THE PIANOBY: CHRISTINA

CARSLEY

The HistoryIn The 1700s Bartolomeo Cristofori first invented the piano e forte meaning harpsichord loud and soft.  This was later shortened to just piano.

In 1739 the first upright piano was created by Domenico del Mela. 

In 1771 David Propert was the first pianist to play publically in the "New World."  He performed in Boston, Massachusetts.

In the 1740s Gottfried Silbermann created the damper pedal.  This makes the piano louder longer and for this it is called the sustain pedal.

In 1777 Broadwood & Sons produced the first "grand" piano.

In 1774 John Joseph Merlin Created the "Una Corda Pedal."  This makes the piano softer by moving the mallet to hit two strings instead of three.

In 1901 the first player piano was created by Welte-Mignon.  The player piano doesn't need a pianist to play beautiful music. 

By 1919 180,000 player pianos were manufactured in the U.S. alone.  This huge demand suddenly decreaced in 1929 because of the great depression.  In 1935 it stopped all together becasue of WWII.

In 2000 the piano celebrated it's 300th aniversary of creation.

In 2009 the piano is still going strong and is just as important today as it was 300 years ago!

Who Plays It:

ANYONE!!!But there are some famous people too.  These

three composers overcame their disabilities and were still able to produce beautiful music.  This

shows that with hard work and desire anyone can play the piano successfully.

:)

Famous Composers With Disabilities:

Beethoven: Beethoven started loosing his hearing by the age 31 and was compleately deaf by 42.  Despite this he is still one of the most famous composers ever.

Ray Charles: Ray Charles was not born blind but became blind by the age of seven due to an undiagnosed case of glaucoma. 

Stevie Wonder: Stevie Wonder was not born blind but has been blind since birth.  He was born prematurely, and in a rush to keep him alive they gave him too much oxygen leaving him blind for the rest of his life.  At thirteen he had a number one hit and still holds the record for youngest person to do so.

The Types:

Horizontal: Horizontal pianos include the Baby Grand, the Petite Grand, the Medium Grand, the Parlor Grand, the Semi-concert or Ballroom, and the Concert Grand.

Vertical: The vertical pianos are the Spinet, the Console, the Studio, and the Upright. 

Digital: Keyboards

Acoustic: Pianos that are unelectronic and use strings.

Yeah...so thats pretty much it...

THE END:P