Most people know how a piano looks. They know how a piano sounds. But do they know how piano works? Remarkable issues here. I am very satisfied to look your post. Will you please drop me a e-mail? Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a really well written article. Thanks for the post. I will definitely comeback. You must be logged in to post a comment.
Academy Blog Song Library. Log in Sign up. The Truth About Piano History. There have been many reiterations of the piano over the past few centuries. Even today some pianos are being made with upwards of keys. Still, 88 keys have been the standard for the last years.
The reason 88 keys still remains the standard is partially due to tone. Once a piano starts producing notes below the lowest A on the keyboard, the tones become almost unrecognizable. This is because the frequency range is incredibly low, and the human ear can only hear comfortably beyond a certain range. The same can be said for pitches that are beyond the highest C on the piano. The other reason pianos are at 88 keys is because there simply are not enough compositions to warrant a mass expansion of the instrument.
With the exception of some modern works and electronic music, there is almost no repertoire that uses pitches beyond the standard 88 keys. Beyond the low A, no one makes use of anything beyond this range. Another issue with taking the piano beyond 88 keys is the size. Not only does the piano have to extend from side to side, but it also has to extend from end to end. Without that increase in the size of the piano casing, some of those pitches would not properly sound.
This can be problematic when trying to add pianos of this size to your home let alone a crowded concert stage. More keys also mean more strings. More strings mean more tension. To build a piano with more keys requires more customized parts.
Costs to produce these pianos are also a factor. With the lowest keys, even a 1. The clever solution is to coil the string with another chord as seen on the lowest notes farthest to the left notes below. Typically a 1. This can be heard in the following two recordings of the same sonata, Piano Sonata no 15 in F Major by Mozart. For more information on the evolution of the piano read this excellent essay on the invention of the piano.
The bosendorfer imperial grand piano boasts 97 keys. Stuart and Sons, an Australian piano company, have made massive and key grand pianos. The highest keys go up to nearly hz and lowest down to 16hz. The chart below displays the pitch ranges of various pianos. Why is that? So why did Stuart and Sons create a piano that goes above hz?
For one, paired with other notes an octave lower the mind can imagine the correct relationships. Secondly, the added keys add warmth and resonance to the piano even when they are not played. The video below, shows the upper range of the Stuart and Sons key piano, the Big Beleura.
The lowest notes have a deep, almost gravely tone. I like the sounds of the added high notes better. They remind me of the sound of a little music box — metallic in a delicate sort of way. C4 is middle C which is highlighted in blue above. As the pitch goes up, so does the number. A0 and C8 are the lowest and highest notes of the piano respectively.
On semi-weighted keys, the action is controlled via spring, rather than hammer. But because they are easier to play, they are a good choice for a beginner. Some electric pianos have unweighted keys, also known as waterfall keys or synth keys.
These keys have no weight to the action and require minimal effort to depress, making them a great choice for younger children with small hands.
It is important to understand these differences when you are deciding between a digital piano vs keyboard. These keys are also favored by organists and synthesizer players because the low action allows for fast glissando passages that create dazzling waves of sound.
Have you ever looked at the piano keyboard and wondered how anyone could possibly remember the names of all the notes on a keyboard piano with 88 keys? Lucky for you, there are a few tricks to remembering all the notes on the piano key names. The first trick is to learn the patterns of the black and white piano keys. If you look at the keyboard, you will notice there is a repeating pattern of groups of 2 and 3 black keys.
You can use this pattern to orient yourself in the different piano scales on the keyboard. The note C is on the outside-left of the group of 2 black keys:.
After that, just follow the musical alphabet up the keys until you reach C again, one octave higher! Now you know the names of all the white keys on piano. Another helpful trick is to label the note names on your keyboard.
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