Piano: The Classic Musical Instrument
The classiness and complexity that has always been associated with the piano makes it the most elegant musical instrument of all time. A piano is the type of musical instrument that uses strings, hammers and keys to create vibration that produces different sound notes. When it comes to learning a musical instrument, piano is perhaps the hardest and the longest to master of all.
For a person to master an intricate musical instrument like the piano, he/she needs to pour devotion and a lot of practice. Unlike other modern musical instruments like guitars or drums, to learn to play the piano professionally takes patience including the memorization of every note and pitch.
Learning to play the piano may be difficult but a lot of renowned musicians like Mozzart and Beethoven have composed notable musical symphonies and styling with the use of pianos. Nowadays, pianos are still a popular form of musical instrument alongside guitars, wind-brass, and drums.
Pianos and other key instruments work in ways that separate them from other musical instruments. A piano’s whole structure all play a role to its distinct sound-generating quality and one is made over a lengthy and careful process.
Assembling a piano is much like manufacturing a car in an assembly line. The piano’s body, keys, strings, and other workings are manufactured independently and assembled. Up to 12,000 parts make up one piano.
The Frame
Wood such as maple or cherry is the basic material to make a piano’s frame. There are pianos that are made with straight frames and there are a few that are arched like that of grand pianos. These curved frames are composed of thin, glued layers of maple that are bent while the glue is wet and set to harden.
The Piano’s Sound Board
A piano’s sound board should be elastic and bendy. The common wood used is spruce due to its flexibility and this flexibility allows it to vibrate. A piano’s strings should be in sync with the sound board in order to emit a concise, clear and audible sound. A bridge gets attached to the sound board and this bridge is the object why the sound board and the strings emit synchronized tunes.
The Strings
The person in charge of arranging and attaching all 230 strings is the piano stringer. Fastening piano strings is both long and dangerous. The strings themselves are very razor-sharp and can definitely cut the stringer’s hands and fingers.
Ebony and Ivory Keys
The most distinct and noticeable attribute on a piano is its keys. All 88 of them. These black and white blend are what allow piano players to create different musical compositions.
After the piano’s assembly, it will go through an intense and thorough tuning procedure called voicing. Voicing a piano requires someone who has years of tuning know-how as well as good hearing. To get the proper tune for each piano key, the piano tuner sands each single hammer that is linked to every individual key.
Once the piano has been tuned and toned, it can now be played by a good piano player or be used to teach would-be musician and learn to play their own music.
This entry was posted on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at 4:45 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.