A short history of the piano
But also one of the most complex, the most difficult to learn, among those that require more perseverance, dedication, commitment, application and a lot of discipline. These and many others are traditionally the adjectives and concepts attributed to the undisputed “king” of musical instruments: the piano. As is normal, everyone lives their relationship with music in a personal way, according to their tastes, but generally it can be said that when a piano makes its voice heard, no one is able to resist it: it is impossible not to be bewitched and become involving a succession of notes upon notes that indisputably possesses something magical, a sort of intangible world, yet existing and real, which probably can never be fully explained with words. But how much is really known about this extraordinary instrument? This article aims to be a simple excursus , all the more synthetic as complete (and understandable) as possible, on the historical profiles concerning the piano, from birth to development, up to what it has become today.
Before going into the history of the instrument, it seems appropriate to clarify some technical aspectsclassifying. The piano belongs to the category of struck cordophones. The chordophones are stringed instruments, which naturally produce sound through the vibrations created by the strings (simply think of the harp, or the violin). In the piano, the percussion on the strings takes place through hammers that are put into action through the keyboard, which consists of 88 keys. Of these, 52 are white and 36 are black; on the former the natural notes are played, while on the latter the alterations are represented (therefore the various flats and sharps). As the name of the instrument suggests, the word “piano” is of Italian origin, and this is not only a clear clue, but also something to be proud of.
Not only. The concepts of “piano” and “forte”, combined in a single word, also explain a fundamental characteristic of the instrument: that is, the possibility of obtaining different volume intensities depending on the specific touch that is given to the key, with a dynamic which can therefore range from the pianissimo piano (ppp) to the forte fortissimo (fff), passing – from one extreme to the other – for an endless range of “colors”. This possibility did not exist with the instruments prior to the piano, which could be defined as its so-called “ancestors”. Having made this simple – but essential – premise, it becomes possible to analyze the various historical passages in the life of the instrument.
It should be considered that stringed instruments have very ancient origins: an example is the saltèrio , which was widespread at the time of the Egyptians and the Jews, between 3000 and 1500 BC.In this instrument, the sound was produced by plucking strings stretched over a a box that performed the functions of a resonator.
The monochord dates back to the 6th century BC and was made up of a rectangular wooden box that served as a sound box and on which a gut string was stretched, which was vibrated using a pick; a movable bridge could divide the string into various lengths, and each of these could therefore vibrate freely at a different frequency.
An invention by the engineer Ctesibius of Alexandria dates back to the third century BC: the hydraulis, hydraulic organ that worked with air based on the principle of communicating vessels. Ctesibio’s intuition was to build the first wind chest, the intermediate part that sends the air to the pipes, as well as to have adapted the first keyboard to a group of eight or ten pipes. It took at least four centuries to arrive at significant developments. In fact, around the first century AD, Hero of Alexandria, mathematician and engineer, built an organ in which the valves that let air into the pipes were controlled by hinged keys; through the use of springs, these valves were returned to their original position. In the period of the 4th century AD, the organ – from being a hydraulic one – was made pneumatic: the bellows mechanism, which generated direct air, replaced the more obsolete one of the air pressure obtained with the water system. At the beginning of the twelfth century, organs did not yet have a keyboard as we understand it today, that is, made up of thin keys operated by the fingers, but rather a device with rods or wide slats operated by the hands. In any case, they were rather rudimentary keyboards, almost exclusively diatonic. It was only in the 13th century that chromatic semitones were introduced in a separate keyboard. While in the fourteenth century we will see, instead, the introduction of chromatic keys within the same keyboard. By the early 14th century, the organ levers had been transformed into thin keys, which allowed for a certain virtuosity, albeit to a limited extent. Actually,
An invention by the engineer Ctesibius of Alexandria dates back to the third century BC: the hydraulis, hydraulic organ that worked with air based on the principle of communicating vessels. Ctesibio’s intuition was to build the first wind chest, the intermediate part that sends the air to the pipes, as well as to have adapted the first keyboard to a group of eight or ten pipes. It took at least four centuries to arrive at significant developments. In fact, around the first century AD, Hero of Alexandria, mathematician and engineer, built an organ in which the valves that let air into the pipes were controlled by hinged keys; through the use of springs, these valves were returned to their original position. In the period of the 4th century AD, the organ – from being a hydraulic one – was made pneumatic: the bellows mechanism, which generated direct air, replaced the more obsolete one of the air pressure obtained with the water system. At the beginning of the twelfth century, organs did not yet have a keyboard as we understand it today, that is, made up of thin keys operated by the fingers, but rather a device with rods or wide slats operated by the hands. In any case, they were rather rudimentary keyboards, almost exclusively diatonic. It was only in the 13th century that chromatic semitones were introduced in a separate keyboard. While in the fourteenth century we will see, instead, the introduction of chromatic keys within the same keyboard. By the early 14th century, the organ levers had been transformed into thin keys, which allowed for a certain virtuosity, albeit to a limited extent. Actually,
An invention by the engineer Ctesibius of Alexandria dates back to the third century BC: the hydraulis, hydraulic organ that worked with air based on the principle of communicating vessels. Ctesibio’s intuition was to build the first wind chest, the intermediate part that sends the air to the pipes, as well as to have adapted the first keyboard to a group of eight or ten pipes. It took at least four centuries to arrive at significant developments. In fact, around the first century AD, Hero of Alexandria, mathematician and engineer, built an organ in which the valves that let air into the pipes were controlled by hinged keys; through the use of springs, these valves were returned to their original position. In the period of the 4th century AD, the organ – from being a hydraulic one – was made pneumatic: the bellows mechanism, which generated direct air, replaced the more obsolete one of the air pressure obtained with the water system. At the beginning of the twelfth century, organs did not yet have a keyboard as we understand it today, that is, made up of thin keys operated by the fingers, but rather a device with rods or wide slats operated by the hands. In any case, they were rather rudimentary keyboards, almost exclusively diatonic. It was only in the 13th century that chromatic semitones were introduced in a separate keyboard. While in the fourteenth century we will see, instead, the introduction of chromatic keys within the same keyboard. By the early 14th century, the organ levers had been transformed into thin keys, which allowed for a certain virtuosity, albeit to a limited extent. Actually,
The clavichord never managed to outdo the competition from its brilliant rival, the harpsichord, an instrument that had by now reached such a perfection that it was preferred by almost all composers of the time. However, it seems established that the clavichord was Johann Sebastian Bach’s favorite instrument, which would be explained by a sensitivity to touch that the harpsichord did not have. Furthermore, do not forget the possibility of a sound – however weak – tied and full of nuances, of subtle charm and expression. Not to mention that typical ability to vibrate the sound through a slight tremolo of the finger. Approximately in the same period the other famous “ancestor” of the modern piano was developing: the harpsichord. The invention of this instrument is to be attributed to the Viennese Hermann Poll. What distinguished him was the introduction of long strings and a soundboard of considerable surface, which allowed to produce sounds of more consistent volume. The strings were plucked by a plectrum mounted at right angles on a saltarello; when the key was pressed, the pick was lowered, the saltarello was raised and the pick plucked the string. Then when the saltarello fell, a cloth attached to it dampened the vibration of the rope. In the 16th century, experiments were conducted with even longer strings and larger soundboards: the result was the development of the harpsichord which, with the adoption of a lower octave, became gravicembalo or harpsichord. when the key was pressed, the pick was lowered, the saltarello was raised and the pick plucked the string. Then when the saltarello fell, a cloth attached to it dampened the vibration of the rope. In the 16th century, experiments were conducted with even longer strings and larger soundboards: the result was the development of the harpsichord which, with the adoption of a lower octave, became gravicembalo or harpsichord. when the key was pressed, the pick was lowered, the saltarello was raised and the pick plucked the string. Then when the saltarello fell, a cloth attached to it dampened the vibration of the rope. In the 16th century, experiments were conducted with even longer strings and larger soundboards: the result was the development of the harpsichord which, with the adoption of a lower octave, became gravicembalo or harpsichord.
The clavichord never managed to outdo the competition from its brilliant rival, the harpsichord, an instrument that had by now reached such a perfection that it was preferred by almost all composers of the time. However, it seems established that the clavichord was Johann Sebastian Bach’s favorite instrument, which would be explained by a sensitivity to touch that the harpsichord did not have. Furthermore, do not forget the possibility of a sound – however weak – tied and full of nuances, of subtle charm and expression. Not to mention that typical ability to vibrate the sound through a slight tremolo of the finger. Approximately in the same period the other famous “ancestor” of the modern piano was developing: the harpsichord. The invention of this instrument is to be attributed to the Viennese Hermann Poll. What distinguished him was the introduction of long strings and a soundboard of considerable surface, which allowed to produce sounds of more consistent volume. The strings were plucked by a plectrum mounted at right angles on a saltarello; when the key was pressed, the pick was lowered, the saltarello was raised and the pick plucked the string. Then when the saltarello fell, a cloth attached to it dampened the vibration of the rope. In the 16th century, experiments were conducted with even longer strings and larger soundboards: the result was the development of the harpsichord which, with the adoption of a lower octave, became gravicembalo or harpsichord. when the key was pressed, the pick was lowered, the saltarello was raised and the pick plucked the string. Then when the saltarello fell, a cloth attached to it dampened the vibration of the rope. In the 16th century, experiments were conducted with even longer strings and larger soundboards: the result was the development of the harpsichord which, with the adoption of a lower octave, became gravicembalo or harpsichord. when the key was pressed, the pick was lowered, the saltarello was raised and the pick plucked the string. Then when the saltarello fell, a cloth attached to it dampened the vibration of the rope. In the 16th century, experiments were conducted with even longer strings and larger soundboards: the result was the development of the harpsichord which, with the adoption of a lower octave, became gravicembalo or harpsichord.
The clavichord never managed to outdo the competition from its brilliant rival, the harpsichord, an instrument that had by now reached such a perfection that it was preferred by almost all composers of the time. However, it seems established that the clavichord was Johann Sebastian Bach’s favorite instrument, which would be explained by a sensitivity to touch that the harpsichord did not have. Furthermore, do not forget the possibility of a sound – however weak – tied and full of nuances, of subtle charm and expression. Not to mention that typical ability to vibrate the sound through a slight tremolo of the finger. Approximately in the same period the other famous “ancestor” of the modern piano was developing: the harpsichord. The invention of this instrument is to be attributed to the Viennese Hermann Poll. What distinguished him was the introduction of long strings and a soundboard of considerable surface, which allowed to produce sounds of more consistent volume. The strings were plucked by a plectrum mounted at right angles on a saltarello; when the key was pressed, the pick was lowered, the saltarello was raised and the pick plucked the string. Then when the saltarello fell, a cloth attached to it dampened the vibration of the rope. In the 16th century, experiments were conducted with even longer strings and larger soundboards: the result was the development of the harpsichord which, with the adoption of a lower octave, became gravicembalo or harpsichord. when the key was pressed, the pick was lowered, the saltarello was raised and the pick plucked the string. Then when the saltarello fell, a cloth attached to it dampened the vibration of the rope. In the 16th century, experiments were conducted with even longer strings and larger soundboards: the result was the development of the harpsichord which, with the adoption of a lower octave, became gravicembalo or harpsichord. when the key was pressed, the pick was lowered, the saltarello was raised and the pick plucked the string. Then when the saltarello fell, a cloth attached to it dampened the vibration of the rope. In the 16th century, experiments were conducted with even longer strings and larger soundboards: the result was the development of the harpsichord which, with the adoption of a lower octave, became gravicembalo or harpsichord.
