Evolution Of The Piano Essay

We see it in homes, schools, restaurants, and in various other places, but not many people know the changes it had to go through to touch our hearts with the endless possibilities the piano provides. Not many people know the origins and changes the piano has gone through to get where it is today. The truth is it was invented around the year 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori DI Francesco. For example, not many people know that the average piano started with sixty-six keys and changed to the average eighty-eight keys. One thing is for sure, pianos have gone through some major changes since they were first made.

Most of the major changes pianos went through were during the 1700s and early 1800s. No one knows exactly when, but somewhere around the year 1700 Bartolomeo Cristofori DI Francesco invented the piano by striking the strings with a hammer which produced a much more pronounced and sustained sound. Pianos were made after the organ, clavichord, and harpsichord, “but

something about the richness and sustainability of its sound helped it stand on its own almost immediately” (The History Of The Piano, all-about-pianos.com).

The piano replaced these instruments because it offered options previously not available with the other instruments. In the early 1700s, Gottfried Silbermann invented the precursor for the damper pedal, which

lifts the dampers from all the strings at once. Then, later in 1822, the Erard brothers made it more reliable to be pulled back again. Pianos had been controlled by the knees, but somewhere along the line they were introduced in England as foot pedals. In 1826, felt hammers began to replace the leather-covered versions, the damper pedal was innovated to be perfect, and it grew from the five octaves to the modern seven-and-one-third octaves, or in less often cases, more. The range of the piano had changed from five octaves to seven-and-one-third for higher and lower notes. Also in 1837, the first metal frame of the piano was made “the strength of which allowed for much heavier strings, which in turn gave the instrument a "larger" tone” (Comparetto).
After the 1840s, pianos stopped changing so quickly and still aren’t making many changes today. In the late 1700s to the late 1800s, iron frames had come into use and steel piano wire strings. The iron frames allowed up to three strings for every note, this gave it a better sound. Somewhere in the 1800s the innovation of using three strings rather than two for all but the lower notes came into play. In 1844, Jean Louis Boisselot invented the sostenuto pedal and was improved by Steinway firm in 1874. The sostenuto pedal sustains only the notes being held down when the pedal isn’t being pressed, this allows other notes to be unaffected. In 1855, the Steinway company found a way to make it smaller without sacrificing notes, tone, etc. This was done by crossing the bass strings and the treble strings on top of each other. This allowed smaller pianos and variety in future designs. Duplex scaling, invented by Theodore Steinway in 1872, permits the parts of the string near its end to vibrate freely, thus increasing resonance and adding to the richness of the sound.
Since they were first made around the year 1700, pianos have gone through some major changes.

Adding notes, increasing the already-rich sound, and going from taking up lots of space to scientists now working on making pianos on your phone that don’t sacrifice anything, the piano has changed greatly yet not too many changes have been made. Though the piano is one of the world’s most popular instruments, not many people know it’s origins and the changes it had to go through to continue to keep us entertained. Although the piano has gone through so many changes it has still always kept one thing, and that’s the endless possibilities it

provides.