History of the Piano
When you think of the piano, you picture an instrument that can fill a room with music. However, if you’re a musician or happen to speak Italian, you know that piano has two meanings: 1. the partial name of an instrument, and, 2. a term that means to play music softly.
So why is it that we call this beautiful instrument the piano (literally, soft), and when was it invented? In the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, there were two keyboards of choice: the clavichord and the harpsichord. Both instruments were invented during the Renaissance in the 1300s.
The clavichord was shaped like a rectangular box with a keyboard set into one of its sides. Sound was created by pressing a key, which caused a brass tangent to strike a pair of string sin the box. The brass tangent would remain in contact with the string until the key was released.
The harpsichord, also know as the Clavicembalo, Clavecin, Spinet, or Virginal, as built in various shapes and sizes. To create sound on a harpsichord, you would depress a key, which activates a jack that allows a plectrum to pluck a string. The harpsichord was known for being extremely fragile and would often break when being played.
In 1698, Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) began making an arpicenbalo che fa il piano e il forte which translates to “harpsichord that can play soft and loud.” Cristofori was certainly qualified to invent such an instrument, as he held the prestigious position of keyboard instrument maker and custodian of musical instruments at the court of Ferdinand de’ Medici, in Florence.
By 1900, Cristofori had completed at least one of the new keyboard instruments whose strings were activated by hammers, not by being plucked. Because the hammer action allowed keyboardists more control in playing loud and soft, the instrument was quickly shortened to pianoforte (which means soft-loud). Over the years, the pianoforte became known simply as the piano.
You can see an actual Cristofori instrument, built in the 1720’s, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
