Piano is one of the most amazing musical instruments of the world. Its sound is magical! Let’s see some facts and trivia about this instrument!
1.Piano is an acoustic and stringed musical instrument! But it is considered to be a percussion instrument because it only makes a sound when a hammer hits a string!
2. It was invented around the year 1700 in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori!
3. The strings of the piano are struck by hammers.
4. In order to be played, a keyboard is used!
5. The performer is sited and the instrument is being played with both hands and all the fingers are used!
6. The word piano is the shortened version of the word pianoforte.
7. The Italian terms “piano” and “forte” indicate the words “soft” and “loud”. Those terms refer to the volume of the sound that the performer creates! For example if a performer is playing the piano loudly, then the volume of the sound is forte!
8. Nowadays you can find not only acoustic pianos, but also electronic pianos, where the volume and the sound can be digitally modified per choice. You can even plug earphones.
9. Usually the acoustic piano is covered by a wooden case that is manufactured in order to protect the strings and the soundboard of the instrument.
10. The wooden case is carefully manufactured because it is also the acoustic piano’s speaker!
11. Many electronic pianos are also covered with wooden cases but that is only to resemble the authenticity of the acoustic piano’s design.
12. Modern pianos have 88 black and white keys!
13. The deepest bass range is on the first key on your left, and the highest treble is on the last key on the right!
14. If you decide to purchase an acoustic piano you must be very careful! You need to dust it every day with a dry towel, because any kind of humidity can easily destroy your piano.
15. You should also be mindful on where you decide to put your piano. It should be next to an inside wall, preferably in a not bright room because temperature changes affect the quality of the sound.
16. If your piano is new, you will probably need to have it tuned 3-4 times, because it is easily affected by the climate change of every season. After the first year, every six months should be enough. You should have a professional to tune your piano, it is a delicate job!
17. A piano can be grand or upright(vertical)!
18. In grand pianos, the frame and the strings are extended horizontally!
19. In upright pianos the frame and the strings are extended vertically, they take up less space and they are cheaper than the grand pianos.
20. The metal frame of the piano, also called harp, is usually made of cast iron.
21. For the other wooden parts of the piano, usually maple, beech and hornbeam are used.
22. Somewhere between 1940 – 1950, some wooden parts of the piano where replaced by plastic, but this did not turn out well, because after some years of use the plastic parts were not strong enough to support the piano.
23. Pianos, also contain three special pedals! From left to right: The una corda (soft pedal), sostenuto and sustain pedal!
24. The sustain pedal is used more frequently. When pressed, it lifts the dampers from all the keys, sustaining the sound of the played keys for as long as it is pressed.
25. The una corda, the pedal is on the left, on grand pianos, which if pressed, produces a slightly softer sound!
26. The sostenuto keeps raised any damper already raised the moment the pedal is pressed. It has made possible that these specific notes are sustained!
27. Some of the greatest piano brands are: Bosendorfer, Fazioli, Charles R. Walter, Yamaha, Baldwin, Steinway & Sons.
28. Sometimes a piano can be quite pricey, whether it is acoustic grand or upright, electronic or digital.
29. You can always purchase a used piano. Having that in mind you can find your self a very good piano, of a famous brand in a better price.
30. If you decide to learn how to play the piano, you will need a piano in order to study.
31. The good news are that most music schools usually provide their students some time to study inside the institution, which has pianos!
32. The piano, is also known as The King of Instruments because of its extremely wide range of notes!
33. A concert grand piano weighs over than 1400 pounds and is 8′ 11”!!!
34. A piano contains more than 12000 parts, of which 10000 are moving! How amazing?
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some of these do not count as facts