Piano
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The piano is a type of musical instrument. It is a member of the keyboard family. The name comes from fortepiano, meaning that it could play loud and soft sounds, unlike most keyboards at the time.
A normal piano has 88 keys. Pianos use the keys to move hammers that hit some strings inside, making a sound.
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[edit] History
Some people think Bartolomeo Cristofori made the first piano. We do not know when he built it.
Pianos used to be less sturdy. When Beethoven was alive, he hit the keys hard enough to break the pianos. After that, piano makers began to make stronger pianos, like the pianos people play today.
The clavichord looks like a piano but it is smaller and has a different sound. It has a small metal piece that hits strings, making a sound. The harpsichord also looks like a piano, but has a different sound. It has quills that pluck the strings to make a sound.
[edit] What A Piano Has
A piano has black and white keys on a keyboard. When you press a key down, you can hear a sound. There are also three pedals that people use by pressing on them with their feet.
- The Damper Pedal - This pedal is on the right and when you press it down with your feet and play a few notes, the notes join together and are smooth.
- The Soft Pedal - The soft pedal is on the left and when you press it down with your feet and play a few notes, the notes are quieter.
- The Middle Pedal - The middle pedal is in the middle, and when you press it down, different things can happen. It depends on what sort of piano it is. The piano might have a sostenuto pedal, which, when pressed down, only holds out certain notes. Or it might have a different type of pedal, called a celeste pedal, which makes notes very soft and dull. This pedal is useful when someone wants to play a piano without disturbing other people. Sometimes pianos don't even have middle pedals.
[edit] Famous Piano Song Writers
Some famous piano song writers are Chopin, Beethoven,Bach, Mozart.
[edit] Famous People Who Play Piano
Some famous piano players are Horowitz, Lizst, Liberace, Condelezza Rice.
