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MUSIC
The Piano (part 2)
Today's modern piano consists of eighty-eight keys, giving the instrument a range of
more than seven octaves. The sound is produced by depressing a key that causes a
felt-covered hammer to strike string(s). There are two or three strings per note on all
but the lowest notes of the piano. The hammer strikes these strings simultaneously.
Multiple stringing adds volume, but the bass notes have thicker strings and more natural
acoustic resonance, so multiple stringing is not necessary. There are two strings per tone
in the middle register of the instrument, the higher register of the instrument has three
strings per tone.
The strings are kept taut by being attached to a metal frame at the back end of the
instrument and to pins that have been hammered into a wooden block at the front of the
instrument. The piano is tuned by turning the pins to tighten or loosen the strings.
Tightening the strings raises the pitch, loosening the strings lowers the pitch. Notes
with multiple stings must have each string tuned to the same pitch. The strings are strung
above a wooden sounding board which amplifies the sound of the strings being struck
There are felt dampers over All but the highest pitched strings have felt
dampers over them. These dampers stop the strings from vibrating after they have been
struck. As long as the key is depressed, the damper will remain raised above the string;
as soon as the key is released, the damper falls, halting the vibration.
The modern piano has three foot pedals. The most important of these is the damper pedal
which is on the pianist's right. Depressing this pedal raises the dampers, leaving all of
the strings free to vibrate for as long as the pedal is pressed. On the pianist's left is
the una corda pedal.This pedal shifts the entire mechanism of the instrument so that the
hammers only strike one of the two strings in the middle range and two string of the three
strings in the higher range. Music played when this pedal is depressed has a muted
quality. The central pedal is called the sostenuto pedal. This pedal also lifts the
dampers. The sostenuto pedal only lifts the dampers of those strings that were struck
before the pedal was depressed. In this way, specific notes can be made to vibrate without
having to maintain pressure on the keys.
Sources: Encyclopedia Britanica
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before
his presence with singing.
Psalm 100:1-21
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