Early Piano History

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The story of the early history of the piano starts with the ancient man.
The piano is partly a stringed instrument and partly a keyboard instrument. That's why its history grows in two directions.

The Development of Musical Instrument from Ancient Time and until 1907

The Ancient Harp (The first Stringed instrument)

Long time ago, the ancient man discovered the first musical instrument while he was hunting. At first he put a string on a forked bench in order to create a bow.
Then he discovered then when he shot an arrow with it, he produced a tone. It was always the same tone. He put two strings that had a different lengths and created the first born harp.
The bench curved and gave the harp and the piano their curved figure.

The Pan Flute (2000BC)

When he blew his blow gun an interesting sound filled the air. It was completely different in its nature. This was the beginning of blowing instruments like the flute for example.

Pan Flute

In china, at around 2000BC, they combined a few pipes together and created the first pan-flute which would later inspire a Greek engineer called Ctesibius to try to produce more then just one note from each pipe. In order to do that he created the first keyboard instrument called the "Hydraulis".

The Hydraulis (250BC)

The Hydraulis was the oldest ancestor of the modern day church organ. It was utilized an air compression mechanism that was powered by water (water means: hýdor in Greek). Like modern pipe organs of today, each pipe of the Hydraulis was tuned to a specific tone or “note”.

- Piano history -

The Monochord (6th Century BC)

But in the stringed area an interesting development has occurred way before that. In the 6th century BC an instrument called the Monochord was used to measure intervals (musical distances).
The new interesting thing was that one string was now stretched over a shallow sound box which gave the different tones which were produced by a movable bridge in different positions more volume.
The idea of the sound box will take a stand in the devleopment of the piano.

The Psaltery (2800 BC)

The Psaltery of Ancient Greece (Epigonion) dates from at least 2800 BC. However it was popular in the 14th and 15th centuries.
It had a shallow sound box as well but this time a few strings were attached to it and were plucked with the fingers or with plectra. A bowed version came later. This would lead us eventually to the harpsichord (also plucked)

But before we go on let's get to know the Dulcimer...

The Dulcimer (800BC)

The Dulcimer, an ancient Iranian instrument which was dated even before Christ, had a new interesting detail. It looked just like the Psaltery but instead of being plucked it was struck with little wooden hammers!
The wooden hammers were used to hit the strings and make them vibrate (Just like hammers do on pianos' strings today.)

- Piano history -

The Keyed Monochord (1157 AD)

Around the middle of the twelfth century (1157) you could already see an instrument called a keyed monochord.
Through time a few more strings were added to it and the "tangents" which were fitted at the back of each key could produce a few notes together when they created contact with the key. Eventually it had the form of a Clavichord.
In the part of the string that didn't vibrate they put a mute so when the tangent left the key it was possible to damp the sound.
Keyed Monochord

The Clavichord (1400AD)

The Clavichord is the simplest and usually the smallest of all string keyboard instruments. At first it had ten strings or so and each string could produce two different notes because it had two tangents at different points. Later on each string had just one tangent.
In order to damp the sound they used strip of felt or cloth.
Clavichord

Steel appeared toward the middle of the 14th century although at first it was used for the strings. Instead they've been using gold, sliver, brass, gut and horsehair. Today nylon is also being used. Only in 1835 the use of steel for strings became more definite.

- Piano history -

The Church Organ (Starting from the 8 Century AD)

If we go back to the first few centuries AD we will discover that much has happened in the organ world. During The Greek time and the Roman empire the Hydraulis consisted only of seven basic key notes (A, B, C, D, E, F, & G). However after the Hydraulis was introduced to the western Catholic Church during the eight century AD, it would slowly evolve into a musical instrument with an entirely different appearance and an updated piano key layout.

The Church Organ was the first keyboard instrument to use all twelve piano key notes (A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, & G#) because the basic musical system (modes) was then fully defined.
The weight of the keys has changed enormous. The organ players were called "organ beaters". Imagine that.

The arrangement as we know it today was to be found at 1361 (in paintings) on a plucked Harpsichord.

The Harpsichord (1420AD)

The harpsichord was probably originated in Italy in around 1420. Its strings are plucked from a keyboard which sits on a table or stand while being played. They have been made in varying shapes, sizes and sounds over the years. They were called virginals in Elizabethan England, a term today reserved in English for harpsichords whose strings are parallel to the keyboard.
Some of these plucked the strings with a quill like the psaltery, some with metal plectra, and at least one struck the strings with a metal staple in the manner of the dulcimer

- Piano history -

The Spinet (1682AD)

The spinet followed the clavichord and then came the more elaborate harpsichord. It might have been named after the Italian inventor, Giovanni Spinnete, or from the connection with spine thorns which were used to pluck the strings.
In 1682, Henry Purcell was the organist of the Chapel Royal in London. Back then the Spinet was more popular then the Virginals in the UK because of its large compass and its powerful tone. That's what Purcell would use to compose some of his music.

Being a member of the harpsichord family, the strings of the spinet were plucked by plectra attached to jacks.
In terms of shape, the spinet provides the link between the box-like virginals and the elegant harpsichord proper.

- Piano history -

That would be more or less the end of early piano history since at around 1900 it happened.
One guy has invented the piano.
Wanna know who this guy is? Click here to continue and learn about the guy who invented the piano.

Return from Early Piano History to History of the Piano

David Yzhaki, a piano teacher - The founder of Piano Play It

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