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Types of Pianos

Think about Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin and Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms and Wolf. They wrote the greatest music and songs with words in the music history, songs that made a history. Their songs  inspired all classes of people all throughout the world. However, have you ever thought of what made it possible for them to compose these sensational music and to write these great songs? It was because of a piano. A simple music instrument and yet made these musicians who they are. How could Mozart write his piano concertos or Beethoven his sonatas without a piano?

The first piano was built in 1709 by Bartolomeo Cristofori, an Italian Hapsichord maker and called it a piano forte. Probably, Cristofori never conceived that the instrument he constructed will become the most popular instrument in the world since it didn’t receive appreciation from his people in that time it was built. By the middle of the 18th century up to the present, piano has enjoyed extraordinary success not only as a musical instrument but for being one of the most dreamed furniture of every homes from the humblest houses of peasants to the palaces of the unimaginably wealthy people.

Pianos differed in sizes and shapes. The very first piano in the history was called a grand type piano. Cristofori derived it from the wing-shape harpsichord. Grand pianos, also known as horizontal pianos because the string and the sounding board are laid parallel to the keyboard and the floor. It is the preferred instruments of professional musicians because of the looks. Also, when the top is raised, it deflects the sound to the room and to the player itself.

There are six kinds of grand pianos: the Petite grand, baby grand, medium grand, parlor grand, semi concert and concert grand. The Petite grand is the smallest among the six while the baby grand is the most famous horizontal piano because it is usually seen in one’s house. Its size was specially designed to grace one’s living room. It ranges from 4ft11 ins to 5 ft 6 ins. Concert grand is the biggest horizontal piano and as the name suggests, it is use for concerts and it couldn’t fit in one’s living room because it is 9 feet long.

Square pianos are also a kind of piano that was invented in 1763 by Johanes Zumpe. The shape is actually rectangular and closely similar to large clavichord. The keyboard were set into one of the long sides of the rectangle and at one end, not at the center of the instrument. It was designed to save spaces and had a lower price compared to grands. However, this type of piano didn’t last and were available only until 1880. Contact us if you are interested in a square.

Upright pianos were also invented with the same purpose as square pianos, to use economical space but the difference is, this type of piano continues to flourish until the present time. Unlike grand pianos, this type is commonly known as vertical pianos because it exchanges the floor space into a wall space and the string were placed vertically. Since it save space, this one is suitable to one’s apartment or condo.

There are four types of vertical pianos. Upright is the tallest type while the spinet is the smallest type of vertical piano with its height ranges only from 36 to 38 inches and the width is approximately 58 inches. Another type is the console piano. It’s a little taller than the spinet with its height ranges from 40 to 43 inches with the same width of spinet. Studio is also a vertical piano that is usually seen in music schools or music studios. It has a larger soundboard than the first two mentioned above.

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