The piano has evolved over the centuries as a keyboard instrument that has increased in size over the years. A pianist presses the keys, that have hammers which are covered with cloth which in turn hits the tightened strings after the key is pressed. After the keys are struck, then the hammers are released so that strings start a series of sound vibrations.

After keys are played by the pianist, the sound is stopped. As each key or chords are played, the resonance of the sound is directed to the soundboard which can be heard according to varying levels of loud or soft dynamics. So the piano is capable of contrasting dynamics and varying duration of pitches.

In traditional Western music, the piano is put to a wide variety of uses: for solo performance, ensemble recitals, chamber music, and as accompaniment for vocals or other instrument scores. It is also amongst the most popular instrumental aids for composing and rehearsing music. Although the piano is large and usually rather expensive, its versatility and indispensability have contributed to its status as the perhaps the most familiar and ubiquitous among musical instruments.

The term piano also means Pianoforte a more official term that translate from the Italian to the words soft and loud. The piano can have the capacity to be played from very soft to very loud, hence the name Pianoforte. The instrument piano developed from the old instrument Harpsichord by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy, and became a much loved musical instrument during the 18th century.

The original model for the piano is the much older stringed instrument known as the harp, the earliest versions of which were designed and used in ancient Greece centuries before the birth of Christ. At some point, a musically minded inventor conceived of the idea that instead of plucking the strings on a harp with the fingers as was traditionally done, it was also possible to devise a means of plucking the strings mechanically. It was this idea for a harp operated by mechanical keys that revolutionized music and gave rise to the first primitive keyboard.

In 1698, Cristofori began the actual steps for designing the precursor of the piano which was the harpsichord capable of soft and loud, complete with drawings and models. But the precision and quality of the instrument as we know it today was still far way off yet. Over the next few centuries, there unfolded a grand old story of experimentation, designing, innovation and refinement.

Before the proper precursor to the modern piano was invented in the early 1700s, to be able to produce the keyboard music one needed to control three separate instruments all at once. Right from its inception, the principal challenge motivating the art of piano designing has been to make the high notes louder and brighter. To this end, several improvements have been made in the standard piano design: a precisely calibrated mechanisms to control hammer swing, high tensile steel strings in place of catgut, innovations in the shape and material of hammers, advancement in the designs of resonators and fret boards to extend the instrument’s range, and other crucial inventions like the double key escarpment that enables a note to be repeated even if the hammer had not regained its full resting position.

The invention of the felt hammers, strings, and better sound boards helped add to the improvement of the piano. In the 19th century, the upright piano evolved into a piano model for middle classes. The piano became in more universal instrument so that many people took lessons on this beloved instrument, which still continues today.