{"id":616,"date":"2015-07-08T21:06:57","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T21:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/musicappreciation\/?post_type=chapter&p=616"},"modified":"2015-09-09T16:21:48","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T16:21:48","slug":"keyboards","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-musicappreciationtheory\/chapter\/keyboards\/","title":{"raw":"Keyboards","rendered":"Keyboards"},"content":{"raw":"

<\/h2>\r\n

\"Closeup<\/a><\/h2>\r\n

Piano<\/h2>\r\nThe piano (an abbreviation of pianoforte) is a musical instrument played using a keyboard.\u00a0It is widely employed in classical and jazz music for solo and ensemble performances, accompaniment, and for\u00a0composing and rehearsal. Although the piano is not portable and often expensive, its versatility and ubiquity have made it one of the world's most familiar musical instruments.\r\n\r\nAn acoustic piano usually has a protective wooden case surrounding the soundboard and metal strings, and a row of 88 black and white keys (52 white, 36 black). The strings are sounded when the keys are pressed, and silenced when the keys are released. The note can be sustained, even when the keys are released, by the use of pedals.\r\n\r\nPressing a key on the piano's keyboard causes a padded (often with felt) hammer to strike strings. The hammer rebounds, and the strings continue to vibrate at their resonant frequency.\u00a0These vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a soundboard that amplifies by more efficiently coupling the acoustic energy to the air. When the key is released, a damper stops the strings' vibration, ending the sound. Although an acoustic piano has strings, it is usually classified as a percussion instrument because the strings are struck rather than plucked (as with a harpsichord or spinet); in the Hornbostel-Sachs system of instrument classification, pianos are considered chordophones. With technological advances, electric, electronic, and\u00a0digital pianos have also been developed.\r\n

Types<\/span><\/h3>\r\nModern acoustic pianos have two basic configurations, the grand piano and the upright piano, with various styles of each. There are also specialized and novelty pianos, electric pianos based on electromechanical designs, electronic pianos that synthesize piano-like tones using oscillators, and digital pianos\u00a0using digital samples of acoustic piano sounds.\r\n

Grand<\/span><\/h4>\r\nIn 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.\r\n\r\nThere are many sizes of grand piano. A rough generalization distinguishes the concert grand<\/i> (between 2.2 and 3 meters long, about 7\u201310 feet) from the parlor grand<\/i> or boudoir grand<\/i> (1.7 to 2.2 meters long, about 6\u20137 feet) and the smaller baby grand<\/i> (around 1.5 meters, about 5 feet).\r\n

Upright (Vertical)<\/span><\/h4>\r\nUpright pianos, also called vertical pianos, are more compact because the frame and strings are vertical. 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 are sometimes called\u00a0upright grand<\/i> pianos. Some authors classify modern pianos according to their height and to modifications of the action that are necessary to accommodate the height.\r\n