Piano

The piano is a keyboard instrument with strings inside. Press a key and a felt-covered hammer strikes the strings for that note, then rebounds so they can vibrate freely. Its full name, pianoforte, is Italian for "soft-loud": unlike the harpsichord that came before it, a piano plays louder when you press faster and softer when you press gently.

How a piano makes its sound

Pressing a key throws a hammer toward its strings and, for notes fitted with dampers, lifts the damper. Just before the hammer arrives, escapement lets it fly free and rebound. Releasing the key normally returns the damper, unless a pedal holds it raised. The highest strings have no dampers and fade naturally.

Most notes have two or three strings tuned to the same pitch, which makes the tone fuller. The lowest notes have one thick string wound with copper wire. The strings are stretched across a cast-iron frame and pass over a large wooden soundboard, which turns their vibration into the sound you hear.

Range: 88 keys from A0 to C8

A standard modern piano has 88 keys, 52 white and 36 black, spanning just over seven octaves from A0 to C8. Only the organ among common acoustic instruments reaches further, and the piano covers the ranges of the whole orchestra. Middle C (C4) sits near the center of the keyboard.

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Grand, upright and digital pianos

• Grand pianos lie flat, with the strings running away from you. Gravity returns the hammers, which helps fast repeated notes.
• Upright pianos stand the strings on end to save floor space. They are the usual instrument in homes and schools.
• Digital pianos play recorded or modeled piano sound through speakers, with weighted keys that imitate the feel of an acoustic action. They never need tuning, and you can practice with headphones.

The pedals

The right pedal is the damper (sustain) pedal: it lifts every damper, so notes keep ringing after you release the keys. The left pedal is the soft pedal. On a grand it shifts the hammers so they strike fewer strings; on an upright it moves them closer to the strings. A middle pedal is a sostenuto pedal on most grands; on many uprights it lowers a strip of felt to make the piano quieter for practice.

How piano music is written

Piano music is written on the grand staff: two staves joined by a brace, usually with the treble clef on top for the right hand and the bass clef below for the left. Either hand can move to the other staff, and clef changes are common. The piano does not transpose: a written C sounds as C.

Where you hear it

The piano plays solo music, accompanies singers and other instruments, joins chamber groups such as the piano trio, and takes the solo part in concertos. Jazz, pop and gospel pianists often read from lead sheets and build their own chords. Because you can see and play whole chords, it is also the usual instrument for learning harmony.

Pianos are usually traced to Bartolomeo Cristofori, who built the first ones in Florence around 1700. Over the next century and a half the keyboard grew from about four or five octaves to more than seven.

Tips for beginners

• Find middle C first, then learn the pattern of black keys in twos and threes: every C sits just to the left of a group of two black keys.
• Sit tall at the front half of the bench, with your forearms roughly level with the keys.
• Start in a five-finger position, with fingers numbered 1 (thumb) to 5 (little finger) in each hand.
• Have an acoustic piano tuned regularly, typically once or twice a year.