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The piano very likely has its origins in the invention of a crude harp. There were similar instruments, such as dulcimers, prior to the eighteenth century - the 1700s - but the invention of the first piano as we know it is credited to Bartolemo Cristofori, an Italian musician and specialist in Musical Instruments, who was retained by the Medici family. From the end of the 1700s the piano was redeveloped and became the instrument of choice of many famous composers and artists. The English harpsichord manufacturers, Broadwood, developed the piano into the instrument closer to that which we know today. For further information, go to http://www.uk-piano.org/history/history_1.html or other sources such as Wikipedia.

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What language does the word piano originate?

That language is Italian, still the language for most What_language_is_pianoterms.What we know as a piano was once called a piano-forte which is Italian forsoft-loud.


What are art songs accompanied by?

piano.


What instruments did Sergei Prokofiev play?

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Where does the WORD piano originate from?

A harpsichord, which works by plucking strings, has little dynamic range; you can't play it quietly or loudly, just at its own volume. So the idea of striking the strings with a hammer instead of plucking them was attractive. When the new instrument first appeared it was described (being Italian) as a gravicembalo con piano e forte - with soft and loud. The inventor was Bartolomeo Cristofori. Later versions were called fortepiano and then pianoforte, of which piano is a shortened version. You are, in fact, playing a quiet.The poet and journalist Scipione Mafei named Christofori's, the inventors instrument 'gravisembalo con piano et forte (harpsichord with soft and loud) the first time it was called by its eventual name, pianoforte. This was in 1711


How did 'the piano' originate?

Although there were various European steps into eventuating with the piano we have today, the prime origin for the name and invention of the piano was Italy. This also sat comfortably in the music world in that Italian is the prime language used in musical reference. Piano means 'soft' ... the full word for soft being "pianissimo".When the instrument was first made, it was often referred to as a "piano-forte", as forte means 'loud' in the Italian language; and the piano was a welcome capably loud instrument, as well as soft, due to its huge string size, large soundboard and the force control one is capable of exerting on the instrument.The piano was invented in 1698, by Italian, Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) who was employed by Prince Ferdinand de Medici as the Keeper of the Instruments.Its advantage was that it could (and still can) play both soft and loud as opposed to the harpsichords and organs of the time, which had only one dynamic level. The piano then took over as the main keyboard instrument.