Mechanical Developments Of The Piano

The piano is an instrument with very rich features. An instrument that has the largest tonal range, and where - in each register - all tones have characteristic timbres. It is an instrument with the richest and most varied harmonic sound, with very high technical, dynamic and expressive possibilities. The piano may express music in all its fullness, and in this way sounds like an orchestra.

In the early 19th century, the clavichord gave way to the piano. The term "piano" refers to string-keyboard instruments with a hammer mechanism. The source of the sound is created by metal strings, which can be made to oscillate when hit with hammers which are controlled by, and connected to, the keyboard. Today we know, with certainty, that the inventor of the piano with hammers is the Florentine maker of musical instruments Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1732). Cristofori created the most rational and appropriate of mechanisms, containing all the essential elements which have made it what it is today. This instrument has been subjected to various improvements in Germany and in England. In Cristofori’s mechanism, the relationship between the performer and the string is instantaneous. Once the string has been hit by the hammer, it vibrates freely until the key has been raised. The most important development is that the sound strength depends on the strength of the impact on the key. In the middle of the 18th century, two types of mechanisms were formed - Viennese and English.

In the British mechanism, the hammers are installed in the same direction as that of the keys. The hammers are not connected to the keys (which are located above them), and furthermore, the connection is via a system of levers. In this way, only the initial impetus is given to the key, for the further movement is made by the mechanism of the levers and the hammers. The piano with a British mechanism sounds solid, massive and at the same time soft and brilliant. Key movements are lighter, the repetitions are more flexible, than those of the Vienna mechanism. Today, the English system is still preserved in its basic form. In 1821 the English mechanisms were improved by the piano maker Sebastian Erhard, who introduced the double move mechanism. It allows rapid repetition on the same tone without lifting your finger from the key. So, the Erhard mechanism provides much more mobility, and better interaction of the parts, thereby greatly improving the virtuoso possibilities of the instrument. It increases the sensitivity of the pressure on the keyboard, eliminating the need to lift the fingers high above the keys - thus significantly increasing the opportunity for rapid movements of the fingers. Erhard’s mechanics form an important stage in the evolution of the piano.

In the first half of the 19th century, the piano was been subjected to many technical improvements. In 1826, a Parisian manufacturer suggested that the heads of the hammers should be coated with a special sealed and pressed felt, through which the sound becomes softer, gentle and more nuanced. The wish for a more sonorous tone led to the use of thicker strings, coated with cross thread. They created a lot of tension on the body of the instrument, that then led to the development of a whole cast iron frame. Thickened strings and increased power of the string tension are related to the extension and strengthening of the resonant board. Cross straining of the strings, in two intersecting planes (introduced in 1830 by Babcock), makes it possible to use longer strings (the bass and lower part of the middle register) while keeping the size of the body. Leipzig manufacturer Julius Blüthner introduced additional thinner ("aliquot") strings for the middle and high register when the hammers on the main strings are hit, the aliquot strings resonate and give a particularly soft and melodious quality to the sound.

In the early 19th century, the range of the keyboard was 5 octaves - but in the middle of the 19th century it became over six and a half octaves. The improvements in the mechanism of the piano contributed highly to the development of the keyboard music. In the early 19th century, the Upright Piano was built as a small variety of the Grand Piano and used mainly for domestic music-making. The main parts - a cast iron frame, resonator board, strings and mechanism with hammers and dampers - were positioned vertically. Numerous refinements led, in 1826, to the construction of the first Upright Piano in a contemporary style, which belongs to the London piano maker Robert Wornum and has been called Piccolo-Piano. The modern name of the piano was given by the French piano maker Pleyel. Along with the pianos of the 18th and 19th centuries, numerous varieties of piano music (no longer practiced today) such as Tafelklavier, Teetischklavier, Piramidenflugel, Giraffenklavier, Nahtischklavier, Lyra-Flugel and Orphica also appeared.

Two composers from the early to mid 19 century, Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt, made a huge impact on musical life - and on the piano as an instrument - with their brilliant performance art. In their music, the piano is treated as an extraordinary instrument. They developed to infinity the expressive abilities of the piano and, by doing so, reconstructed the entire piano technique. Thanks to the development of the instrument in the beginning of the 19th century, Chopin reached quite diverse and innovative techniques. He brilliantly mastered all the technical resources of the piano, was able to expand artistic boundaries and transmit an unprecedented and significant comprehensiveness on the piano. In his piano style there is evidence of brilliant virtuosity, improvisation and extremely fine polish. The new emotional sphere of the music - intimate moods, poetic freedom, transfusions of shadows, instability, elusiveness - are inextricably linked with the new textural features of the piano. Overtone sounds and, even more so, the development of the expressive possibilities of the pedal background and the blending in of harmonious shades, create a newness to Chopin’s music score. In contrast to Franz Liszt, who treated the piano as an instrument capable of the spectacular sound of the orchestra, Chopin developed colorful possibilities, inherent only in the new piano timbres. The impact of Franz Liszt is huge, in that he contributes greatly to the democratization of the piano music - he was a great reformer of the piano art. Liszt developed the possibilities of the piano as an instrument to scale up, as no one had done before. His innovations in piano technique are unmatched, performed by continuously seeking artists, gifted with genius and creative flair. He updated the whole nature and character of the piano sound, and turned the piano into something unknown and unheard of – an instrument resembling a full orchestra. In his letters, Liszt stated that his purpose was to move the spirit of the pianist towards orchestral sound effects. On an unprecedented scale, he expanded the expressive possibilities of piano music, highlighted the power, the brilliance and the colour of it’s sound. His ambition was to cover all the registers of the piano, using a deep and full sounding bass, carrying the melody in the middle "violoncello" register, pointing a transparent, crystal clear sound. The influence of forceful personalities and the power of creative will, in both composers, evoke a strong response in their listeners.

In the final analysis of this topic, I should say that the richest musical literature has been written for piano. It is indispensable as part of the musical development of every individual who wishes to learn music. It teaches us to think harmonically and polyphonically. Its importance as a factor in musical education is universally acknowledged. It is a very dear friend to thousands of people, in their homes, around the world – and to enthusiastic music lovers, who wander the fabulous world of piano music. The piano is an indispensable instrument in the expansion of musical culture – and regular work on it can reveal such valuable qualities of mind and character as concentration, composure, courage, willpower and perseverance.