A piano is one of the most popular instruments in the world, but we bet you don’t know the following 5 key piano facts.
1. 1700: Approximate date the modern piano
was built by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Padua, Italy.
2. 1775: Year the first piano was made in the US by
John Behrent in Philadelphia.
3. 230: Number of strings in a piano, each holding
about 165 pounds of tension.
4. $3.2 million: Price of the most expensive piano, a crystal model made by Canadian maker Heintzman Pianos.
5. There are more than 10 million piano in the US.
HOW DO MAKE YOUR PIANO SOUND LIKE THE SONG WITHOUT THE BAND
Did You Know?
When harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori created the first piano he called his invention “gravicèmbalo col piano e forte,” which means “harpsichord with loud and soft” in Italian. That long phrase was shortened to pianoforte and then eventually just become “piano.” In Italy, the instrument is often still referred to as the pianoforte, because piano simply means softly or slowly. Though many stringed and keyed instruments were developed before the piano, one of its major innovations was the ability to play it at different volumes, allowing musicians greater expression in their music.
