What Type of Instrument is the Piano?
Recently one of my advanced students, Kaden, asked me which category of instrument the piano falls into. Would it be strings? Percussion? Both? I had to think about it for a moment. My brain quickly responded with “no clue.”
I asked him first what inspired him to ask this question. ( This is my sneaky way of buying time when I don’t know the answer straight away. Shhhh don’t tell anyone! )
Kaden: I had often thought about different instruments and how they are categorized. Piano, I noticed, was quite a unique instrument being that it is not conventionally an orchestral instrument and is one of the biggest instruments. Then I thought, ‘What kind of instrument is the piano? It has strings, hammers and keys but is not like any other instrument.” I did some research on it and there is quite an even split of belief of whether it’s a percussion instrument (due to it’s hammers striking strings) or a stringed instrument.
I love how my students end up teaching me when I ask them a question first. I did a little research and everything Kaden told me was confirmed. Clearly, Kaden is not only an excellent pianist but a great researcher as well!
I dug deeper and according to the Yamaha Website the piano has gone through a bit of an evolution. Although the piano’s ancestry can be traced back through the monochord, clavichord, harpsichord and dulcimer, it’s closest distant relative was the harpsichord. Around 1700 Bartolomeo Cristofori of Italy switched out the plucking mechanism with a hammer to create the modern piano. And we are so glad he did!
In 1988 American Composer David Lanz had the same questions as Kaden. As a result he was inspired to write Cristifori’s Dream. Lanz said, “This song was inspired by reading a book about the piano where I discovered for the first time the name and story of the inventor of the piano: Cristifori. This was a magic moment for me….I wanted this piece to sound somewhat classical and also a bit like romantic Italian movie theme. “
This is a wonderful piece and I hope you enjoy my performance of it!
Have a wonderful day!
Kindly,
Ms. Margaret