyboards in history
- Clavichord (smaller keyboard instrument, much softer and intimate)
- Harpsichord (strings are plucked),
- Fortepiano (similar to modern piano with less resonance)
- Pianoforte (steel frame and strings make for comparatively huge available dynamic range).
Metaphorically with links to the sound of each instrument:
- In the harpsichord: the strings are plucked
- In the fortepiano and pianoforte the strings are struck by hammers
- In the clavichord the strings are kissed!
[Next week: back to samples from Grand Creations]