We consider how many keys the piano had and now is

There are so many interesting questions in the theory of music, the answers to which sometimes even the musicians themselves do not know. For example, very few people think about how many keys the piano has, and why it happens that one instrument has a more extensive scale than the other. That is why now we will try to understand this and once and for all remember, on what all the same number of notes we have to play and why.

The length of the scale and the age of the instrument

Pianoforte is a keyboard-stringed instrument that has many predecessors. Among them you can name the most famous - clavichord and harpsichord. They appeared on the planet around the 13th century, and the length of their scale was much smaller than that of the modern analog. When closer to the 18th century, mankind created the first grand piano, its parameters and sound characteristics were much wider. The piano keys have become larger, and the structure of each octave has also changed. There were new sounds, new halftones, thanks to which the music began to sound more full and beautiful. And answering the question about how many keys the piano had in those years, we can say that their number was equated to 85.

How to count the keys of a grand piano?

As is known to all musicians, any key-string instrument is built on octaves, that is, its scale is conventionally divided into sections, each of which has seven sounds. However, it should be remembered that in this case only those notes that are consonant with the white keys are included in the score, while the black ones remain to create harmonic and melodic frets. Thus, considering the number of octaves and multiplying this number by seven, we learn how many white keys the piano has. Well, let's count: in full on any instrument there are kontraktava, big, small, first, second, third and fourth. However, often we find additional notes at the bottom (3-4) and at the top of the scale. In total, the number is 49 +/- 6, that is, approximately 55 white keys.

We pass to the calculation of black

To correctly answer the question: how many keys the piano has, one must also count the number of blacks, and add two indicators. We do this in a similar way, focusing on the number of octaves. In this case, there will be five black sounds in each of them, that is, a total of 35, also +/- 2 or three notes totaling 37. 55 + 37 will be 92. However, we remember that this number is very approximate. In some cases, the piano keys form the full fifth octave (the highest), and sometimes almost to the bottom note "to" comes subcontract. Similarly, there are tools in which not even the fourth octave and the kontraktava are completely made. Then the number of keys in the piano can be from 85 to 88 sounds.

How does the number of sounds affect a musician's game?

As mentioned above, the number of notes on the piano can be completely different. The scales reach both the highest positions, and the lowest. However, this does not in any way affect the quality and beauty of the music performed. The fact is that in the old days all clavier representatives (the so-called keyboard-string instruments) had a much smaller scale, and the composers who wrote their masterpieces on them could not simply go beyond the existing series. Therefore, today, playing sonatas and fantasies of Mozart, Chopin, Handel and other classics, you will not experience a "lack" in the upper or lower part of the piano. An exception can be works written by contemporary composers. However, most often they can be performed on a synthesizer, where the pitch of the sound changes in a completely different way.

A short excursion into the piano

Those who are interested in music, it will be interesting to know. Many believe that the key itself is the source of sound in the instrument. In fact, the device of any piano is much more complicated, and the key in this case performs only the role of the lever. Behind the frontal board to each of them is made a hammer, which, in turn, strikes about three strings. Each three strings are tuned to one sound, which makes it more complete and saturated. The difference in sound between each of the following three strings is equal to a semitone. That is, they are aligned in a single order, regardless of whether it hits the black key or white, which, in fact, makes the piano the way we imagine it.

Does the length of the scale affect the completeness of the sound?

Even if we know how many keys the piano has and how exactly they are arranged, the question remains whether that makes any difference if it is a question of loudness and ringing of reproduction. The answer to this question can only be one - no. The quality and strength of the sound is influenced by the length and thickness of the strings that are stretched inside the instrument, the weight of the hammers and the severity with which they strike on these strings, as well as the structure of the instrument. Surely you noticed that pianos are used at concerts (there the strings are stretched parallel to the surface of the earth and they are very long), and at home and in music schools we play the piano, where each string is mounted vertically. This is what gives or reduces the strength of sound, but not the number of keys.