History of Piano

http://www.oldandsold.com/articles04/music8.shtml
The piano was invented by Cristofori and was invented in the early1600’s. The main part
of Cristofori’s invention, was that it could play both loud and soft, which is why it used
to be called the piano-forte. When the piano was first invented, the strings were not hit
with a hammer. Instead they were plucked. When the did have a hammer, it was first
covered in leather, making the sound very harsh when it would hit the strings.
When it was first invented, it was kind of ignored and forgotten, but about 7 years later it
was re-invented by a man named Silberman, from Germany. From the time that the
piano started and the way it is now, it has only had minor changes, but enough to make it
sound much better. The pedal wasn’t invented until about 1775.

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-history-of-the-piano-a135808
In order of which the piano-like instruments first came is the monochord, clavichord,
harpsichord, and then the piano came.

Instruments found in keyboard family:

Organ, piano, clavichord, harpsichord, accordion, keyboard,
http://www.empire.k12.ca.us/capistrano/Mike/capmusic/instruments/instruments.htm#Ke
yboard%20Family
celesta, synthesizer,
http://www.classicol.com/classical.cfm?
music=instrumentInfo&section=KeyboardHistory&title=Keyboard%20Family
%20History
Virginals, and spinet.

How instrument was used:

At weddings and at own recitels. It didn’t have a specific time to be played.

Professional piano players:

Mozart and Beethoven

2 pieces of information I found interesting:

That at first, the piano strings were plucked and not hit with a hammer when you hit a
key.
That the pedals weren’t invented for a long time even after the piano had been invented.