Piano

History
The piano was invented in Florence in 1709 by Bartolomeo Cristofori, an
Italian harpsichord maker. Many before had tried unsuccessfully to invent
this instrument, but it was not until Cristofori invented the escapement (an
action which allows the hammer to fall back slightly from the string after
striking) that the instrument became practical. Essentially he removed the
jack row from a harpsichord replacing it with felt dampers, then provided
little hammers covered with leather for the striking mechanisms.
Differently from the harpsichord, the new instrument finally allowed to
control dynamics, as suggested by the name gravecembalo with piano and
forte.
Later, two German men Andreas Stein and Johann Silbermann made
further improvements, including larger frames and more refined actions.
Than in England, the Broadwood company introduced the foot pedal and
partial metal frame. The most important improvement on the structure
came with the Steinway Company in 1850s, which finally introduced the
instrument we know nowadays.

Description
The modern piano has a row of 88 keys, that is 52 white keys and 36 black
keys; each key is linked to three strings, except for lower register.
There are two many types of piano: the grand piano and the upright
piano.
This instrument has also three pedals: from the left we have the soft pedal
(una corda), sostenuto and sustain pedal. In the upright piano, instead of
the sostenuto pedal we have the practice pedal (sordina). The sustain pedal
lifts the dampers from all the keys, sustaining all played notes;the soft pedal
(above all in grand pianos) shifts the entire keyboard to the right so that the
hammers hit two of the three strings for each note and the effect is to
soften the note, giving that a different “colour” or tone.
Talking about the description of grand piano, the frame and the strings are
horizontal, with the strings extending away from the keyboard, and it is
also recognisable by its big wing when it is opened.
Mechanism
Talking about its mechanism, maybe it’s one of the most complex.
When a key is depressed, the corresponding hammer rises to strike the
string (or strings) causing the highly-tensioned strings to vibrate. This
energy is transferred to the soundboard through a bridge, a component
fixed to the top of the soundboard, so as it resonates intensely. The
resonating vibration are perceived as tone when a piano is played.
Innerly happens a complex chain action among all its mechanical
components.

The piano key is a lever that pivots on a balance pin. When the player
depresses the key, the tail rises and the capstan screw in the key pushes up
the whippen. The free end of the whippen rises, taking with it a piece
called jack, or escapement lever, and the repetition lever.
The jack pushes the knuckle, a roll of felt that is fixed to the hammer
shank. The jack's upward motion is stopped when it hits the regulating
button. The hammer flies up away from the jack and strikes the
appropriate strings. The repetition lever also rises but it stays raised until
the key is released.
The hammer falls back, but only partway. It is stopped by the knuckle (6)
hitting the raised repetition lever. If the key is partly released,
the hammer moves free of the backcheck, and the repetition lever stays
raised. If the player again depresses the partially released key, the jack can
once more push the knuckle and hammer shank upward. This system
allows rapid repetition of notes before the key and hammer have time to
return to their original positions. It was an important improvement over
early, simpler piano actions.
Meanwhile, the tail of the key has also pushed up the damper lever, which
lifts the damper off the strings for that key. When the key is even partially
released, the damper falls back onto the strings and silences the note.