How is a piano different from a piano and a grand piano?

Most people who are just getting acquainted with the wonderful world of music are interested in the names of the instruments, since in appearance they are unable to understand what kind of keyboard instrument is in front of them. In this article we will talk about how a piano differs from a piano and a grand piano, consider the differences in structure, and find out what kind of a piano is.

Piano is a generic name for grand pianos and upright pianos. The term denotes stringed keyboard musical instruments. In the modern world, in fact, the last two instruments are varieties of the piano. The main difference is the classification.

So what do we know about them from history? For a long period the harpsichord was very popular among musicians. Its mechanism did not allow playing pieces of music with different loudness, because the plucking of the string occurred with a constant amplitude. Of course, musicians dreamed of a keyboard instrument with much greater possibilities for playing music.

The instrumentalists of that time set themselves the idea of ​​creating a new structure that would allow increasing and decreasing the volume of the sound. Heavy levers were invented, but their disadvantage was that they could not be used during the game.

The Italian master Bartolomeo Cristofori worked in Florence in 1709-1711. He was one of the first inventors of a new mechanism in which the vibrations of the strings were caused by hammers covered with a special felt, rather than hooks. Accordingly, the volume of the sound began to directly depend on the force of pressing the keys. The transfer of energy from the finger to the hammer that strikes the string is reproduced through sophisticated piano mechanics.Finally, by playing, it became possible to make a smooth transition between shades.

This type of tool quickly began to spread throughout Europe, with small changes in mechanics. For the popular instrument, the name of the piano was stuck - "loudly-quietly".

Pianos were also being created by other masters at almost the same time. For example, the French master J. Marius, the German music teacher KG Schroeter and others.

Master G. Zilbermann worked on improving the mechanics of Christoph Schroeter. In 1735 he demonstrated his works to J.S.Bach, but was not awarded high marks. The fact is that that time was the era of clavier music and other plucked string instruments. The piano sounded rougher and simpler.

Silberman's pupil I.A. The instruments differed from their predecessors by two pedals. In 1794, the Viennese master I.A. The Stein-Streicher mechanics began to be called Vienna (aka German). It has become much easier to play: the energy consumption when pressing the keys has decreased, so the pianists have to some extent freed themselves from the shackles, the manner of playing music has changed.

The first composers to write their works for piano were the Viennese musicians J. Haydn, W. A. ​​Mozart, L. Beethoven. Most of their works written before this time also sound great on the piano. Piano music developed, changed due to the improvement of the device, the primary task of which was the improvement of mechanics and other structural elements.

In Russia, the first piano-making workshops appeared in St. Petersburg. These were the enterprises of the Germans I. A. Tischner and K. Wirth. The devices were liked by M.I. Glinka, K. Schumann, A.S. Dargomyzhsky.

The grand piano is, in exactly the same degree as the piano, a kind of piano. The word means the mechanism of sound production, let's look at its characteristic features.

The term "grand" comes from the English royal, which means "royal". The instrument acquired this name due to its beautiful sound, as well as for its grandiose parameters. Due to the horizontal arrangement of the strings, a grand piano is a very bulky interior item, therefore it is most often placed in concert halls and living rooms.

At the beginning of the 19th century, masters Müller and Hawkins (Austria and the United States of America, respectively) independently (without contacting each other) create a smaller version of a grand piano - a piano. The difference between the device was the strings located in the vertical direction, as a result of which the thing began to take up little space, it could easily fit in modest-sized rooms.

The piano has three pedals. The first (left) serves to attenuate the sound, the second (middle) affects the duration of individual notes or whole chords, the third (right) allows the string to vibrate unhindered.

The piano body is made of wood glued in several layers. Certain types of wood are used. The outer layer is always carefully polished.

Modern instruments have a range of 7 1⁄4 octaves, concert grand pianos of the Austrian company "Bösendorfer" have an extended range - 8 octaves.

The grand piano, in contrast to the piano, has a more beautiful and deep sound.It has a more responsive keyboard. In addition, the instrument has a rehearsal mechanism. This option allows the musician to quickly perform repeated keystrokes (the piano does not have this function). The musician may not release his finger from the key to the end and press it again. This is great for playing trills and tempo. Professional performers, of course, prefer the grand piano for performing the most complex pieces of music.

So, professional pianists note the powerful, bright, clear and expressive sound of a grand piano. Its great capabilities compared to the piano. The latter is much quieter, since it is usually placed against a wall and the deck cannot amplify the sound.

Of course, for beginners, musical training and for home music making, a piano is more convenient, which is easier and more realistic to place in a city apartment than a bulky grand piano. Another undoubted plus of the piano is that its sound is much quieter than the piano.

Despite the differences, both types of pianos allow pianists to show their talents. Each instrument sounds individually - one is soft, deep, the other is colorful, rich, and the third has a predominance of "metal". A skilful performer is able to show his mastery to the maximum on a melodious instrument, to surprise listeners with lyric playing.