Music
Piano
Piano
• The modern piano is derived
from the Harpsichord which is
also derived from the psaltry
which is a sort of harp.
• That is the evolution of the
piano.
Piano
• The harpsichord is a musical
instrument whose strings are
plucked from a keyboard and
which sits on a table or stand
while being played. They have
been made in varying shapes,
sizes and sounds over the years.
They were called virginals in
Elizabethan England, a term
today reserved in English for
harpsichords whose strings are
parallel to the keyboard.
Piano
• The ancestor of the
harpsichord was the psaltery.
When played with a plectrum
held in one hand, and the
strings damped by the other
hand, it could handle rapid
organal parts.
• The psaltery could be plucked
or used with strings
Piano
• The story of the piano begins
in Padua, Italy in 1709, in the
shop of a harpsichord maker
named Bartolomeo di
Francesco Cristofori (16551731). Many other stringed and
keyboard instruments
preceded the piano and led to
the development of the
instrument as we know it
today.
Piano
• Since the harpsichord’s volume
could not be changed the
piano became something of a
desired instrument.
• Piano is a very versatile
instrument that combines
strings with percussion.
• The keys are attached to
hammers which hit a string
tuned to a certain note
Piano
• Piano has been featured as a
classical instrument, a jazz,
ragtime, blues, folk, and rock
instrument.
• One of my favorite piano
players is George Winston
Piano
• Back in the old west the Player
Piano was very popular.
• The perforated paper fed
through the machine would
create a forceful air to push
the keys down and create
music without anyone playing
Piano
• Now we have gone from pianos
to using keyboards which are
usually programmed with
other sounds other than piano.
• This brings rise to the age of
the synthesizer.
• This song by passion pit
highlights a synth
Piano
• Synthesizers are also used in
pop music a lot because an
individual can create many
sounds with one instrument.
• The synth is very popular in
rap/hip-hop/and techno
genres.
Piano
• What is your favorite piano
song?
• What songs do you like or
genres do you like because of
the piano/keyboard?
• Why?
• What about it strikes you?