Almost every modern piano has 52 white keys and 36 black keys for a total of 88 keys (seven octaves plus a minor third, from A0 to C8). Many older pianos only have 85 keys (seven octaves from A0 to A7). Some piano manufacturers extend the range further in one or both directions.

How many white keys are there on a piano?

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The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_keyboard">keyboard </a>, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. It was invented in Italy by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_Cristofori">Bartolomeo Cristofori </a>around the year 1700.

The word "piano" is a shortened form of pianoforte , the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives from clavicembalo col piano e forte (key <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimbalom">cimbalom </a>with quiet and loud)<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-pollens-1">[1] </a> and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortepiano">fortepiano </a> . The Italian musical terms piano and forte indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-2">[2] </a> in this context referring to the variations in volume (i.e., loudness) produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure on the keys: the greater the velocity of a key press, the greater the force of the hammer hitting the strings, and the louder the sound of the note produced and the stronger the attack. The first fortepianos in the 1700s allowed for a quieter sound and greater dynamic range than the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpsichord">harpsichord </a>.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-3">[3] </a>

A piano usually has a protective wooden case surrounding the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_board_(music)">soundboard </a>and metal <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_(music)">strings </a>, which are strung under great tension on a heavy metal frame. Pressing one or more keys on the piano's keyboard causes a wooden or plastic hammer (typically padded with firm felt) to strike the strings. The hammer rebounds from the strings, and the strings continue to vibrate at their <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resonance">resonant frequency </a>.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-4">[4] </a> These vibrations are transmitted through a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_(instrument)">bridge </a>to a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_board_(music)">soundboard </a>that amplifies by more efficiently <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupling_(physics)">coupling </a>the acoustic energy to the air. When the key is released, a damper stops the strings' vibration, ending the sound. Notes can be sustained, even when the keys are released by the fingers and thumbs, by the use of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_pedals">pedals </a>at the base of the instrument. The sustain pedal enables pianists to play musical passages that would otherwise be impossible, such as sounding a 10-note chord in the lower register and then, while this chord is being continued with the sustain pedal, shifting both hands to the treble range to play a melody and arpeggios over the top of this sustained chord. Unlike the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_organ">pipe organ </a>and harpsichord, two major <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_instrument">keyboard instruments </a>widely used before the piano, the piano allows gradations of volume and tone according to how forcefully or softly a performer presses or strikes the keys.

Most modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, 52 white keys for the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_note">notes </a>of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_major">C major </a>scale (C, D, E, F, G, A and B) and 36 shorter black keys, which are raised above the white keys, and set further back on the keyboard. This means that the piano can play 88 different pitches (or "notes"), spanning a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_(music)">range </a>of a bit over seven octaves. The black keys are for the "<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidental_(music)">accidentals </a>" (F♯ /G♭ , G♯ /A♭ , A♯ /B♭ , C♯ /D♭ , and D♯ /E♭ ), which are needed to play in all twelve keys. More rarely, some pianos have additional keys (which require additional strings), an example of which is the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6sendorfer">Bösendorfer </a>Concert Grand 290 Imperial, which has 97 keys.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-5">[5] </a> Most notes have three strings, except for the bass, which graduates from one to two. The strings are sounded when keys are pressed or struck, and silenced by dampers when the hands are lifted from the keyboard. Although an acoustic piano has strings, it is usually classified as a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percussion_instrument">percussion instrument </a>rather than as a stringed instrument, because the strings are struck rather than plucked (as with a harpsichord or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinet">spinet </a>); in the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornbostel%E2%80%93Sachs">Hornbostel–Sachs </a>system of instrument classification, pianos are considered <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chordophone">chordophones </a>. There are two main types of piano: the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#Grand">grand piano </a>and the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#Upright">upright piano </a>. The grand piano has a better sound and gives the player a more precise control of the keys, and is therefore the preferred choice for every situation in which the available floor-space and the budget will allow, as well as often being considered a requirement in venues where skilled pianists will frequently give public performances. The upright piano, which necessarily involves some compromise in both tone and key action compared to a grand piano of equivalent quality, is nevertheless much more widely used, because it occupies less space (allowing it to fit comfortably in a room where a grand piano would be too large) and is significantly less expensive.

During the 1800s, influenced by the musical trends of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_music_era">Romantic music era </a>, innovations such as the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_iron">cast iron </a>frame (which allowed much greater string tensions) and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliquot_stringing">aliquot stringing </a>gave grand pianos a more powerful sound, with a longer <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustain">sustain </a>and richer tone. In the nineteenth century, a family's piano played the same role that a radio or phonograph played in the twentieth century; when a nineteenth-century family wanted to hear a newly published musical piece or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony">symphony </a>, they could hear it by having a family member play a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_reduction">simplified version </a>on the piano. During the nineteenth century, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_publisher_(sheet_music)">music publishers </a>produced many types of musical works (symphonies, opera overtures, waltzes, etc.) in arrangements for piano, so that music lovers could play and hear the popular pieces of the day in their home. The piano is widely employed in <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_music">classical </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz">jazz </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_music">traditional </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_music">popular </a>music for <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_concerto">solo </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_ensemble">ensemble </a>performances, accompaniment, and for <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_composition">composing </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwriting">songwriting </a>and rehearsals. Although the piano is very heavy and thus not portable and is expensive (in comparison with other widely used accompaniment instruments, such as the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_guitar">acoustic guitar </a>), its musical versatility (i.e., its wide pitch range, ability to play <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_(music)">chords </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics_(music)">louder or softer notes </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphony">two or more independent musical lines at the same time </a>), the large number of musicians – both amateurs and professionals – trained in playing it, and its wide availability in performance venues, schools and rehearsal spaces have made it one of the Western world's most familiar musical instruments.

The piano was founded on earlier technological innovations in <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_instrument">keyboard instruments </a>. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_organ">Pipe organs </a>have been used since antiquity, and as such, the development of pipe organs enabled instrument builders to learn about creating keyboard mechanisms for sounding pitches. The first <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_instrument">string instruments </a>with struck strings were the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammered_dulcimer">hammered dulcimers </a>,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-6">[6] </a> which were used since the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages">Middle Ages </a>in Europe. During the Middle Ages, there were several attempts at creating stringed <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_instrument">keyboard instruments </a>with struck strings.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-7">[7] </a> By the 17th century, the mechanisms of keyboard instruments such as the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clavichord">clavichord </a>and the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpsichord">harpsichord </a>were well developed. In a clavichord, the strings are struck by tangents, while in a harpsichord, they are mechanically plucked by quills when the performer depresses the key. Centuries of work on the mechanism of the harpsichord in particular had shown instrument builders the most effective ways to construct the case, soundboard, bridge, and mechanical action for a keyboard intended to sound strings.

The invention of the piano is credited to <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_Cristofori">Bartolomeo Cristofori </a>(1655–1731) of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padua">Padua </a>, Italy, who was employed by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_de%27_Medici,_Grand_Prince_of_Tuscany">Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany </a>, as the Keeper of the Instruments.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-8">[8] </a> Cristofori was an expert harpsichord maker, and was well acquainted with the body of knowledge on stringed keyboard instruments; this knowledge of keyboard mechanisms and actions helped him to develop the first pianos. It is not known exactly when Cristofori first built a piano. An inventory made by his employers, the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medici">Medici </a>family, indicates the existence of a piano by the year 1700. The three Cristofori pianos that survive today date from the 1720s.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-9">[9] </a> <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-metmuseum-10">[10] </a> Cristofori named the instrument un cimbalo di cipresso di piano e forte ("a keyboard of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress">cypress </a>with soft and loud"), abbreviated over time as pianoforte , fortepiano , and later, simply, piano.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-11">[11] </a>

Cristofori's great success was designing a stringed keyboard instrument in which the notes are struck by a hammer. The hammer must strike the string, but not remain in contact with it, because continued contact would <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damping_(music)">damp </a>the sound and stop the string from vibrating and making sound. This means that after striking the string, the hammer must quickly fall from (or rebound from) the strings. Moreover, the hammer must return to its rest position without bouncing violently (thus preventing notes from being re-played by accidental rebound), and it must return to a position in which it is ready to play again almost immediately after its key is depressed, so the player can repeat the same note rapidly when desired. Cristofori's piano <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(piano)">action </a>was a model for the many approaches to piano actions that followed in the next century.

Cristofori's early instruments were made with thin strings, and were much quieter than the modern piano, but they were much louder and with more <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustain">sustain </a>in comparison to the clavichord—the only previous keyboard instrument capable of dynamic nuance responding to the player's touch, the velocity with which the keys are pressed. While the clavichord allows expressive control of volume and sustain, it is relatively quiet even at its loudest. The harpsichord produces a sufficiently loud sound, especially when a coupler joins each key to both manuals of a two-manual harpsichord, but it offers no dynamic or expressive control over individual notes. The piano in some sense offers the best of both of the older instruments, combining the ability to play at least as loudly as a harpsichord with the ability to continuously vary dynamics by touch.

Cristofori's new instrument remained relatively unknown until an Italian writer, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scipione_Maffei">Scipione Maffei </a>, wrote an enthusiastic article about it in 1711, including a diagram of the mechanism, that was translated into German and widely distributed.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-metmuseum-10">[10] </a> Most of the next generation of piano builders started their work based on reading this article. One of these builders was <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Silbermann">Gottfried Silbermann </a>, better known as an <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_(music)">organ </a>builder. Silbermann's pianos were virtually direct copies of Cristofori's, with one important addition: Silbermann invented the forerunner of the modern <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustain_pedal">sustain pedal </a>, which lifts all the dampers from the strings simultaneously.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-Badura-Skoda_2000_1%E2%80%9316-12">[12] </a> This innovation allows the pianist to sustain the notes that they have depressed even after their fingers are no longer pressing down the keys. As such, by holding a chord with the sustain pedal, pianists can relocate their hands to a different register of the keyboard in preparation for a subsequent section.

Silbermann showed <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach">Johann Sebastian Bach </a>one of his early instruments in the 1730s, but Bach did not like the instrument at that time, saying that the higher notes were too soft to allow a full dynamic range. Although this earned him some animosity from Silbermann, the criticism was apparently heeded.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-Badura-Skoda_2000_1%E2%80%9316-12">[12] </a> Bach did approve of a later instrument he saw in 1747, and even served as an agent in selling Silbermann's pianos. "Instrument: piano et forte genandt"—a reference to the instrument's ability to play soft and loud—was an expression that Bach used to help sell the instrument when he was acting as Silbermann's agent in 1749.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-palmieri-13">[13] </a>

Piano making flourished during the late 18th century in the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Viennese_School">Viennese school </a>, which included <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Andreas_Stein">Johann Andreas Stein </a>(who worked in <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg">Augsburg </a>, Germany) and the Viennese makers <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nannette_Streicher">Nannette Streicher </a>(daughter of Stein) and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Walter">Anton Walter </a>. Viennese-style pianos were built with wood frames, two strings per note, and leather-covered hammers. Some of these Viennese pianos had the opposite coloring of modern-day pianos; the natural keys were black and the accidental keys white.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-vienna-14">[14] </a> It was for such instruments that <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart </a>composed his <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_concerto">concertos </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_sonata">sonatas </a>, and replicas of them are built in the 21st century for use in <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authentic_performance">authentic-instrument performance </a>of his music. The pianos of Mozart's day had a softer tone than 21st century pianos or English pianos, with less sustaining power. The term <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortepiano">fortepiano </a> now distinguishes these early instruments (and modern re-creations) from later pianos.

In the period from about 1790 to 1860, the Mozart-era piano underwent tremendous changes that led to the modern structure of the instrument. This revolution was in response to a preference by composers and pianists for a more powerful, sustained piano sound, and made possible by the ongoing <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution">Industrial Revolution </a>with resources such as high-quality <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_wire">piano wire </a>for <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strings_(music)">strings </a>, and precision <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casting_(metalworking)">casting </a>for the production of massive <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_iron">iron frames </a>that could withstand the tremendous tension of the strings.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-15">[15] </a> Over time, the tonal range of the piano was also increased from the five <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave">octaves </a>of Mozart's day to the seven octave (or more) range found on today's pianos.

Early technological progress in the late 1700s owed much to the firm of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadwood_and_Sons">Broadwood </a>. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Broadwood">John Broadwood </a>joined with another Scot, Robert Stodart, and a Dutchman, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americus_Backers">Americus Backers </a>, to design a piano in the harpsichord case—the origin of the "grand". This was achieved by about 1777. They quickly gained a reputation for the splendour and powerful tone of their instruments, with Broadwood constructing pianos that were progressively larger, louder, and more robustly constructed. They sent pianos to both <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn">Joseph Haydn </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven">Ludwig van Beethoven </a>, and were the first firm to build pianos with a range of more than five octaves: five octaves and a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_fifth">fifth </a>during the 1790s, six octaves by 1810 (Beethoven used the extra notes in his later works), and seven octaves by 1820. The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna">Viennese </a>makers similarly followed these trends; however the two schools used different piano actions: Broadwoods used a more robust action, whereas Viennese instruments were more sensitive.

By the 1820s, the center of piano innovation had shifted to Paris, where the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleyel_et_Cie">Pleyel </a>firm manufactured pianos used by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin">Frédéric Chopin </a>and the Érard firm manufactured those used by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Liszt">Franz Liszt </a>. In 1821, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9bastien_%C3%89rard">Sébastien Érard </a>invented the double escapement <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(piano)">action </a>, which incorporated a repetition lever (also called the balancier ) that permitted repeating a note even if the key had not yet risen to its maximum vertical position. This facilitated rapid playing of repeated notes, a musical device exploited by Liszt. When the invention became public, as revised by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Herz">Henri Herz </a>, the double escapement action gradually became standard in grand pianos, and is still incorporated into all grand pianos currently produced in the 2000s. Other improvements of the mechanism included the use of firm felt hammer coverings instead of layered leather or cotton. Felt, which <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Henri_Pape">Jean-Henri Pape </a>was the first to use in pianos in 1826, was a more consistent material, permitting wider dynamic ranges as hammer weights and string tension increased. The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sostenuto">sostenuto pedal </a>(<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#Pedals">see below </a>), invented in 1844 by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Louis_Boisselot">Jean-Louis Boisselot </a>and copied by the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steinway_%26_Sons">Steinway </a>firm in 1874, allowed a wider range of effects.

One innovation that helped create the powerful sound of the modern piano was the use of a massive, strong, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_iron">cast iron </a>frame. Also called the "plate", the iron frame sits atop the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_board_(music)">soundboard </a>, and serves as the primary bulwark against the force of string <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tension_(physics)">tension </a>that can exceed 20 tons (180 kilonewtons) in a modern grand piano. The single piece cast iron frame was patented in 1825 in <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston">Boston </a>by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpheus_Babcock">Alpheus Babcock </a>,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-isacoff-16">[16] </a> combining the metal hitch pin plate (1821, claimed by Broadwood on behalf of Samuel Hervé) and resisting bars (Thom and Allen, 1820, but also claimed by Broadwood and Érard). Babcock later worked for the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickering_and_Sons">Chickering & Mackays </a>firm who patented the first full iron frame for grand pianos in 1843. Composite forged metal frames were preferred by many European makers until the American system was fully adopted by the early 20th century. The increased structural integrity of the iron frame allowed the use of thicker, tenser, and more numerous strings. In 1834, the Webster & Horsfal firm of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham">Birmingham </a>brought out a form of piano wire made from <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_steel">cast steel </a>; it was "so superior to the iron wire that the English firm soon had a monopoly."<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-Dolge-17">[17] </a> But a better steel wire was soon created in 1840 by the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna">Viennese </a>firm of Martin Miller,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-Dolge-17">[17] </a> and a period of innovation and intense competition ensued, with rival brands of piano wire being tested against one another at international competitions, leading ultimately to the modern form of piano wire.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-18">[18] </a>

Several important advances included changes to the way the piano was strung. The use of a "choir" of three strings, rather than two for all but the lowest notes, enhanced the richness and complexity of the treble. The use of a Capo d’Astro bar instead of agraffes in the uppermost treble allowed the hammers to strike the strings in their optimal position, greatly increasing that area's power. The implementation of over-stringing (also called <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-stringing">cross-stringing </a>), in which the strings are placed in two separate planes, each with its own <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_(instrument)">bridge </a>height, allowed greater length to the bass strings and optimized the transition from unwound tenor strings to the iron or copper-wound bass strings. Over-stringing was invented by Pape during the 1820s, and first patented for use in grand pianos in the United States by Henry Steinway Jr. in 1859.

Some piano makers added variations to enhance the tone of each note, such as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_Taskin">Pascal Taskin </a>(1788),<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-19">[19] </a> <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collard_%26_Collard">Collard & Collard </a>(1821), and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Bl%C3%BCthner">Julius Blüthner </a>, who developed <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliquot_stringing">Aliquot stringing </a>in 1893. These systems were used to strengthen the tone of the highest register of notes on the piano, which up until this time were viewed as being too weak-sounding. Each used more distinctly ringing, undamped vibrations of sympathetically vibrating strings to add to the tone, except the Blüthner <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliquot_stringing">Aliquot stringing </a>, which uses an additional fourth string in the upper two treble sections. While the hitchpins of these separately suspended Aliquot strings are raised slightly above the level of the usual tri-choir strings, they are not struck by the hammers but rather are damped by attachments of the usual dampers. Eager to copy these effects, Theodore Steinway invented duplex scaling , which used short lengths of non-speaking wire bridged by the "aliquot" throughout much of the upper range of the piano, always in locations that caused them to vibrate sympathetically in conformity with their respective overtones—typically in doubled octaves and twelfths.

Some early pianos had shapes and designs that are no longer in use. The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_piano">square piano </a>(not truly square, but rectangular) was cross strung at an extremely acute angle above the hammers, with the keyboard set along the long side. This design is attributed to Christian Ernst Friderici, a pupil of Gottfried Silbermann, in Germany, and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Zumpe">Johannes Zumpe </a>in England,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-20">[20] </a> and it was improved by changes first introduced by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume-Lebrecht_Petzold">Guillaume-Lebrecht Petzold </a>in France and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpheus_Babcock">Alpheus Babcock </a>in the United States.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-21">[21] </a> Square pianos were built in great numbers through the 1840s in Europe and the 1890s in the United States, and saw the most visible change of any type of piano: the iron-framed, over-strung squares manufactured by Steinway & Sons were more than two-and-a-half times the size of Zumpe's wood-framed instruments from a century before. Their overwhelming popularity was due to inexpensive construction and price, although their tone and performance were limited by narrow soundboards, simple actions and string spacing that made proper hammer alignment difficult.

The tall, vertically strung upright grand was arranged like a grand set on end, with the soundboard and bridges above the keys, and tuning pins below them. "Giraffe pianos", "pyramid pianos" and "lyre pianos" were arranged in a somewhat similar fashion, using evocatively shaped cases. The very tall cabinet piano was introduced about 1805 and was built through the 1840s. It had strings arranged vertically on a continuous frame with bridges extended nearly to the floor, behind the keyboard and very large sticker action . The short cottage upright or pianino with vertical stringing, made popular by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wornum">Robert Wornum </a>around 1815, was built into the 20th century. They are informally called birdcage pianos because of their prominent damper mechanism. The oblique upright, popularized in France by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanchet_(harpsichord_makers)">Roller & Blanchet </a>during the late 1820s, was diagonally strung throughout its compass. The tiny <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinet">spinet </a>upright was manufactured from the mid-1930s until recent times. The low position of the hammers required the use of a "drop action" to preserve a reasonable keyboard height. Modern upright and grand pianos attained their present, 2000-era forms by the end of the 19th century. While improvements have been made in manufacturing processes, and many individual details of the instrument continue to receive attention, and a small number of acoustic pianos in the 2010s are produced with <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI">MIDI </a>recording and digital <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_module">sound module </a>-triggering capabilities, the 19th century was the era of the most dramatic innovations and modifications of the instrument.

Modern pianos have two basic configurations, the grand piano and the upright piano, with various styles of each. There are also specialized and novelty pianos, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_piano">electric pianos </a>based on electromechanical designs, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_piano">electronic pianos </a>that synthesize piano-like tones using oscillators, and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_piano">digital pianos </a>using <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_sample">digital samples </a>of acoustic piano sounds.

In grand pianos the frame and strings are horizontal, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. The action lies beneath the strings, and uses gravity as its means of return to a state of rest. Grand pianos range in length from approximately 1.5 meters (4 ft 11 in) to 3 meters (9 ft 10 in). Some of the lengths have been given more-or-less customary names, which vary from time to time and place to place, but might include:

<ul><li>Baby grand – around 1.5 meters (4 ft 11 in) </li><li>Parlor grand or boudoir grand – 1.7 to 2.2 meters (5 ft 7 in – 7 ft 3 in) </li><li>Concert grand – between 2.2 and 3 meters (7 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in)) </li> </ul>

All else being equal, longer pianos with longer strings have larger, richer sound and lower <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inharmonicity">inharmonicity </a>of the strings. Inharmonicity is the degree to which the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency">frequencies </a>of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone">overtones </a>(known as partials or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic">harmonics </a>) sound <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp_(music)">sharp </a>relative to whole multiples of the fundamental frequency. This results from the piano's considerable string stiffness; as a struck string decays its harmonics vibrate, not from their termination, but from a point very slightly toward the center (or more flexible part) of the string. The higher the partial, the further sharp it runs. Pianos with shorter and thicker string (i.e., small pianos with short string scales) have more inharmonicity. The greater the inharmonicity, the more the ear perceives it as harshness of tone.

The inharmonicity of piano strings requires that octaves be <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-octave">stretched </a>, or tuned to a lower octave's corresponding sharp overtone rather than to a theoretically correct octave. If octaves are not stretched, single octaves sound in tune, but double—and notably triple—octaves are unacceptably narrow. Stretching a small piano's octaves to match its inherent inharmonicity level creates an imbalance among all the instrument's intervallic relationships. In a concert grand, however, the octave "stretch" retains harmonic balance, even when aligning treble notes to a harmonic produced from three octaves below. This lets close and widespread octaves sound pure, and produces virtually beatless <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_fifth">perfect fifths </a>. This gives the concert grand a brilliant, singing and sustaining tone quality—one of the principal reasons that full-size grands are used in the concert hall. Smaller grands satisfy the space and cost needs of domestic use; as well, they are used in some small teaching studios and smaller performance venues.

Upright pianos, also called vertical pianos, are more compact due to the vertical structure of the frame and strings. The mechanical action structure of the upright piano was invented in London, England in 1826 by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wornum">Robert Wornum </a>, and upright models became the most popular model for domestic use.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-22">[22] </a> Upright pianos took less space than a grand piano, and as such they were a better size for use in private homes for domestic music-making and practice. The hammers move horizontally, and return to their resting position via springs, which are susceptible to degradation. Upright pianos with unusually tall frames and long strings were sometimes marketed as upright grand pianos, but that label is misleading. Some authors classify modern pianos according to their height and to modifications of the action that are necessary to accommodate the height. Upright pianos are generally less expensive than grand pianos. Upright pianos are widely used in churches, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_center">community centers </a>, schools, music conservatories and university music programs as rehearsal and practice instruments, and they are popular models for in-home purchase.

<ul><li>The top of a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinet">spinet </a>model barely rises above the keyboard. Unlike all other pianos, the spinet action is located below the keys, operated by vertical wires that are attached to the backs of the keys. </li><li>Console pianos, which have a compact action (shorter hammers than a large upright has), but because the console's action is above the keys rather than below them as in a spinet, a console almost always plays better than a spinet does. Console pianos are a few inches shorter than studio models. </li><li>Studio pianos are around 107 to 114 cm (42–45 in) tall. This is the shortest cabinet that can accommodate a full-sized action located above the keyboard. </li><li>Anything taller than a studio piano is called an upright. (Technically, any piano with a vertically oriented soundboard could be called an upright, but that word is often reserved for the full-size models.) </li> </ul>

The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_piano">toy piano </a>, introduced in the 19th century, is a small piano-like instrument, that generally uses round metal rods to produce sound, rather than strings. The US <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress">Library of Congress </a>recognizes the toy piano as a unique instrument with the subject designation, Toy Piano Scores: M175 T69.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-23">[23] </a>

In 1863, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henri_Fourneaux&action=edit&redlink=1">Henri Fourneaux </a>invented the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_piano">player piano </a>, which plays itself from a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_roll">piano roll </a>. A machine perforates a performance recording into rolls of paper, and the player piano replays the performance using pneumatic devices. Modern equivalents of the player piano include the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6sendorfer">Bösendorfer </a>CEUS, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disklavier">Yamaha Disklavier </a>and QRS Pianomation,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-24">[24] </a> using solenoids and MIDI rather than pneumatics and rolls.

A <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_piano">silent piano </a>is an acoustic piano having an option to silence the strings by means of an interposing hammer bar. They are designed for private silent practice, to avoid disturbing others.

<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edward_Ryley&action=edit&redlink=1">Edward Ryley </a>invented the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposing_piano">transposing piano </a>in 1801. This rare instrument has a lever under the keyboard to move the keyboard relative to the strings, so a pianist can play in a familiar key while the music sounds in a different key.

The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minipiano">minipiano </a>is an instrument patented by the Brasted brothers of the Eavestaff Ltd. piano company in 1934.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-25">[25] </a> This instrument has a braceless back and a soundboard positioned below the keys—long metal rods pull on the levers to make the hammers strike the strings. The first model, known as the Pianette , was unique in that the tuning pins extended through the instrument, so it could be tuned at the front.

The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepared_piano">prepared piano </a>, present in some contemporary art music from the 20th and 21st century is a piano which has objects placed inside it to alter its sound, or has had its mechanism changed in some other way. The scores for music for prepared piano specify the modifications, for example, instructing the pianist to insert pieces of rubber, paper, metal screws, or washers in between the strings. These objects mute the strings or alter their timbre.

The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_piano">pedal piano </a>is a rare type of piano that has a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_keyboard">pedal keyboard </a>at the base, designed to be played by the feet. The pedals may play the existing bass strings on the piano, or rarely, the pedals may have their own set of bass strings and hammer mechanisms. While the typical intended use for pedal pianos is to enable a keyboardist to practice <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_organ">pipe organ </a>music at home, a few players of pedal piano use it as a performance instrument.

<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadia_Sabra">Wadia Sabra </a>had a microtone piano manufactured by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleyel">Pleyel </a>in 1920.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-26">[26] </a> <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdallah_Chahine">Abdallah Chahine </a>later constructed his quartertone "Oriental piano" with the help of Austrian <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frederick_Hoffmann&action=edit&redlink=1">Hofmann </a>.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-27">[27] </a> <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-28">[28] </a>

With <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_technology">technological advances </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_amplifier">amplified </a><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_piano">electric pianos </a>(1929), <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_piano">electronic pianos </a>(1970s), and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_piano">digital pianos </a>(1980s) have been developed. The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_piano">electric piano </a>became a popular instrument in the 1960s and 1970s genres of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_fusion">jazz fusion </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_music">funk music </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music">rock music </a>. The first <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_piano">electric pianos </a>from the late 1920s used metal strings with a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_pickup">magnetic pickup </a>, an <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_amplifier">amplifier </a>and a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker">loudspeaker </a>. The electric pianos that became most popular in <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_music">pop </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music">rock music </a>in the 1960s and 1970s, such as the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Rhodes">Fender Rhodes </a>use metal tines in place of strings and use electromagnetic <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_(music_technology)">pickups </a>similar to those on an <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_guitar">electric guitar </a>. The resulting electrical, analogue signal can then be amplified with a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_amplifier">keyboard amplifier </a>or electronically manipulated with <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_unit">effects units </a>. In classical music, electric pianos are mainly used as inexpensive rehearsal or practice instruments. However, electric pianos, particularly the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Rhodes">Fender Rhodes </a>, became important instruments in 1970s <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk">funk </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_fusion">jazz fusion </a>and in some <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music">rock music </a>genres.

<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_piano">Electronic pianos </a>are non-acoustic; they do not have strings, tines or hammers, but are a type of analog <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer">synthesizer </a>that simulates or imitates piano sounds using <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscillators">oscillators </a>and filters that synthesize the sound of an acoustic piano.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-29">[29] </a> They must be connected to a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_amplifier">keyboard amplifier </a>and speaker to produce sound (however, some electronic keyboards have a built-in amp and speaker). Alternatively, a person can play an electronic piano with <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphone">headphones </a>in quieter settings.

<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_piano">Digital pianos </a>are also non-acoustic and do not have strings or hammers. They use <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(signal_processing)">digital audio sampling </a>technology to reproduce the acoustic sound of each piano note accurately. They also must be connected to a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_amplifier">power amplifier </a>and speaker to produce sound (however, most digital pianos have a built-in amp and speaker). Alternatively, a person can practice with <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphone">headphones </a>to avoid disturbing others. Digital pianos can include sustain pedals, weighted or semi-weighted keys, multiple voice options (e.g., sampled or synthesized imitations of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_piano">electric piano </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_organ">Hammond organ </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin">violin </a>, etc.), and MIDI interfaces. MIDI inputs and outputs connect a digital piano to other electronic instruments or musical devices. For example, a digital piano's MIDI out signal could be connected by a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patch_cord">patch cord </a>to a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synth_module">synth module </a>, which would allow the performer to use the keyboard of the digital piano to play modern <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer">synthesizer </a>sounds. Early digital pianos tended to lack a full set of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_pedals">pedals </a>but the synthesis software of later models such as the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_Clavinova">Yamaha Clavinova </a>series <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_modelling_synthesis">synthesised </a>the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympathetic_strings">sympathetic vibration </a>of the other strings (such as when the sustain pedal is depressed) and full pedal sets can now be replicated. The processing power of digital pianos has enabled highly realistic pianos using multi-gigabyte piano sample sets with as many as ninety recordings, each lasting many seconds, for each key under different conditions (e.g., there are samples of each note being struck softly, loudly, with a sharp attack, etc.). Additional samples emulate sympathetic resonance of the strings when the sustain pedal is depressed, key release, the drop of the dampers, and simulations of techniques such as re-pedalling.

Digital, MIDI-equipped, pianos can output a stream of MIDI data, or record and play via a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD_ROM">CD ROM </a>or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive">USB flash drive </a>using MIDI format files, similar in concept to a pianola. The MIDI file records the physics of a note rather than its resulting sound and recreates the sounds from its physical properties (e.g., which note was struck and with what velocity). Computer based software, such as Modartt's 2006 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pianoteq">Pianoteq </a>, can be used to manipulate the MIDI stream in real time or subsequently to edit it. This type of software may use no samples but synthesize a sound based on aspects of the physics that went into the creation of a played note.

In the 2000s, some pianos include an acoustic grand piano or upright piano combined with MIDI electronic features. Such a piano can be played acoustically, or the keyboard can be used as a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI_controller">MIDI controller </a>, which can trigger a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer_module">synthesizer module </a>or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sampler">music sampler </a>. Some electronic feature-equipped pianos such as the Yamaha Disklavier electronic player piano, introduced in 1987, are outfitted with electronic sensors for recording and electromechanical solenoids for player piano-style playback. Sensors record the movements of the keys, hammers, and pedals during a performance, and the system saves the performance data as a Standard MIDI File (SMF). On playback, the solenoids move the keys and pedals and thus reproduce the original performance. Modern Disklaviers typically include an array of electronic features, such as a built-in tone generator for playing back MIDI accompaniment tracks, speakers, MIDI connectivity that supports communication with computing devices and external MIDI instruments, additional ports for audio and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMPTE">SMPTE </a><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input/output">input/output </a>(I/O), and Internet connectivity. Disklaviers have been manufactured in the form of upright, baby grand, and grand piano styles (including a nine-foot concert grand). Reproducing systems have ranged from relatively simple, playback-only models to professional models that can record performance data at resolutions that exceed the limits of normal MIDI data. The unit mounted under the keyboard of the piano can play MIDI or audio software on its CD.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-30">[30] </a>

Pianos can have over 12,000 individual parts,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-steinwayfacts-31">[31] </a> supporting six functional features: keyboard, hammers, dampers, bridge, soundboard, and strings.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-32">[32] </a> Many parts of a piano are made of materials selected for strength and longevity. This is especially true of the outer rim. It is most commonly made of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardwood">hardwood </a>, typically <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple#Timber">hard maple </a>or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech">beech </a>, and its massiveness serves as an essentially immobile object from which the flexible soundboard can best vibrate. According to Harold A. Conklin,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-33">[33] </a> the purpose of a sturdy rim is so that, "... the vibrational energy will stay as much as possible in the soundboard instead of dissipating uselessly in the case parts, which are inefficient radiators of sound."

Hardwood rims are commonly made by laminating thin, hence flexible, strips of hardwood, bending them to the desired shape immediately after the application of glue.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-34">[34] </a> The bent plywood system was developed by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.F._Theodore_Steinway">C.F. Theodore Steinway </a>in 1880 to reduce manufacturing time and costs. Previously, the rim was constructed from several pieces of solid wood, joined and veneered, and European makers used this method well into the 20th century.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-35">[35] </a> A modern exception, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6sendorfer">Bösendorfer </a>, the Austrian manufacturer of high-quality pianos, constructs their inner rims from solid spruce,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-Fine,-36">[36] </a> the same wood that the soundboard is made from, which is notched to allow it to bend; rather than isolating the rim from vibration, their "resonance case principle" allows the framework to resonate more freely with the soundboard, creating additional coloration and complexity of the overall sound.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-37">[37] </a>

The thick wooden posts on the underside (grands) or back (uprights) of the piano stabilize the rim structure, and are made of softwood for stability. The requirement of structural strength, fulfilled by stout hardwood and thick metal, makes a piano heavy. Even a small upright can weigh 136 kg (300 lb), and the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steinway_%26_Sons">Steinway </a>concert grand (Model D) weighs 480 kg (1,060 lb). The largest piano available on the general market, the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fazioli">Fazioli </a>F308, weighs 570 kg (1,260 lb).<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-Grove-38">[38] </a> <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-F308-39">[39] </a>

The pinblock, which holds the tuning pins in place, is another area where toughness is important. It is made of hardwood (typically hard maple or beech), and is laminated for strength, stability and longevity. Piano strings (also called <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_wire">piano wire </a>), which must endure years of extreme tension and hard blows, are made of high carbon steel. They are manufactured to vary as little as possible in diameter, since all deviations from uniformity introduce tonal distortion. The bass strings of a piano are made of a steel core wrapped with copper wire, to increase their mass whilst retaining flexibility. If all strings throughout the piano's compass were individual (monochord), the massive bass strings would overpower the upper ranges. Makers compensate for this with the use of double (bichord) strings in the tenor and triple (trichord) strings throughout the treble.

The plate (harp), or metal frame, of a piano is usually made of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_iron">cast iron </a>. A massive plate is advantageous. Since the strings vibrate from the plate at both ends, an insufficiently massive plate would absorb too much of the vibrational energy that should go through the bridge to the soundboard. While some manufacturers use cast steel in their plates, most prefer cast iron. Cast iron is easy to cast and machine, has flexibility sufficient for piano use, is much more resistant to deformation than steel, and is especially tolerant of compression. Plate casting is an art, since dimensions are crucial and the iron shrinks about one percent during cooling. Including an extremely large piece of metal in a piano is potentially an aesthetic handicap. Piano makers overcome this by polishing, painting, and decorating the plate. Plates often include the manufacturer's ornamental medallion. In an effort to make pianos lighter, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoa">Alcoa </a>worked with Winter and Company piano manufacturers to make pianos using an <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_piano_plate">aluminum plate </a>during the 1940s. Aluminum piano plates were not widely accepted, and were discontinued.

The numerous parts of a piano action are generally made from <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardwood">hardwood </a>, such as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple">maple </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech">beech </a>, and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornbeam">hornbeam </a>; however, since World War II, makers have also incorporated plastics. Early plastics used in some pianos in the late 1940s and 1950s, proved disastrous when they lost strength after a few decades of use. Beginning in 1961, the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_(state)">New York </a>branch of the Steinway firm incorporated <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene">Teflon </a>, a synthetic material developed by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuPont">DuPont </a>, for some parts of its Permafree grand action in place of cloth bushings, but abandoned the experiment in 1982 due to excessive friction and a "clicking" that developed over time; Teflon is "humidity stable" whereas the wood adjacent to the Teflon swells and shrinks with humidity changes, causing problems. More recently, the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawai_(company)">Kawai </a>firm built pianos with action parts made of more modern materials such as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_fiber_reinforced_plastic">carbon fiber reinforced plastic </a>, and the piano parts manufacturer Wessell, Nickel and Gross has launched a new line of carefully engineered composite parts. Thus far these parts have performed reasonably, but it will take decades to know if they equal the longevity of wood.

In all but the lowest quality pianos the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_board_(music)">soundboard </a>is made of solid <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spruce">spruce </a>(that is, spruce boards glued together along the side grain). Spruce's high ratio of strength to weight minimizes <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_impedance">acoustic impedance </a>while offering strength sufficient to withstand the downward force of the strings. The best piano makers use quarter-sawn, defect-free spruce of close annular grain, carefully seasoning it over a long period before fabricating the soundboards. This is the identical material that is used in quality acoustic guitar soundboards. Cheap pianos often have <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plywood">plywood </a>soundboards.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-40">[40] </a>

The design of the piano hammers requires having the hammer felt be soft enough so that it will not create loud, very high harmonics that a hard hammer will cause. The hammer must be lightweight enough to move swiftly when a key is pressed; yet at the same time, it must be strong enough so that it can hit strings hard when the player strikes the keys forcefully for fortissimo playing or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sforzando_(musical_direction)">sforzando </a>accents.

In the early years of piano construction, keys were commonly made from sugar pine. In the 2010s, they are usually made of spruce or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basswood">basswood </a>. Spruce is typically used in high-quality pianos. Black keys were traditionally made of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebony">ebony </a>, and the white keys were covered with strips of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory">ivory </a>. However, since ivory-yielding species are now endangered and protected by treaty, or are illegal in some countries, makers use plastics almost exclusively. Also, ivory tends to chip more easily than plastic. Legal ivory can still be obtained in limited quantities. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_Corporation">Yamaha </a>developed a plastic called Ivorite intended to mimic the look and feel of ivory; other manufacturers have done likewise.

Almost every modern piano has 52 white keys and 36 black keys for a total of 88 keys (seven <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave">octaves </a>plus a minor third, from A0 to C8 ). Many older pianos only have 85 keys (seven octaves from A0 to A7 ). Some piano manufacturers have extended the range further in one or both directions. For example, the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_B%C3%B6sendorfer">Imperial Bösendorfer </a>has nine extra keys at the bass end, giving a total of 97 keys and an eight octave range. These extra keys are sometimes hidden under a small hinged lid that can cover the keys to prevent visual disorientation for pianists unfamiliar with the extra keys, or the colours of the extra white keys are reversed (black instead of white). More recently, Australian manufacturer <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_%26_Sons">Stuart & Sons </a>created a piano with 108 keys, going from C0 to B8 , covering nine full octaves.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#cite_note-41">[41] </a> The extra keys are the same as the other keys in appearance.

The extra keys are added primarily for increased resonance from the associated strings; that is, they vibrate sympathetically with other strings whenever the damper pedal is depressed and thus give a fuller tone. Only a very small number of works composed for piano actually use these notes.

Piano - Wikipedia

How many white keys are there on a piano?

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