One of the more popular musical instruments is the piano. In Youtube entirely. a popular picture sharing web site. type ‘piano’ in the hunt box and consequence will demo 574. 000 uploaded pictures. From the modern expansive piano that people are grown accustomed to. it is interesting to happen that piano began its journey from three things: cock. twine and sounding board. Dulcimer. an instrument arising in Iran after the birth of Christ. is said to be the inspiration for the creative activity of the piano ( Concert Piano Pitch Services 2008 ) .
The dulcimer portions the same rules as the piano. with cocks striking/ crushing strings placed in a level sounding board ( 2008 ) . However. in topographic point of mechanical cocks. participants used sticks ( 2008 ) . Crusaders brought it to Europe during the Middle Ages ( Marcie Wallis 2008 ) . The term ‘dulcimer’ comes from the Latin ‘dulce melos’ which means “sweet sound” ( Marcie Wallis 2008 ) . An image of dulcimer is seen below. Image 1. Dulcimer ( Marcie Wallis 2008 ) By the 10th century. pipe variety meats were the fury in churches ( Goode 43 ) .
To play. a key is depressed. directing air into the pipe. therefore bring forthing a sound ( Wright 47 ) . The pipes are arranged in groups. with each group specialising in one tone ( 48 ) . The pipes have a switch. called Michigans ( 48 ) . When all Michigans are pulled. a forceful sound is produced. An image of a pipe organ is seen below. Image 2. Pipe Organ ( Quimby Pipe Organs. com 2008 ) During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. another keyboard instrument became popular- the virginal ( Goode 43 ) . The virginal is a box with strings ( 43 ) . A quill was used to tweak the strings.
The term ‘virginal’ is said to be a compliment to the Queen. Young ladies used to play the virginal. The virginal was placed on a tabular array as seen in the image below or held in the lap. Image 3. The Virginal ( BBC 2008 ) . In 1400. the universe was introduced to the clavichord ( Concert Piano Pitch Services 2008 ) . It is one of the oldest keyboard instruments. It works harmonizing to a simple rule: The participant depresses a key which in bends work stoppages a twine with a metal blade called tangents. thereby bring forthing sound ( Marszalek and Panagakis 2006 ) .
It is a rectangular box with keyboards on the side and strings stretched across ( Kelly 1998 ) . Once a key is depressed. the participant can besides alter the pitch to make a vibrato ( 1998 ) . A clavichord participant can do it “fretted” . striking strings in a sequence mode of “unfretted” to bring forth one note ( Piano Keyboard 2003 ) . Widely used in Europe. clavichords were popular during the Renaissance period ( 1998 ) . The Renaissance ( 1450-1600 ) was a period of metempsychosis. wonder and individuality ( Kamien 75 ) . In this clip. the focal point was on human life ( 75 ) .
Therefore. vocal music was given importance. with instrumental music taking a backseat ( 78 ) . Given its little design. the clavichord was normally played in little audience ( Get Piano Lessons. com 2008 ) . Despite its restrictions. the clavichord was a popular instrument particularly in German families ( 2008 ) . The oldest surviving clavichord is from the twelvemonth 1543 ( Piano Keyboard 2008 ) . An image of the clavichord is seen below. Image 4. Clavichord ( Get Piano Lessons. com 2008 ) Instrumental music saw its rise during the Baroque period ( Wright 103 ) .
In this clip. one instrument stood out- the cembalo. The cembalo originated in Northern Italy in 1400 but reached its extremum during the Baroque period ( Wright 48 ) . It is the largest keyboard instrument. Some cembalos had two keyboards ( Marszalek and Panagakis 2004 ) . Like the clavichord. the cembalo is played by dejecting a key. which in bend “forces a choice to tweak a string” ( 48 ) . The plucking produces a sound ( 103 ) . However. its degree mechanism limits the cembalo in commanding the strong suit ( 48 ) . When a key is depressed. the sound and volume is still the same.
Hence. cembalos that were normally used had two keyboards to do sound steps ( 48 ) . This shortcoming exemplified the manner Baroque music sounded: straightforward. uniformity continuity. no disconnected alterations ( 103 ) . It was during the Baroque period that Johann Sebastian Bach rose as the greatest composer. and harpsichordist of his clip ( Kamien 125 ) . His Bradenburg Concerto no. 5. written around 1721. gained importance for being the first piece wherein a cembalo had a solo function ( 104 ) . Normally. in a concerto grosso ( the term used for little group of soloists ) . the instruments used were threading instruments.
In the Bradenburg Concerto. the cembalo is played in the concluding subdivision. An image of the cembalo is seen below. Image 5. Harpsichord ( Get Piano Lesons. com 2008 ) Henry Purcell. another celebrated instrumentalist from the Baroque period. was chosen to be the organist of the Chapel Royal in London ( UK Piano Pages 2008 ) . By this clip. the spinet had become popular. The spinet besides came from the cembalo household ( Piano Keyboard 2003 ) . The spinet was different from the cembalo in size and its keyboard. which was placed on the long side of instrument ( 2003 ) .
An image of the spinet is seen below. Image 6. The Spinet ( Piano Keyboard 2003 ) In 1709. the cembalo was replaced with the forte-piano or piano for short ( Get Piano Lessons. com 2008 ) . Bartolomeo de Francesco Cristofori. an Italian cembalo shaper. was responsible for making piano ( 2008 ) . Alternatively of tweaking. cocks hit the strings and a degree mechanism allows the participant to bring forth soft and loud sounds. therefore the term ‘pianoforte which translates to ‘soft-loud’ ( Wright 48 ) . During the Classical Period. the piano became the cardinal keyboard of most instrumentalists ( Kamien 150 ) .
In fact. major composings of Joseph Haydn. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven used the piano ( 150 ) . Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A Major. one of the best known concertos of all clip. was completed in this period ( 186 ) . Image 7. Cristofori Pianoforte ( Piano Keyboard 2003 ) Gottfried Silbermann. a German was touted as the shaper of the first successful forte-piano ( Piano Keyboard 2003 ) . In 1742. square pianos were made ( 2003 ) . An image of a square piano is seen below. Image 8. Square Piano ( Piano Keyboard 2003 ) In 1739. the first unsloped piano was made by Domenico dela Mela ( UK Piano.
org 2008 ) . The first unsloped piano is much more similar to a expansive piano. though ( 2008 ) . In 1768. Johan Christian Bach gave the first of all time piano narration ( 2008 ) . By 1800. John Isaac Hawkins created the first true unsloped piano ( 2008 ) . Piano’s popularity continued until from so on. When Jazz music became popular in the 1890s to 1915. ragtime piano was developed ( Kamien 360 ) . Ragtime was played by black piano players in barrooms and dance halls ( 360 ) . Among the celebrated ragtime participant at that clip was Scott Joplin. One of his more outstanding pieces was “The Entertainer “ ( 360 ) .
The 1960s saw the birth of the electronic keyboard ( Surovec 2002 ) . Electric organs were used followed by amplified pianos ( 2002 ) . From the spinet. virginal. clavichord and cembalo which pluck the twine. the innovation of piano led to hammering the strings to bring forth sounds. Levers are used to work the cocks and dampers. The present piano has an Fe frame which attaches the metal strings. When key is depressed. the felt-tipped cocks strike the strings. doing it to vibrate and do the sound. A piano besides has tuning pins for fastening the strings.
It has an 88-note keyboard and two or three pedals ( Kamien 25 ) . Half a million picture of people playing the piano is more than adequate grounds that the popularity of piano has non faded. In fact. it has become more popular than of all time. Music is portion of our mundane lives. Be it the chirping of the birds. the machinery busyness or the sound of one’s sweet cantabile voice. And with the innovation of musical instruments. music has ne’er sounded so pleasant to listen to.
Plants Cited
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23 August 2004. Clavichord. 7 April 2008. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //twingroves. district96. k12. Illinois. us Piano Keyboard. com 2008. Piano History. 7 April 2008. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: /pianokeyboard. com & gt ; Quimby Pipe Organs. com. 2008. Pipe Organs. 7 April 2008. & lt ; htp: //quimbypipeorgans. com & gt ; Surovec. Sabrina. 2002. Electronic Music. 7 April 2008. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //essortment. com & gt ; UK Piano. org. 2008. Piano History. 7 April 2008. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //uk-piano. org & gt ; Wallis. Marcie. 2008. Dulcimer. 7 April 2008. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //marciewallis. com & gt ; Wright. Craig. Listening to Music. Gopher state: West Printing Company. 1996.
