Keyboard and Piano - Modern Pianos

Modern Pianos

Modern Pianos have many advantages over older pianos.

Modern pianos stay in tune and satisfy their audience with very accurate sound. They are louder and the sound is more up-to-date (crystal clear) without any vintage singing. Most modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, 52 white keys for the notes of the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A and B) and 36 shorter black keys, which are raised above the white keys, and set further back on the keyboard. There are two main types of piano: the grand piano and the upright piano. We shouldn't forget about the Digital pianos, they are very popular and affordable, also take much less space.

The Grand Piano

Amazing sound, but can be big and loud.

The Upright Piano

An upright allows a beginner to learn the basic before trying to master the precision of a Grand Piano.

The Grand Piano

The History

The history of the piano dates back to the 1700s with its invention by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731), a harpsichord maker from Padua in Italy. Cristofori was unsatisfied by the lack of control that musicians had over the volume level of the harpsichord. He is credited for switching out the plucking mechanism with a hammer to create the modern piano in around the year 1700. Cristofori's “pianoforte” means “loud and soft” and it really was. It could be played louder or softer depending on how hard the player pressed the keys. Players could also sustain notes by holding down a key on the instrument, or create sharp staccatos by striking the keys quickly. Due to its greater expressiveness and variable volume, the pianoforte, later shortened to “piano” later replaced the harpsichord by the end of the 18th century. As the popularity of the piano grew, it became a staple in the homes of distinguished families and was used by professional musicians and amateurs alike.

The word “Grand,” meaning large, was first used to describe any piano — upright or horizontal — with long strings. Over time, grand became synonymous with horizontal pianos, which were typically much larger than the upright pianos. For many years after their invention, upright pianos remained the most popular type of piano for domestic use due to their smaller footprint.

Features

In grand pianos the frame and strings are horizontal, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. The action lies beneath the strings, and uses gravity as its means of return to a state of rest. There are multiple sizes of grand piano:

Petit grand: The smallest size of grand piano, petit grand pianos range from about 4′ 5″ to 4′ 11″ in length. While petit grands are not able to produce the same volume or force as larger grand pianos, they are suitable for rooms where space is limited.
Baby grand: One of the most popular grand pianos for domestic use, baby grand pianos measure between 5″ and 5′ 5″ and offer excellent sound quality at a more affordable price range than larger models.
Medium grand: Also known as a classic grand, a medium grand piano ranges from 5′ 6″ to about 5′ 8″.
Professional grand: Professional grand pianos are sometimes referred to as full grand pianos and measure between 5′ 9″ and 6′ 2″ long.
Parlor grand: Measuring between 6’3″ and 6′ 10″, parlor grand pianos are another popular choice for home use. Parlor grand pianos create a striking centerpiece for any room, and their larger size produces a fuller and richer tone than smaller grand pianos. Parlor grand pianos are also called living room grand pianos or boudoir grand pianos.
Semi-concert grand: Also known as a ballroom grand, a semi-concert grand measures between 6′ 11″ and 7′ 8″ in length. Semi-concert grands are popular in music halls and concert venues and are used by many professional musicians.
Concert grand: The largest size of grand piano, concert grand pianos typically measure about 8’11” to 9″, but can sometimes be even larger. Compared to smaller grand pianos, concert grand pianos produce the greatest volume, richest sound and most balanced tone. Concert grand pianos are commonly used in orchestras, by professional pianists and in larger music venues.

Most of the features in those three types are very similar, but there are very important differences. Longer pianos with longer strings have larger, richer sound and lower inharmonicity of the strings. Inharmonicity is the degree to which the frequencies of overtones (known as partials or harmonics) sound sharp relative to whole multiples of the fundamental frequency. This results from the piano's considerable string stiffness; as a struck string decays its harmonics vibrate, not from their termination, but from a point very slightly toward the center (or more flexible part) of the string. The higher the partial, the further sharp it runs. Pianos with shorter and thicker string (i.e., small pianos with short string scales) have more inharmonicity. The greater the inharmonicity, the more the ear perceives it as harshness of tone.

The inharmonicity of piano strings requires that octaves be stretched, or tuned to a lower octave's corresponding sharp overtone rather than to a theoretically correct octave. If octaves are not stretched, single octaves sound in tune, but double—and notably triple—octaves are unacceptably narrow. Stretching a small piano's octaves to match its inherent inharmonicity level creates an imbalance among all the instrument's intervallic relationships. In a concert grand, however, the octave "stretch" retains harmonic balance, even when aligning treble notes to a harmonic produced from three octaves below. This lets close and widespread octaves sound pure, and produces virtually beatless perfect fifths. This gives the concert grand a brilliant, singing and sustaining tone quality—one of the principal reasons that full-size grands are used in the concert hall. Smaller grands satisfy the space and cost needs of domestic use; as well, they are used in some small teaching studios and smaller performance venues.

The Upright Piano

Features

Upright pianos, also called vertical pianos, are more compact due to the vertical structure of the frame and strings. The mechanical action structure of the upright piano was invented in London, England in 1826 by Robert Wornum, and upright models became the most popular model. Upright pianos took less space than a grand piano, and as such they were a better size for use in private homes for domestic music-making and practice. The hammers move horizontally, and return to their resting position via springs, which are susceptible to degradation. Upright pianos with unusually tall frames and long strings were sometimes marketed as upright grand pianos, but that label is misleading. Some authors classify modern pianos according to their height and to modifications of the action that are necessary to accommodate the height. Upright pianos are generally less expensive than grand pianos. Upright pianos are widely used in churches, community centers, schools, music conservatories and university music programs as rehearsal and practice instruments, and they are popular models for in-home purchase.

The top of a spinet model barely rises above the keyboard. Unlike all other pianos, the spinet action is located below the keys, operated by vertical wires that are attached to the backs of the keys.
Console pianos, which have a compact action (shorter hammers than a large upright has), but because the console's action is above the keys rather than below them as in a spinet, a console almost always plays better than a spinet does. Console pianos are a few inches shorter than studio models.
Studio pianos are around 107 to 114 cm (42–45 in) tall. This is the shortest cabinet that can accommodate a full-sized action located above the keyboard.
Anything taller than a studio piano is called an upright. (Technically, any piano with a vertically-oriented soundboard could be called an upright, but that word is often reserved for the full-size models.)

The Baby Grand Piano

Baby Grand Piano delivers the sound and the experience.

The Digital Piano

Digital Piano has amazing sound and allow for sound modification.

The Baby Grand Piano

The History

Manufacturers of grand pianos developed smaller pianos that would be suitable for home use. Although it is not certain exactly when the first baby grand piano hit the market, the term “baby grand” is often credited to the piano maker Hugo Sohmer. In 1884, Sohmer & Company produced the first 5″ grand piano that was later advertised as a baby grand piano. Since then, baby grand pianos have continued to be a popular feature in living rooms and parlors around the world.

Sound Differences Between Baby Grand Pianos and Grand Pianos

The primary difference between a grand piano and a baby grand piano is their length and size. Although the best baby grand pianos will sound very similar to a good grand piano, smaller grand pianos tend to produce less volume and have sharper overtones. Grand pianos often produce a fuller and richer sound with more balanced overtones and they are more suitable for larger spaces. Grand pianos can also produce greater volume and more forceful sound than smaller baby grand pianos.

Most grand pianos produce very little inharmonicity and come close to this ideal harmonic series. However, the amount of inharmonicity a piano produces is also dependent on the size and stiffness of the piano strings. Pianos with shorter and thicker strings tend to have more inharmonicity than pianos with long and flexible strings. This means a larger grand piano will have less inharmonicity than a baby grand piano of the same quality.

While every instrument will have inharmonicity to some degree, the highest quality concert grand pianos can produce nearly perfect harmonic tones with almost no inharmonicity. Concert grand pianos can produce octaves that sound pure from the lowest to the highest registers.This low degree of inharmonicity gives concert grand pianos an unmatched tonal brilliance, which is precisely why they are the instrument of choice for professional pianists and performers.

Luckily, inharmonicity can be addressed through professional piano tuning, allowing smaller grand pianos to achieve more balanced tones. When a professional piano technician tunes a grand piano, the octaves of the piano are stretched slightly to account for the natural inharmonicity that is present in the instrument. Through precise tuning of each octave, grand pianos of any size can produce near-perfect harmonics.

Main differences between baby grand and grand pianos:

Volume: The larger the grand piano, the greater the range of volume it can produce. The longer strings of a concert grand piano allow them to be played both more loudly and more softly than a baby grand piano. However, larger grand pianos also require more space to achieve proper resonance. A concert grand piano may overwhelm a small space, while a baby grand can fill it with full resonance.
Balanced and richer tone: Grand pianos with longer strings will often offer more balanced tones. Larger grand pianos also produce more overtones than smaller grand pianos to create a fuller and richer sound.
Inharmonicity: Larger grand pianos will have greater harmony across octaves, while smaller grand pianos may produce overtones that sound slightly sharp or flat. The timbre of baby grand pianos may also vary across octaves or with dynamics. While some musicians prefer the pure tonal quality of a concert grand piano, other pianists appreciate the unique voice of smaller grand pianos.
Space: One of the most important factors, when buying a piano is space.

Grand and baby grand pianos both offer exceptional sound and responsiveness that allow every pianists to express their feelings and musical style. The beautiful tonality and rich sound of grand and baby pianos make them an excellent choice for professional pianists and amateurs alike.

The Digital Piano

Features

Digital pianos allow for a greater variation in sounds because they allow for sound modification. They are larger than a keyboard and are usually the same length (88 keys) as an acoustic piano. Digital pianos also tend to have “weighted keys” which make them feel more like an acoustic piano when playing.

The History of Electronic Piano

With technological advances, amplified electric pianos (1929), electronic pianos (1970s), and digital pianos (1980s) have been developed. The electric piano became a popular instrument in the 1960s and 1970s genres of jazz fusion, funk music and rock music. The first electric pianos from the late 1920s used metal strings with a magnetic pickup, an amplifier and a loudspeaker. The electric pianos that became most popular in pop and rock music in the 1960s and 1970s, such as the Fender Rhodes use metal tines in place of strings and use electromagnetic pickups similar to those on an electric guitar. The resulting electrical, analogue signal can then be amplified with a keyboard amplifier or electronically manipulated with effects units. Electric pianos are rarely used in classical music, where the main usage of them is as inexpensive rehearsal or practice instruments in music schools. However, electric pianos, particularly the Fender Rhodes, became important instruments in 1970s funk and jazz fusion and in some rock music genres. Electronic pianos are non-acoustic; they do not have strings, tines or hammers, but are a type of synthesizer that simulates or imitates piano sounds using oscillators and filters that synthesize the sound of an acoustic piano. They must be connected to a keyboard amplifier and speaker to produce sound (however, some electronic keyboards have a built-in amp and speaker). Alternatively, a person can play an electronic piano with headphones in quieter settings.

Digital piano

Digital pianos are also non-acoustic and do not have strings or hammers. They use digital sampling technology to reproduce the acoustic sound of each piano note accurately. They also must be connected to a power amplifier and speaker to produce sound (however, most digital pianos have a built-in amp and speaker). Alternatively, a person can practice with headphones to avoid disturbing others.

Digital pianos can include sustain pedals, weighted or semi-weighted keys, multiple voice options (e.g., sampled or synthesized imitations of electric piano, Hammond organ, violin, etc.), and MIDI interfaces. MIDI inputs and outputs connect a digital piano to other electronic instruments or musical devices. For example, a digital piano's MIDI out signal could be connected by a patch cord to a synth module, which would allow the performer to use the keyboard of the digital piano to play modern synthesizer sounds. Early digital pianos tended to lack a full set of pedals but the synthesis software of later models such as the Yamaha Clavinova series synthesised the sympathetic vibration of the other strings (such as when the sustain pedal is depressed) and full pedal sets can now be replicated.

The current processing power of digital pianos has enabled highly realistic pianos using multi-gigabyte piano sample sets with as many as ninety recordings, each lasting many seconds, for each key under different conditions (e.g., there are samples of each note being struck softly, loudly, with a sharp attack, etc.). Additional samples emulate sympathetic resonance of the strings when the sustain pedal is depressed, key release, the drop of the dampers, and simulations of techniques such as re-pedalling.

Digital, MIDI-equipped, pianos can output a stream of MIDI data, or record and play via a CD ROM or USB flash drive using MIDI format files, similar in concept to a pianola. The MIDI file records the physics of a note rather than its resulting sound and recreates the sounds from its physical properties (e.g., which note was struck and with what velocity). Computer based software, such as Modartt's 2006 Pianoteq, can be used to manipulate the MIDI stream in real time or subsequently to edit it. This type of software may use no samples but synthesize a sound based on aspects of the physics that went into the creation of a played note.

Hybrid Instruments

Features

In the 2000s, some pianos include an acoustic grand piano or upright piano combined with MIDI electronic features. Such a piano can be played acoustically, or the keyboard can be used as a MIDI controller, which can trigger a synthesizer module or music sampler. Some electronic feature-equipped pianos such as the Yamaha Disklavier electronic player piano, introduced in 1987, are outfitted with electronic sensors for recording and electromechanical solenoids for player piano-style playback. Sensors record the movements of the keys, hammers, and pedals during a performance, and the system saves the performance data as a Standard MIDI File (SMF). On playback, the solenoids move the keys and pedals and thus reproduce the original performance.

Modern digital hybrid pianos typically include an array of electronic features, such as a built-in tone generator for playing back MIDI accompaniment tracks, speakers, MIDI connectivity that supports communication with computing devices and external MIDI instruments, additional ports for audio and SMPTE I/O, and Internet connectivity. Digital hybrid pianos have been manufactured in the form of upright, baby grand, and grand piano styles (including a nine-foot concert grand). Reproducing systems have ranged from relatively simple, playback-only models to professional models that can record performance data at resolutions that exceed the limits of normal MIDI data. The unit mounted under the keyboard of the piano can play MIDI or audio software on its CD, floppy disk drive and now USB drive.

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