Piano: Difference between revisions

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The '''piano''' is a ~~percussion~~ instrument, in which an action of felt-covered hammers strike strings stretched on a metal frame attached to a resonant soundboard.

The '''piano''' is a percussive [[keyboard]] instrument, in which an action of felt-covered hammers strike strings stretched on a metal frame attached to a resonant soundboard.

The history of the piano is closely intertwined with the standardization of [[~~12-EDO~~]] in the West. The development of steel frames with precision machining gave them the necessary capacity to hold the high level of tension (~~18-30 tons~~) to remain in tune reliably over time.

The history of the piano is closely intertwined with the standardization of [[12edo]] in the West. The development of steel frames with precision machining gave them the necessary capacity to hold the high level of tension (180–300 kN) to remain in tune reliably over time.

The piano can be used to play microtonal music in a variety of ways. A single piano's strings can be retuned~~; due to~~ the ~~risk of breaking strings,~~ this is ~~generally subject~~ to ~~a maximum of +/- 50 cents on each~~ pitch.

The piano can be used to play microtonal music in a variety of ways. A single piano's strings can be retuned. Like other keyboard instruments, the strong advantage that this provides for microtonal music is that due to pitch exactness and precision machining, an acoustic piano can also be constructed or rebuilt for essentially arbitrary pitches and tuning systems, satisfying any exact pitch placement that desired.

~~For tunings of more than 12 pitches per octave~~, the ~~difference accumulates. If one tunes the lower keys normally~~ and ~~works their way up a bigger scale~~, the ~~higher~~ strings ~~sound~~ increasingly inharmonic, more bell-like. ~~For~~ microtonal ~~music~~ to ~~avoid this timbral distortion~~, multiple pianos ~~must~~ be used: a solo player can play two keyboards at a ~~right angle~~, or many players can play many pianos.

However, large departures from intended tuning, for example, from 12edo ― require changes to string length, gauge, tension, scaling, or even the frame and soundboard, rather than simply retuning the existing strings. A typical piano will only handle about a semitone of retuning before breaking strings becomes an issue. Additionally, excessive string stretching produces a timbre that sounds increasingly inharmonic and more bell-like.

As such, purpose-built microtonal pianos are required to accommodate tunings that would be impractical or unsafe to realize by retuning a conventional piano. Likewise, multiple pianos can be used: a solo player can play two keyboards detuned by a specific amount, or many players can play many pianos.

Electronic plugins like {{W|Pianoteq}} can be used to retune a modeled piano to arbitrary pitches with high precision, without the mechanical limitations that are found in the process of building a physical instrument.

== Retuned standard piano ==

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</ref>

Hugh Davies/Alexander Bonus, [https://archive.org/details/grovedictionaryo0003unse_w4m2/page/461/ Microtonal instruments]. The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, Second Edition, 2014, p.461.

Hugh Davies/Alexander Bonus, [https://archive.org/details/grovedictionaryo0003unse_w4m2/page/461/ Microtonal instruments]. The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, Second Edition, 2014. Volume Three, page 461.

</ref>

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== See also ==

* [[Keyboard]]

* [[Fluid piano]]

[[Category:Instruments]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The '''piano''' is a percussion instrument, in which an action of felt-covered hammers strike strings stretched on a metal frame attached to a resonant soundboard.
+The '''piano''' is a percussive [[keyboard]] instrument, in which an action of felt-covered hammers strike strings stretched on a metal frame attached to a resonant soundboard.
-The history of the piano is closely intertwined with the standardization of [[12-EDO]] in the West. The development of steel frames with precision machining gave them the necessary capacity to hold the high level of tension (18-30 tons) to remain in tune reliably over time.
+The history of the piano is closely intertwined with the standardization of [[12edo]] in the West. The development of steel frames with precision machining gave them the necessary capacity to hold the high level of tension (180–300 kN) to remain in tune reliably over time.
-The piano can be used to play microtonal music in a variety of ways. A single piano's strings can be retuned; due to the risk of breaking strings, this is generally subject to a maximum of +/- 50 cents on each pitch.
+The piano can be used to play microtonal music in a variety of ways. A single piano's strings can be retuned. Like other keyboard instruments, the strong advantage that this provides for microtonal music is that due to pitch exactness and precision machining, an acoustic piano can also be constructed or rebuilt for essentially arbitrary pitches and tuning systems, satisfying any exact pitch placement that desired.
-For tunings of more than 12 pitches per octave, the difference accumulates. If one tunes the lower keys normally and works their way up a bigger scale, the higher strings sound increasingly inharmonic, more bell-like. For microtonal music to avoid this timbral distortion, multiple pianos must be used: a solo player can play two keyboards at a right angle, or many players can play many pianos.
+However, large departures from intended tuning, for example, from 12edo ― require changes to string length, gauge, tension, scaling, or even the frame and soundboard, rather than simply retuning the existing strings. A typical piano will only handle about a semitone of retuning before breaking strings becomes an issue. Additionally, excessive string stretching produces a timbre that sounds increasingly inharmonic and  more bell-like.
+As such, purpose-built microtonal pianos are required to accommodate tunings that would be impractical or unsafe to realize by retuning a conventional piano. Likewise, multiple pianos can be used: a solo player can play two keyboards detuned by a specific amount, or many players can play many pianos.
+Electronic plugins like {{W|Pianoteq}} can be used to retune a modeled piano to arbitrary pitches with high precision, without the mechanical limitations that are found in the process of building a physical instrument.
 == Retuned standard piano ==
@@ Line 161: / Line 165: @@
 </ref>
 <ref name="grove-microtonal">
-Hugh Davies/Alexander Bonus, [https://archive.org/details/grovedictionaryo0003unse_w4m2/page/461/ Microtonal instruments]. The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, Second Edition, 2014, p.461.
+Hugh Davies/Alexander Bonus, [https://archive.org/details/grovedictionaryo0003unse_w4m2/page/461/ Microtonal instruments]. The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, Second Edition, 2014. Volume Three, page 461.
 </ref>
 <ref name="huygens-carrillo">
@@ Line 175: / Line 179: @@
 == See also ==
-* [[Keyboard]]
 * [[Fluid piano]]
 [[Category:Instruments]]