When
looking at a modern grand piano, it's not
easy to see every little component that is
used in its construction. Only the outer
components are seen: a polished black frame,
a black and white keyboard, and three foot
pedals. Buth there is so much more!
Here are some important parts of the
Piano...
-
Keyboard
- There are 88
black and white keys on a modern
piano. The white keys represent
natural notes and black keys represent
the corresponding note's flat or
sharp.
- Strings
- There are 230
strings usually in sets of three
except on lower registers where sets
of two are used. Strings are position
diagonally on a piano because longer
strings increase the quality of sound
while utilizing the full site of the
piano.
- Each string is
tuned by turning its tuning pin. These
tuning pins are anchored in a large,
think multi-layered block of hard wood
known as the pinblock.
- Damper
- The dampers are
there to stop the vibrations on the
strings after the sound has continued
long enough. When a key is pressed,
the damper is lifted and when the key
is released, the damper falls back to
the designated strings.
- Pedals
- There are 3 foot
pedals
- Una Corda Pedal
(left pedal) is used to exaggerate a
lower and softer volume in sound
- Sostenuto Pedal
(middle pedal) allows certain notes
to be sustained while other notes on
the keyboard are unaffected
- Sustain Pedal
(right pedal) lifts all the dampers
off the strings and lets all the
notes on the piano to resonate after
the keys have been lifted. The sound
will contine to resonate as long as
the key has been lifted and the
pedal is depressed.
- Frame
and Cast Iron Plate
- Because thre is
so much string tension on a piano (a
concert grand piano can have up to 30
tons of string tension), a piano must
have a tremendously stable frame. "A
modern piano's strings are supported
by an iron plate, cast in a single
piece and bolted into a heavy wooden
frame
- Soundboard
and Bridge:
- On the piano, the
sound made by strings are nearly
impossible to hear without being
amplified. To amplify the sound, the
strings are pressed down on a musical
bridge, which transfers the vibrations
to a large, thin piece of wood known
as the soundboard.
- The
Piano Action
- Each key on the
piano is connected to a felt-covered
hammer. When a key is played, the
hammer strikes the string and causes
it to vibrate. However, it involves an
'escapement mechanism' where the
"instant before the hammer strikes the
string, the hammer 'escapes' from its
connection with the key; hence it
bounces back a little bit after
striking the string." When the key is
release, it returns to its original
position and is ready to be played
again.
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