History Of The Harpsichord And The Modern Piano

The Harpsichord and the Modern Piano

Harpsichords were one of the earliest styles of piano in the 16th century. The harpsichord is still used by some today, even after the invention of the modern piano in the 18th century. Harpsichords had decorated cases and were used for solo pieces and chamber pieces. Many Baroque composers wrote pieces for the harpsichord. The Modern piano is 300 years old and is mostly used for concerts and large performances.

The Italian harpsichords from the 16th century were made of a light, natural wood. In the 17th century the Flemish used a more solid wood. Later the French based their harpsichords off the Flemish. The English harpsichord was more down to earth, both in design and style. It had a reedy treble and

He called it a “piano forte” (Italian for softloud) and was similar to the harpsichord. The piano used better materials and used a hammer to strike the strings, which improved the volume, intensity, length and emotion of the pieces. The Modern piano has seven octaves, 88 keys, made from ivory or plastic, wool covered hammers and cast iron frames. There were several styles of piano before the pianos used today. The square piano was invented in 1777 by Sebastian Erard in France. The square piano had horizontal strings, and was used to play salon music. Contrary to what the name implies, the square piano is rectangular instead of square. The square piano was improved by Johann Christoph Zampe in the mid 1800’s. There was also the upright piano, which replaced the square piano in the mid 1800’s. They had tall, vertical strings, which were perpendicular to the keyboard. They have an elegant design, and are cheaper and take up less space than the grand piano, and are cheaper. John Isaac Hawkins (an English piano maker) improved the upright piano by increasing the length of the strings to reach the floor. There is also the grand piano, the typical type of piano used today. It has horizontal strings and an open lid to produce a better sound. Grand pianos are typically used in concerts and large performances. One of the other popular pianos is the digital piano. The digital