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The Piano - It's Roots, History and Development Music History and Literature III Daniel Brandon

The document discusses the roots, history, and development of the piano. It begins by explaining that the earliest known reference to a harpsichord was in 1397. The first piano was invented in 1700 in Florence, Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori as an improvement on the harpsichord and clavier. The 1700s saw the development of the upright piano. In the 1800s, pianos became more widely produced and popular, with innovations like the player piano. The document provides an overview of the key events and innovations that transformed the piano into the instrument known today.

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59 views4 pages

The Piano - It's Roots, History and Development Music History and Literature III Daniel Brandon

The document discusses the roots, history, and development of the piano. It begins by explaining that the earliest known reference to a harpsichord was in 1397. The first piano was invented in 1700 in Florence, Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori as an improvement on the harpsichord and clavier. The 1700s saw the development of the upright piano. In the 1800s, pianos became more widely produced and popular, with innovations like the player piano. The document provides an overview of the key events and innovations that transformed the piano into the instrument known today.

Uploaded by

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RUNNING HEAD: THE PIANO: IT’S ROOTS, HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 1

The Piano - It’s Roots, History and Development

Music History and Literature III

Daniel Brandon
RUNNING HEAD: THE PIANO: IT’S ROOTS, HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 2

The Piano - It’s Roots, History and Development

The piano. We hear it’s music almost every day. We see pianos on a daily basis. Yet have

we ever taken the time to think about just how the piano that we know today came to be? Was it

a mere circumstance? Was it built in one sitting? Why was it invented? Over this paper, I will

discuss the historical roots, history, as well as the development of the piano we know today.

The First Piano

The very first piano, we find, was a result of trying to improve on the clavier and harpsichord.

The idea of controlling a musical instrument with a keyboard perhaps originated from the organ,

which, interestingly enough, is older than the harpsichord. The earliest known reference to a

harpsichord dates from 1397, when a jurist in ​Padua​ wrote that a certain Hermann Poll claimed

to have invented an instrument called the 'clavicembalum (a harpsichord that's vertically strung

to save space)

The 1700s Outline

1700- harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori’s invents the “piano e forte” (“soft and loud”) in

Florence, Italy.

1739 -Domenico del Mela builds the earliest known upright piano in Gagliano, Italy.

Late 1700s -Piano making flourished in the Viennese school. Mozart composed for these

instruments, which were built with wooden frames with


RUNNING HEAD: THE PIANO: IT’S ROOTS, HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 3

Development of the piano

The invention of the piano is credited to Bartolomeo Cristofori who lived from 1655 to

1731. Surprisingly enough, no one really knows for sure exactly when the piano was

actually invented. (possibly 1698) however, according to Cristoforis employers,

Ferdinando de Medici, (aka Grand Prince of Florence). one of Cristofori's pianos was

already in existence by the year 1700. On a side note, Sebastian LeBlanc, a family friend

suggested to Cristofori that the black and white keys be switched on the piano

When the piano was invented in 1700, it failed to catch the public's attention due to its

expense and the fact that the harpsichord was the preferred instrument of the time

The 1800s outline

Early 1800s - The English firm Broadwood is the first to make sturdy pianos with a range of

more than five octaves

1853 - The piano maker Steinway and Sons was founded by Heinrich Engelhard Steinway.

1863 - Frenchman Henri Fourneaux invents the player piano, which “plays itself” using a piano

roll and mechanics.


RUNNING HEAD: THE PIANO: IT’S ROOTS, HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 4

Research:

-(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cris/hd_cris.htm.

-Piano. (2019, October 6). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano.

-The History of the piano - 300 years of innovation. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.merriammusic.com/pianos/acoustic-pianos/history-of-the-piano/.

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