The Key’s the Key – a sampling of keyboard
instruments.
There are all sorts of keyboard instruments – and, while they might all look
fairly similar, they are actually quite different in the way they work and sound.
But, of course, the one thing they all have in common is the fact that they all
are activated by keys.
The harpsichord is really a type of stringed instrument, while the pipe organ is
more like a huge woodwind. The piano is a type of percussion instrument with
the felt hammers striking the strings.
The Harpsichord
The harpsichord is what most people played before the piano got popular.
Harpsichords don’t have the “dynamic range” of the piano – so you can’t get the same
louds
and
softs.
With the harpsichord, the strings are plucked from a keyboard, whereas the strings are
“hit” with a hammer on the piano.
There have been all sorts of harpsichords made through the years – in all shapes, sizes,
and sounds.
1300
The ancestor of the harpsichord was the
psaltery – here’s a drawing in a Bible
from 1340, where the musician is
plucking using both hands.
By the late 1300s, a keyboard was being
added …
1400
And probably in the early 1400’s the
instrument we know today as a
“harpsichord” really started to evolve –
1500
By 1500, the Italians had became the most popular harpsichord makers and the
harpsichord had taken the musical world by storm!
In Elizabethan England, they called it a Virginal,
composer named William Byrd
Queen Elizabeth the I supposedly
liked to play a small form of the
harpsichord.
Here’s a painting of a student
with teacher from around 1660.
.
and a musician and
became known as the “father of music”.
1600
The range of the harpsichord gradually increases throughout the
1500 and 1600’s – eventually spanning 5 octaves.
1700
In the 1700’s, we start to see
more harpsichords with 2
manuals or keyboard and this
was the sort of instrument used
by Baroque composers like
Francois
Couperin,
J.S.Bach, and
Handel.
Even many classical composers
like Haydn and Mozart played
and wrote music for the
harpsichord.
1800
However, in the 1800’s
we start to see the
pianoforte becoming
more and more popular,
so the harpsichord
begins to disappear. But
in the early 1900’s, a
young Polish pianist
named,
Wanda
Landowska got people
excited about the
harpsichord again.
2000
Today there are once again many great Harpsichord builders and people even take
Harpsichord lessons and continue to perform Harpsichord recitals!
A harpsichord is a bit simpler than a piano in how it works.
The keys – which are much like a piano – are sometimes “reversed” in coloring
… sometimes the black keys are white, and the white keys are black.
Each key moves a "jack" which contains a plectrum - the quill
that moves past the string to pluck it –
(film church harpsichord): and a wool felt damper stops the string almost
immediately when the jack falls back into its place as the key is released.
Each jack has a tongue, which holds the plectrum and is
hinged so that the string is not plucked again when the
jack slides back into place.
various types of jacks - The plectra, that “plucks” the string used to be made of
things like the quill of a feather, but today they’re made
plastic and wood
of plastic and other types of materials.
The strings are made of steel wire like piano strings, though they are much
thinner and have much less tension. The strings are held tightly the same as in
a piano, by tuning pins drilled into a
wooden pin-block. These pins are
much smaller and easier to turn than the ones on a piano, but the pin-block still
endures a lot of pressure, so it must be made from a dense, stable wood like oak
or walnut.
Pipe Organ
The pipe organ is arguably the biggest and most complicated musical
instrument there is. Pipe organs range in size from portable instruments with only a
few dozen pipes to very large organs with tens of thousands of pipes, which caused
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to name it the King of Instruments.
The organ has been described as one of the oldest musical intruments, and its origins can
be traced back to ancient Greece in the 3rd century BC.
Each note is sounded by one or more pipes made of metal or wood
when a key is depressed. Simply put, when the air blows through the pipes, a
sound is heard --- smaller pipes create very high pitches … larger pipes create
very low pitches.
When you press a key down, the windchest pumps air to the pipes. There is a
constant wind supply, so the organ is capable of sustaining sound for as long as
the key is depressed. (demonstrate)
With the piano, or harpsichord, though, the sound decays pretty quickly.
(demonstrate)
The keys - like piano keys - used to be made of ivory and wood, but now they
are made of types of plastics.
Modern organs usually include more than one keyboard playable by the hands
(called a manual) and a large keyboard playable by the feet called a pedalboard . It’s
most common for an organ to have 2 manuals plus a pedalboard, but a really large
organ may have up to 5 manuals or more.…
These pedals for the feet are made just like a huge keyboard, with
the small black pedals corresponding to the black keys on the keyboard. So an
organist has to be very coordinated to play all those keys and pedals at the same
time,
not to mention working the stops. Here’s a picture of an
organ console, which is made of wood. Do you see all the buttons and
handles?
All of these buttons and handles control the stops, which
change the sound of the organ – You choose which combination of pipes will
be used, and this changes the registration or the sound. Have you ever heard
the expression “to pull out all the stops”? which means to make every effort or
“to give it all you’ve got”? Well, this expression comes from the pipe organ!
When you pull out “all the stops”, you activate all the pipes and get a HUGE
sound where even the walls and floor will vibrate!
The Piano e Forte
Our final keyboard instrument we’ll discuss is one of the most popular instruments ever
invented – the Piano! In 1709, the Italian Harpsichord maker, Bartolomeo Cristofori built the
world's first piano which he named “harpsichord with soft and loud” -- gravicembalo col
Ofcourse, “soft and loud” in Italian is “piano e forte”, so the early pianos were
called the “PianoForte” or the “soft loud”, which eventually became shortened to just “piano”.
piano e forte.
Here is a recording of a modern replica of a piano similar to Christofori’s early instrument
Hear sample: http://www.tony-chinnery.com/tony-site_g000003.mp3
The pianoforte had a more sophisticated mechanism than the harpsichord which allowed more
control over the volume of each note. So, you could create soft sounds, or loud sounds simply
by the way you pressed the key, whereas the harpsichord was only capable of terraced
dynamics which means you are suddenly loud, then soft, without any crescendo or diminuendo
in between.
As we mentioned earlier, the pianoforte eventually replaced the harpsichord by the end of the
18th century.
(Bernstein’s insert from video):
EXPLORING THE PIANO:
But it took almost 300 years for the piano to evolve into the magnificent instrument we enjoy
today – the modern piano.
As we mentioned earlier, the piano is a member of the percussion family of instruments, but it
resembles stringed instruments in several respects. For example, with a guitar there are
stretched strings over a bridge which is connected to a sound post inside the guitar that
transmits vibrations from the top to the back. .
Now, on the piano, treble strings are stretched over a bridge that goes almost the entire
length of the piano, and tenor and bass strings are stretched over their own bridge.
The bridge, then, is attached to the sound board that spans almost the entire dimension of the
piano.
Notice that there are 3 strings for each treble note; 2 strings for each tenor note; and 1 string
for each bass note.
The strings are held at their proper tension and pitch by means of these pins, and the pins are
embedded in 6 layers of hard maple wood.
All of this tension is borne by this massive cast iron plate.
With a guitar, the strings vibrate when they’re plucked or strummed. With a piano, though,
the strings are activated by hammers rising vertically and striking the strings.
It’s important for pianists to understand this so that they will know how to produce a beautiful
sound.
I encourage each of the pianists listening to this video to think less about simply “pushing the
keys down” and more about HOW you lift the hammers toward the strings – at an exact rate
of speed..
The faster the hammer rises, the louder the sound. The slower the hammer rises, the softer
the sound.
So, when we bang on a note by falling on the key far above it with too much speed, the
hammer actually displaces the strings, and lingers on them for a fraction of a second, resulting
actually in a softer sound instead of louder! Not to mention, some pianists actually end up
with bloody finger tips when they go too fast into the key.
Pianists are able to express musical feeling on our instrument by the way we control dynamics
and durations of sound, and the way we use the right and left pedals.
Notice that a depressed key lifts not only a hammer from below the strings, but also a damper
above the strings.
If we want to, we can lift all the dampers at once by depressing the right pedal, which is called
the damper pedal, and sometimes the sustaining pedal, or the loud pedal.
When all of the dampers are off of the strings, the piano becomes sort of like an echo chamber
which reverberates sympathetically to whatever pitch is played or sung into it.
(Example of singing into piano)
Some contemporary composers call for depressed keys silently, making certain dampers to be
held up, and then strumming the keys – sounding almost like an autoharp!
Small wonder, then, why the piano has often been called a “harp” lying on its side.
Because pianists can “sculpt” with the skillful use of the right, damper pedal, the great
pianist and teacher Anton Rubinstein once referred to it as “the soul of the piano”
When you engage the left pedal, or the soft pedal, the entire action moves over to the right.
So, in the treble, the hammers strike only 2 of the 3 strings. In the tenor, the hammers hit 1
string instead of 2, and in the bass only part of the hammer engages the strings.
Interestingly, Beethoven’s piano had a lever to the right of the keyboard. When it was
engaged the action moved over farther to the right than does our modern piano. So, in the
treble, instead of the hammers hitting 2 strings, it only hit 1 string, and Beethoven was the 1 st
composer to invent the words “una corda” which literally means, “one string”.
And those words are used to this very day to indicate the use of the left, soft pedal.
The important thing to remember about the soft pedal, is that it changes the quality of sound
on the piano. For example, the string in the treble that is not being struck by the hammer will
vibrate sympathetically without any percussion – and this produces a beautiful sound that no
degree of control can reproduce.
(Dub over or insert the Bernsein clip): When the key is depressed, you activate a set of parts
called the “action”. This is a model of one key of the Steinway action. When I was at Steinway
Hall in New York City recently, we saw a presentation called “12,000 parts – 1 masterpiece”.
This is because there 12,000 parts to the action of the Steinway (not to mention the 8,000
other parts of the instrument).
The action essentially moves a hammer that strikes the appropriate set of strings to sound
specific pitches. The hammers are made of wood with thick felt heads made from wool fibers.
Though the strings do all the vibrating that initiates the sound, the sound that you really hear
from a piano comes from the soundboard –
(shot of back of haddorf): which is in the back of an upright,
(shot of underside of grand piano): or the underside of the grand.
The soundboard is made of spruce wood and the boards are held together by a set
of “ribs” on the back. The strings are connected via a set of hardwood bridges that conduct the
vibrations of the strings into the wood and cause the entire soundboard to vibrate. Without
the soundboard? Well, a piano would sound like … well not much at all. Pure tone from a
vibrating string isn’t really very loud at all. (pluck a guitar string).
There are 2 important facts to know about what happens when you depress a key. One is,
that when you depress it as far as it will go, you reach the keybed
(shot from Baldwin video?):which is simply wood, and does NOT produce sound …
(shot from Bernstein?): The other is, that the slight resistance you feel, or the “bump”
approximately 2/3rds of the way down, is called “the escapement level”. Notice that as soon
as you pass the escapement level, the hammer drops down below the strings.
No matter how much you squeeze or press your finger into the keybed, the hammer continues
to lie there unaffected by anything you do to the key – you’ve lost all contact with the
hammer.
Now I know all of you listening to this video probably know one of the important principle of
coordinate motion – “to use the minimum effort for the maximum result”.
However,
sometimes pianists are tempted for various reasons to press or squeeze, or “dig” or “slide” at
the bottom of the keybed after the sound is heard. But, remember, this will NEVER change
the sound, (in fact, it will make our sound ultimately worse when we play the next note with
so much tension in our fingers hands and arms), PLUS it’s simply a waste of our energy.
So, by understanding a bit about how a piano works, we’ve learned that it’s not possible to
achieve a beautiful full tone when we either go too fast into the key (or bang), or when we
grip or grab the key with the finger tip, or keybed or press at the bottom of the key.
Of course there are all sorts of other types of keyboard instruments that we haven’t
discussed today – like the
Celesta (which is the instrument you hear in
Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker ballet)
Or the
Clavichord which was one of Bach’s favorite instruments.
Or even electronic keyboards, digital pianos, and synthesizers which do their best effort
to copy the sounds made by other real, acoustic instruments.
But, hopefully this brief introduction to the Harpsichord, Pipe Organ, and Pianoforte will
give you a taste of some of the most amazing musical instruments ever invented! And,
helped you realize that “the Key’s the Key” to having fun exploring all of these different
keyboard instruments --- opening your ears to all sorts of new sound horizons!
The Key’s the Key!
A video prepared
by Amy McLelland, NCTM
for students and
friends of
McLelland Piano Studio
The Harpsichord
Stringed Instrument
The Pipe Organ
Wind Instrument
The Piano
Percussion Instrument
Psaltery
Early 1400’s
1500’s – Italian makers!
William Byrd
English Virginal
Spinetta
ca. 1660
1600’s Range Increases (more keys)
1700’s
(2 manuals … 2 keyboards)
Baroque Composers
Couperin
J.S. Bach
Handel
W.A. Mozart
playing the Harpsichord
1800’s
Wanda Landowska
Today
Jack
Pin-block
Pipe Organ
2 Manuals
6 Manuals
Foot Pedals
Organ Console
Organ Stops
Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco
Inventor of the pianoforte (1709)
Early Piano Forte
Piano Forte, 1722
Gravicembalo col piano e forte
(Harpsichord with soft and loud)
The Piano Forte
(The “soft-loud”)
The Piano
(“the soft”!!)
As we mentioned earlier, the
pianoforte eventually replaced
the harpsichord by the end of
the 18th century.
But it took almost 300 years for
the piano to evolve into the
magnificent instrument we enjoy
today – the modern piano.
Now, on the piano, treble strings
are stretched over a bridge that
goes almost the entire length of
the piano, and tenor and bass
strings are stretched over their
own bridge.
The bridge, then, is attached to
the sound board that spans
almost the entire dimension of
the piano.
Notice that there are 3 strings
for each treble note; 2 strings
for each tenor note; and 1 string
for each bass note.
The strings are held at their
proper tension and pitch by
means of these pins, and the
pins are embedded in 6 layers of
hard maple wood.
All of this tension is borne by
this massive cast iron plate.
It’s important for pianists to
understand this so that they will
know how to produce a beautiful
sound. So, instead of simply
pushing keys down, try thinking
that your main goal of being a
pianist
should
be
lifting
hammers toward the strings at
an exact rate of speed.
A felt damper sits on each set of strings
until the note is played.
Broadwood Piano, 1831
Historic Square Piano
“Use the minimum effort
for the maximum result”.
So, pianists should think less
about simply “pushing the keys
down” and more about HOW
they’re lifting the hammers
toward the strings – at an exact
rate of speed..
When all of the dampers are off
of the strings, the piano
becomes sort of like an echo
chamber which reverberates
sympathetically
to
whatever
pitch is played or sung into it.
(Example of singing into piano)
Some contemporary composers
call for depressed keys silently,
making certain dampers to be
held up, and then strumming
the keys – sounding almost like
an autoharp!
Anton Rubinstein
Ludwig van Beethoven
una corda
(“one string”)
The
important
thing
to
remember about the soft pedal,
is that it changes the quality of
sound on the piano.
For
example, the string in the treble
that is not being struck by the
hammer
will
vibrate
sympathetically
without
any
percussion – and this produces a
beautiful sound that no degree
of control can reproduce.
Though the strings do all the
vibrating
that
initiates
the
sound, the sound that you really
hear from a piano comes from
the soundboard –
“Ribs” on Soundboard
There are 2 important facts to
know about what happens when
you depress a key. One is, that
when you depress it as far as it
will go, you reach the keybed
No matter how much you
squeeze or press your finger
into the keybed, the hammer
continues to lie there unaffected
by anything you do to the key –
you’ve lost all contact with the
hammer.
The Key’s the Key!
Celesta
Synthesizer
Clavichord
Inside of Clavichord