About Pianos

These pages are about pianos. Here you can learn about the history of pianos, the different types of pianos, how pianos work, and how to care for pianos.

So let's learn all about the piano!

Piano History

Before pianos, there were dulcimers, organs and harpsichords. Keyboard history changed in the beginning of the 18th century with Bartolomeo Cristophori's invention, the piano-forte. Innovations in Europe and America through the years have made the piano sound more powerful and the instrument more reliable.

The Different Types of Pianos

To learn about pianos, we will need to know the different types of pianos. The "horiziontal" pianos have their soundboard on a plane that is horizontal to the floor. These are called "grand" pianos, which includes square grands, baby grands and the full-sized concert grands.

The "vertical" pianos include the upright, studio, console and spinet pianos. These are the most popular acoustic pianos for the home, due to their smaller footprint, and lower cost.

Electric pianos and keyboards are a faily recent addition to the piano family, and are popular for their many features.

How Pianos Work

What really happens when you press a piano key? The piano is made up of hundreds of working parts, all precisely and finely adjusted to make the creation of music happen as seemlessly and easily as possible. A well regulated piano action can take you from the softest pianissimo to the loudest fortissimo, but it's not just the action. The sounboard, strings, bridges, casing, pinblock, and trap work all play a part in the piano's sound and performance.

How To Care For A Piano

How often should you tune a piano? Is it something you can do yourself? What is regulation and how often should a piano need it? What about piano repairs and rebuilding?

Read about caring for a piano....

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Piano Chord Chart and Chord Information
A free Piano Chord Chart to download plus an explanation of chord construction

Piano Notes Chart
Piano notes chart, staff diagram, musical alphabet, note names, download pdf, more info

How To Read Music
How To Read Music: Note values, Staff, time signatures, key signatures, counting,

Classical Piano
Classical Piano: A description of what is classical piano, its history, development, and major composers

Jazz Piano
Jazz Piano: A brief history and description of styles, and major players: ragtime, stride, swing, bebop, hard bop, contemporary, latin

Blues Piano
Blues Piano: A brief history and description of styles, and major players: Boogie Woogie, Jump Blues, Chicago Blues, New Orleans Blues, West Coast Blues

Rock Piano
Rock Piano: A brief history and description of styles, and major players of the 1950's, '60's, and '70's

Famous Pianists
Famous Pianists' biographies from the Classical, Jazz, Blues and Rock worlds. Bach, Beethoven, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Joel

About Pianos
About Pianos: History, how they work, different types, and how to care for

About Us
About Us: background on who compiled, edited and created the piano information resource teach-me-piano.com

Piano Guide E-Zine
Piano Guide E-Zine: easy free piano music, articles about piano and pianists, practice tips and finger exercises and more