Pianos

Pianos are large instruments that are played by the means of a keyboard. They have a very bright tone and one of the largest ranges of all the instruments. When a key is pressed a felt covered hammer hits a steel wound string and immediately bounces off, leaving the string to vibrate at its resonant frequency. As the string is struck and not plucked Pianos are considered percussion instruments (like the xylophone and glockenspiel).

Invented in Germany the piano is often played as a solo instrument, but is just at home playing in bands, ensembles and even part of an orchestra. The Ragtime sound is best represented by Thomas Joplin with tunes like The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag. Rag time is a is played, as far as I’m aware, exclusively on the piano and are often out of tune, they are known as Honkey Tonk pianos.

As pianos are so big they aren’t really portable, however they are often used as a compositional tool because of the range and ability to play both the melody, bass and chords at the same time (a rare quality in musical instruments). Nothing can quite compare to the sound of a full size grand piano being played in a special designed concert hall.