Some Interesting Information About Pianos The Piano was invented in 1726 by an Italian, Bartolomeo Cristofori. The strings in a piano exert between 15 and 20 tons of pressure across the instrument. The larger concert grands realize about 30 tons of pressure. The average string having about 160 pounds of tension. There are approximately 230 strings inside the average piano. If all of the strings on a piano were of the same diameter and under the same tension, the string of the highest note would be the usual 2 inches in length and the string of the lowest note would be over 30 feet long. This is why copper is wound around the low strings and the steel strings and steel core of the low strings vary in diameter. A key on a grand piano can be repeated much faster than on a vertical piano. If the hammer of a key’s mechanism were attached directly onto the end of the keylever, when the key was played the hammer would strike the string and shut it off at the same time. Also, striking it hard would break the key. This is why there is always some kind of escapement mechanism employed, carrying the hammer almost to the point of striking the string and then releasing it, allowing the hammer’s momentum to complete the strike. Once the key is released, the entire mechanism returns to a rest position resetting itself. In 1788 a grand piano was built with two keyboards, one at each end, sharing the same strings, by Bosch, France. The origional "upright", or vertical, pianos were built exactly like a grand standing on end with an attached keyboard in the middle. The piano is a development from the harpsichord. Instead of plucking the strings as does the harpsichord, the piano has hammers which strike the strings. The development of the cast iron plate allowed the piano to carry the tremendous tensions it does today, providing the familiar tone and volume. The largest piano ever built was eleven feet long. A square grand is built on a smaller scale than the normal grand with the strings running acoss the instrument instead of its length, and is rectangular in shape. The average piano weights about 800 pounds. However, depending upon the particular piano, that can vary by 30%. There have been over 5,000 brands of pianos.
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