The Piano and its Preferences

The piano was invented at the end of the 17th century. It is a keyboard instrument in which hammers are hit against one string via a mechanism (like a percussion instrument). 2 - 3 strings are struck per note: also called string choir.

History

The following forms are widespread: upright piano and grand piano. The German word Klavier comes from claves (keys, actually clef) in French; piano has established itself as a short form of piano (quiet) and forte (loud) compared to pianoforte.

The piano has 88 keys, 52 white and 36 black; an octave has 7 white and 5 black keys. It has a width of 123 cm (piano) when it is standardized. The instruments have 2 or 3 pedals: the piano pedal and the forte pedal (removal of damping); the middle pedal can be a sostenuto pedal (only the damping of the notes played is removed) or a moderator pedal (all strings additionally damped by felt). Weight: small pianos weigh around 300 kg, large concert pianos up to 700 kg; normal upright pianos weigh between 200 kg and 300 kg.

Distribution

In 1980, there were about 9,300,000 flutes, 8,400,000 harmonicas/melodicas, 3,800,000 guitars, 2,200,000 accordions and 1,600,000 upright pianos/grand pianos in private households in Germany. (Source: look up at wikiped)

Costs

Pianos: used pianos in medium quality and condition cost between € 1,000.00 and € 3,000.00; new pianos from € 5,000.00. Grand pianos: are hardly available for less than € 3,000.00, a larger selection is available from € 10,000.00and new ones cost between € 20,000.00 and € 100,000.00. Maintenance: one tuning will cost about € 100.00 and should be done once or twice a year.

Care and Preferences

The room climate is important: Too little humidity leads to dehydration, too much leads to rust. The place of installation is important: little temperature fluctuation, little draught, little fluctuation in humidity, not too close to heating or stove is what the piano likes best. In Asia, for example, special export pianos are produced that are adapted to the climatic conditions in the destination country.

Since the end of the 20th century, digital pianos with real piano mechanisms have been produced. The sound is no longer synthesized, but digitized recordings of high-quality instruments are played and amazing sound results are achieved with digital pianos.