Piano

The Piano , also called the "pianoforte," produces sound when its strings are struck by felt-covered hammers. The string vibrates until the player releases the key, when a damper falls on the string to stop the sound.

There are four basic types of pianos: the grand piano, the spinet, the square piano and the upright piano. The grand piano has the strings running horizontally and is believed to have the richest sound. The square piano , like the grand, has the strings running horizontally, parallel to the keyboard; it differs from the grand because of its shape. The upright (or vertical) piano has strings running vertically from the ground. Without gravity to assist the vibration of the string, these pianos are not as rich in sound as the grand pianos. The spinet is a small upright piano.

Most pianos have pedals that allow the player to alter how the dampers fall. These pedals make the piano louder or softer by dampening fewer or more strings as the player strikes the keys.

Barrel Piano is a mechanical piano whose strings are plucked as a crank turns the cylinder whose pegs pluck the strings.
There are similar instruments known as the barrel organ and hurdy-gurdy.

A variation on the piano is the harpsichord.

Hear a Piano

Hear a Harpsichord