The History of the Piano
The piano has seen many sights and has been a part of countless important events in the past and present, and is said to have dominated music for the past 200 years (Welton). Throughout history, inventions come along that "take art away from princes and give it the people" (Swan 41). Not unlike the printing press, the piano made what was once intangible possible: the poorest of peasants could enjoy the same music that their beloved rulers did. The piano can be played by "the rankest of amateurs, and the greatest of virtuosos" (Swan 41); so even if a person is not very intelligent, a simple tune can easily be learned. In addition to being a key factor in almost all western music styles, the piano has had a rich and eventful history. The piano can be directly linked to two instruments of centuries past. The first is the clavichord, a box-like structure in which strings are stretched, and struck by metal blades to produce notes and pitches. The clavichord could be manipulated to produce different chords, but even at it's best, could barely be heard by anyone other than the player (Swan 42). Intent upon creating a superior to the clavichord, musical engineers created the harpsichord. The harpsichord used a frame similar to modern gran
Liszt would literally pound his pianos and it was frequent that a tuning would have to be done mid-concert. economic and social factors influenced the increased use of the piano. This transformation exemplifies the piano's evolution, in relationship to human music growth and change. The Piano--A Pictoral Account of It's Ancestry and Development. Additionally, Silbermann had recently seen a performance dedicated to Louis XIV which included a piece of music played on a huge dulcimer, which is played by striking strings with a mallet. Beethoven, however, was deaf by 1818, loved his Broadwood because he could more feel the music than hear it. The Broadwood Grand continued to be a very popular model through the 1850's (140). THE PIANO-- It's story from Zither to Grand. "A History of the Piano from 1706 to1990" http://www. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1978. Beethoven wanted the piano to sound like a whole orchestra instead of just one instrument. Therefore, performing artists could not achieve the degree of musical expression of most other instruments.
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