Image Credit
I love playing the piano and listening to music with piano in it. It is a difficult instrument to play but really beautiful when played properly. The way it works is complex compared with most instruments. There are 88 keys on the piano, each white key represents a note and each black key represents either a sharp or a flat depending on which key the music is written in. The white keys can also represent sharps or flats, depending on how the music is written.
When a key is pressed a hammer hits a string or multiple depending on how low or how high you want to play. The low notes have one string, the high ones have three and between them there are notes with two strings. The high notes need more strings, so that they can be heard clearly where the low notes need fewer as they are very loud on their own. As a key is pressed and the hammer hits the strings and a dampener is also lifted at the same time. The dampener goes down and stops the note once the key is released, this allows for control over how long the note is played for. In the the link beneath, is a video which shows how the hammers hit the strings and the dampeners are lifted as keys are pressed.
https://videos.pond5.com/piano-dampers-and-hammers-1-footage-016880393_main_xxl.mp4
Below is a picture of a piano's pedals. Each pedal has a role to play in enhancing the quality of music produced, depending on the mood that is wanted.
The left pedal is the soft pedal, which makes the sound created when hitting a key, softer. It does this by shifting the hammers slightly to the side when pressed down, so that they don't hit as many strings as normal.
The right pedal is the sustaining pedal, which makes all the notes which have been played since it was pushed down, drag out longer. It does this by lifting all the dampeners in the piano off of their strings when pressed down.
On some piano's you get a middle pedal, depending on what type of piano it is. The middle pedal is the sostenuto pedal, responsible for capturing one note or a chord and dragging it out while the notes played after are unaffected. To do this the key or keys need to be pressed down at the same time that the pedal is pressed down.
I hope you were able to learn a little more about how a piano works and below is one of my favorite pieces on the piano, it is not me playing though. Enjoy!
Video Link
I did not know that about the difference between the white and black keys. That's pretty cool!
I am glad it helped.
I love the piano, I started off playing the drums but when I found the piano I instantly enjoyed it more so than the drums
Pianos are considered by many to be a Percussion instrument so my transition to the piano was natural
I started of on the recorder, but I didn't really like it, but it taught me to read music. We had an old and broken piano in the house which I started to use and I taught myself how to play it from there. It is my favorite instrument.
nice post!
thanks!
The piano sure was a great invention!
It truly is and it brings me great joy sometimes.
I love the piano too. It is like a whole orchestra in a single instrument.
That is how I feel about it.
omg! I am a big lover of piano. I used to have piano lessons as a child I wish I would have kept learning... lovely sounds.
I hope you will be able to get back into it some day soon.
Siempre He Pensado Que Este Instrumento (El Piano) Te Permite Fácilmente Darle Un Toque De Originalidad A Cualquier Canción Que Representes En El, Y Esto Es Precisamente Por La Complejidad De Este Gran Instrumento Musical
Muy Buena Información ! Saludos.
i wish i could play that good some day... the voice of piano fills with positivity inside me... THANK YOU SO MUCH... REALLY!
Pedal explanation:
the right pedal is a sustain pedal, it lifts the dampers (which are not a part of the action) to allow the strings to continue to vibrate after the key is released. The middle pedal can vary in it's function, on most pianos it is a sostenuto, which while holding down a key or multiple keys then pressing the pedal will sustain those notes. Some pianos the middle pedal raises all the bass dampers, and a few pianos do not have a middle pedal. The left pedal is a soft pedal, it shifts the action to the right just enough so that the hammers strike only 2 strings rather than 3 allowing for a softer sound without playing the key any different.
Really good post. Good job!!
Thank you.
Very informative! I am not much a musician myself, but I am a singer and love understanding more about how instruments work. Thanks for taking the time to share!
I am glad you liked it. My mother was a singer and she was one of the reasons I started playing.
Amazing how our parents have such influence right? I got into singing because my family always went to church and I ended up being in one of the church plays. Next thing I know I'm singing on the team and found out I love it!
I've always played keyboards but we never had a piano at home. Still not, as I live on the 4th floor. But there's just something about an acoustic piano that makes it so much better than electronical instruments. Would love to have one at home someday. Good stuff!
I hope you will be able to get one some day, but a keyboard is better than nothing.
I enjoy listening to people play. I did take piano lessons when I was in grammar school and I learned to read music but I could never get the playing down. Thank you explaining how a piano works.
I also love listening to people play. My brother also plays the piano and sometimes we have some problems when we both want to play at the same time, but most of the time I allow him to play because the way he plays is really beautiful and I just listen in amazement. I hope the explanation was clear enough.
I too would let him play, I understood you completely.
Piano was my first love and I gave It 7 years of my live, studying as professional. My instrument is a "Ibach", very good, measuring 180 cm. I have withdrawn the way of music when I was 22 years old because I understood that I could not be a great concertist,....that is what I wanted to be..
Now I am a doktor but I never forget my first love....
I hope you will be able to keep playing. I know I will never be really good, but I just love being able to play and create beautiful music. I am hoping to start studying medicine next year to become a doctor.
Piano is the most complete music instrument to learn western music theory, i love to play it. It's so clear when you understand how it works.
I only did 3 years of music theory and I hope to be able to continue some day as the lack of understanding irritates me sometimes when i play.
Wonderful article! From a fellow pianist!
That is very true.