Prompt Cast
The Evolution of the Piano: From Harpsichord to Digital Innovation
TLDR The piano, also known as the Piano Forte, has evolved over the past 300 years from the water organ and harpsichord to address issues of volume and limited key usage. Innovations such as hammering the strings, adding more pedals and strings, and digitization have transformed the piano into a versatile and dynamic instrument.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The piano, also known as the Piano Forte, is a commonly played instrument with origins that go back about 300 years.
01:56
The water organ was the first instrument to use a keyboard, and the harpsichord became the most popular keyboard instrument during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
03:27
The plectrum in early harpsichords was made from the quill of a bird feather and would pluck the string when the jack is lifted, creating a more tinny sound similar to a harp, while the clavichord, a smaller and more compact instrument, worked by pressing a string to cause a metallic blade to strike it, allowing for different notes to be produced by striking the same string in different places.
04:57
The piano was created to address the issues of low volume and limited key usage in the clavichord, and its primary innovation was the use of keys that hammer the strings, allowing for varying volumes of sound.
06:41
The real innovation of Bartolomo Cristofore was creating the action of the piano key, which lifts the damper on the strings, brings the hammer down, and then lifts the hammer as soon as it strikes the string, and there are currently only three surviving piano fortes which were created by Cristofore.
08:12
Throughout the 19th century, there were many innovations to the piano, including the addition of more pedals, larger and heavier frames, more strings for each note, and the establishment of 88 keys, but in 2018, an Australian company released a piano with 108 keys and a full nine octave range, and pianos have also become digitized with the introduction of the Yamaha Disclavier in 1987.
09:52
The piano is a percussion instrument that uses a keyboard, and a similar instrument called a celesta or celest hits metal bars instead of strings to produce a sound similar to a Glockenspiel or xylophone.
