Pianoforte Research Paper

This toy piano has 25 keys that have been chromatically tuned. It is recommended for children ages three and up. It is durably constructed out of wood and doesn’t require much room. The matching bench sits nine inches high off the ground while the piano its self reaches 20 inches from the ground.

The "Blue Piano" is an ambiguous sound because it is unclear of how it actually sounds like. In the stage directions it is mostly described with adjectives such as it being "blue", "loud" or "slow", without given

With so many different piano types out there, it’s easy to get bogged down with looks, sizes, abilities, and sounds. In a nutshell, though, a piano will always be a “keyboard musical instrument with a wooden case enclosing a soundboard and metal strings, which are struck by hammers when the keys are depressed.” (Thanks Google).

Music has evolved too many different forms that we recognize today. We trace this development throughout time. Beginning in the middle ages, we have seen advancement from the Gregorian chant all the way to the Jazz of the 20th century. The current events, politics, religion, technology and composers can shape musical eras during time. Here I will look at the middle ages, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and twentieth century periods. I hope that a better understanding can be reached to why, when, where and who are the reasons for musical evolution.

She looked just like that. And he put a picture of my daddy when he wasn't nothing but a little boy the way he remembered him." (44) The piano is a symbol of the family because it is literally covered with this history. Doaker states that Boy Charles "say it was the story of our whole family and as long as Sutter had it . . . he had us" (45) Under normal circumstances, a piano would not be something valuable enough to risk your life in order to steal. However, it is clear that Boy Charles viewed it as an important family heirloom, a symbol of their family history. By stealing the piano, he hopes to end the control that Sutter has over them.

The piano to Berniece abides a storybook, containing all the struggles their family has gone through, hence she would like to continue to keep it. However, she does not let her daughter, Maretha, know the history of the piano nor does she play or touch it due to the fact that Berneice does not wish to disturb the spirits. In addition, she has the desire to hide the past and not come to terms with it. By the end of the play, the piano has developed into a holy altar for the dead. The dead believe that they still possess the piano and continue to visit it, wanting and expecting for music to be played. As an illustration, Berneice

•There wasn't a fixed, standard orchestral group. Ensembles were usually composed of strings, a few woodwinds, percussion, and the harpsichord providing the basso continuo.

Zino Park used keyboard instead of piano because keyboard could play with many different sound effects.

After the 1840s, pianos stopped changing so quickly and still aren’t making many changes today. In the late 1700s to the late 1800s, iron frames had come into use and steel piano wire strings. The iron frames allowed up to three strings for every note, this gave it better sound. Somewhere in the 1800s the innovation of using three strings rather than two for all but the lower notes came into play. In 1844 Jean Louis Boisselot invented the sostenuto pedal and was improved by Steinway firm in 1874. The sostenuto pedal sustains only the notes being held down when the pedal isn’t being pressed, this allows other notes to be unaffected. In 1855, the Steinway company found a way to make it smaller without sacrificing notes, tone, etc. This was done

Another factor that influenced the society of the Middle Ages was its music. Music has always impacted society and anyone who listens to it. There is something personal about music that humans can relate to, and that is why it has had such an impact on society both now and during the Middle Ages. The advancements of music in the Medieval Age are far reaching and important even today, both in the fields of the evolution of music theory and the evolution of instrumentation and the performance of a piece.

The modern piano is a descendent of the harpsichord, which used a plucking technique much like that of plucking the strings of a harp or lute. Bartolomeo Crisotofori, an Italian craftsman, substituted felt hammers in place of the plucking mechanism, making the instrument capable of graduations of tone and timber. He called his new instrument the Gravicembalo col piano e forte (a harpsichord with louds and softs). This was later shortened to the piano and with critiques from Baroque composers like Bach, a number of improvements were made to sound quality and tonality eventually emerging as the preferred keyboard instrument for Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. Over the course of centuries to different piano types have emerged. The grand piano, from 5' 6" to 8 or 9' in length horizontal to the upright piano, more suitable for the home, which also exists in differing sizes, 3-5; in height (Parakilas).

Before Bach music wasn't as intriguing than after on the grounds that the German grouped different instruments which played harmonies that made Bach's performance pieces more fascinating.

The style of music was also influenced by the time of the Renaissance. Music was no longer under the full control of the Church. Instead, Europeans began to play

Throughout history all cultures have been influenced by music. Before the Baroque era in music there were many forms of western music. Most of this music was monophonic, sung in chant used mostly for religious purposes. During the previous millennia most music was sung in chant form with very little accompaniment, save a harp or a violin. In these times music was a simple art, sung by the people to praise the Lord. Eventually polyphonic music developed, first starting as monophonic chant sung in thirds and fifths, and later contrapuntal music was created. During this time the music notation system was standardized, originally a modified Greek system; music notation evolved into the notation that is used today. Having the use of music notation set the foundation for Baroque music and for all music after that.

Harpsichord (Italian cembalo; French clavecin), stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked to produce sound. It was developed in Europe in the 14th or 15th century and was widely used from the 16th to the early 19th century, when it was superseded by the piano. In the 20th century the harpsichord was revived for performance of music of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, as well as for new compositions. The incisive sound quality of the plucked metal strings adds clarity to melodic lines. The harpsichord is particularly effective in performing contrapuntal music—that is, music that consists of two or more melodies played at the same time, such as that of the German