The piano is an acoustic musical instrument invented in Padua, Italy in 1709, in the shop of a harpsichord maker named Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings.
The dulcimer (Hummered dulcimer is a percussion-stringed instrument that consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant soundboard) led to the development of the clavichord, which also appeared in the 14th century. These were followed by the spinet, virginal, clavecin, gravicembalo, and finally, the harpsichord in the 15th century.
The harpsichord, however, was limited by its lack of dynamics. Its softness and loudness could not be varied while playing. The artistic desire for more controlled expression led directly to the invention of the piano, on which the artist could alter the loudness and tone with the force of one’s fingers.
The harpsichord was an important development leading to the invention of the piano. Its ability to project sound more loudly than its predecessors and refinements in the action (or touch) inspired many composers.
First exhibited in Florence in 1709, Cristofori’s new instrument was named gravicembalo col piano e forte (roughly “soft and loud keyboard instrument”). Eventually, it was shortened to fortepiano or pianoforte, and finally just piano. His earliest surviving instrument dates from 1720 and is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
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