Piano Facts
20 Interesting Facts About The Piano
The piano is probably the instrument that has defined music in the past 100 years. The harpsichord was the original instrument, which had a mechanism of plucking the strings. Over time, the piano was developed and the mechanism went from plucking strings to hitting them with hammers.
There are now many different types of pianos, ranging from grand pianos, digital pianos through to synthesizers, and yes, you can still buy a harpsichord if you wish!
Here are twenty interesting facts about this amazing instrument.
1. The first piano was invented in 1709
The first piano was built in 1709 by Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori.
It was an upgrade from the most popular instrument of the day; the Harpsichord. Originally called ‘gravicèmbalo col piano e forte’ which, in Italian, means harpsichord with loud and soft. The name was later shortened to ‘fortepiano’, and then finally to just ‘piano’.
It was incredibly expensive. In fact, only the rich and royalty could afford them. It wasn’t until the 1800’s that they became more publicly available.
2. there Are only three original cristofori pianos remaining
There are only three original Cristofori pianos in the world. All the others have been lost or destroyed over the years.
They are located at the National Museum of Musical Instruments in Rome, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and the Museum of Musical Instruments, Leipzig University in Germany.
3. the piano has...
…over 12,000 parts, 10,000 of which are moving!
It is an enormous amount of small pieces that need to work perfectly together; one of the reasons why they are still fairly expensive. And talking of money…
4. The world's most expensive piano
This piano was designed for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, by Heintzman Pianos, a Canadian piano manufacturer.
This unique piano was named the Crystal Piano because it’s created out of transparent materials. Being transparent, it means you can see how the inner workings of the piano move when it’s being played.
After the Olympics, the piano was put up for auction, with the anonymous winner paying $3.22 million! That’s the equivalent of at least 32 Steinways!
5. The piano is actually a Percussion Instrument
Yes, we know a piano has strings; but technically it’s classified as a percussion instrument!
The sound is made when the hammers inside the piano hit the strings. This therefore makes it a percussion instrument.