The piano is an acoustic, stringed musical instrument invented around the year 1700 (the exact year

is uncertain), in which the strings are struck by hammers. It is played using a keyboard,[1] which is a
row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of
both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. The word piano is a shortened form
of pianoforte, the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives
from gravicembalo col piano e forte[2] and fortepiano. The Italian musical
terms piano and forte indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively,[3] in this context referring to the
variations in volume (i.e., loudness) produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure on the
keys: the greater the velocity of a key press, the greater the force of the hammer hitting the strings,
and the louder the sound of the note produced and the stronger the attack. The first fortepianos in
the 1700s had a quieter sound and smaller dynamic range.

An acoustic piano usually has a protective wooden case surrounding the soundboard and
metal strings, which are strung under great tension on a heavy metal frame. Pressing one or more
keys on the piano's keyboard causes a padded hammer (typically padded with firm felt) to strike the
strings. The hammer rebounds from the strings, and the strings continue to vibrate at theirresonant
frequency.[4] These vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a soundboard that amplifies by
more efficiently couplingthe acoustic energy to the air. When the key is released, a damper stops the
strings' vibration, ending the sound. Notes can be sustained, even when the keys are released by
the fingers and thumbs, by the use of pedals at the base of the instrument. The sustain pedal
enables pianists to play musical passages that would otherwise be impossible, such as sounding a
10-note chord in the lower register and then, while this chord is being continued with the sustain
pedal, shifting both hands to the treble range to play a melody and arpeggios over the top of this
sustained chord. Unlike the pipe organ and harpsichord, two major keyboard instruments widely
used before the piano, the piano allows gradations of volume and tone according to how forcefully a
performer presses or strikes the keys.

Most modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, 52 white keys for the notes of the C
major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A and B) and 36 shorter black keys, which are raised above the white
keys, and set further back on the keyboard. This means that the piano can play 88 different pitches
(or "notes"), going from the deepest bass range to the highest treble. The black keys are for the
"accidentals" (F/G, G/A, A/B, C/D, and D/E), which are needed to play in all twelve keys.
More rarely, some pianos have additional keys (which require additional strings). Most notes have
three strings, except for the bass that graduates from one to two. The strings are sounded when
keys are pressed or struck, and silenced by dampers when the hands are lifted from the keyboard.
Although an acoustic piano has strings, it is usually classified as a percussion instrument rather than
as a stringed instrument, because the strings are struck rather than plucked (as with
a harpsichord or spinet); in the Hornbostel-Sachs system of instrument classification, pianos are
considered chordophones. There are two main types of piano: the grand piano and the upright
piano. The grand piano is used for Classical solos, chamber music and art song and it is often used
in jazz and pop concerts. The upright piano, which is more compact, is the most popular type, as
they are a better size for use in private homes for domestic music-making and practice.

During the 1800s, influenced by the musical trends of the Romantic music era, innovations such as
the cast iron frame (which allowed much greater string tensions) and aliquot stringing gave grand
pianos a more powerful sound, with a longer sustain and richer tone. In the nineteenth century, a
family's piano played the same role that a radio or phonograph played in the twentieth century; when
a nineteenth century family wanted to hear a newly published musical piece or symphony, they could
hear it by having a family member play it on the piano. During the nineteenth century, music
publishers produced many musical works in arrangements for piano, so that music lovers could play
and hear the popular pieces of the day in their home. The piano is widely employed
in classical, jazz, traditional and popular music for solo and ensemble performances,
accompaniment, and for composing, songwriting and rehearsals. Although the piano is very heavy
and thus not portable and is expensive (in comparison with other widely used accompaniment
instruments, such as the acoustic guitar), its musical versatility (i.e., its wide pitch range, ability to
play chords with up to 10 notes, louder or softer notes and two or more independent musical lines at
the same time), the large number of musicians and amateurs trained in playing it, and its wide
availability in performance venues, schools and rehearsal spaces have made it one of the Western
world's most familiar musical instruments. With technological advances, amplified electric
pianos (1929), electronic pianos(1970s), and digital pianos (1980s) have also been developed. The
electric piano became a popular instrument in the 1960s and 1970s genres of jazz fusion, funk
music androck music.