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Piano
The ancestry of the piano can be traced to the early keyboard instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries —— the spinet, the dulcimer, and the virginal. In the seventeenth century the organ, the clavichord, and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group, a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century. The clavichord's tone was metallic and never powerful; nevertheless, because of the variety of tone possible to it, many composers found the clavichord a sympathetic instrument for intimate chamber music. The harpsichord with its bright, vigorous tone was the favorite instrument for supporting the bass of the small orchestra of the period and for concert use, but the character of the tone could not be varied save by mechanical or structural devices.
The piano was perfected in the early eighteenth century by a harpsichord maker in Italy(though musicologists point out several previous instances of the instrument). This instrument was called a piano e forte (soft and loud), to indicate its dynamic versatility; its strings were struck by a recoiling hammer with a felt-padded head. The wires were much heavier in the earlier instruments. A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century, including the introduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it, the perfection of a metal frame, and steel wire of the finest quality, finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound, from a liquid, singing tone to a sharp, percussive brilliance.
鋼琴
鋼琴的家系可以追溯至 15 至 16 世紀早期的鍵盤樂器，包括小型撥絃琴、洋琴和維金娜琴。17 世紀時風琴、敲絃琴和撥絃琴成為鍵盤樂器類的主要成員。這種至高無上的地位一直為它們所保持，直到 18 世紀末期鋼琴將它們取代。
敲弦古鋼琴的音調有金屬的音質，缺乏雄勁。然而由於它的音調變化多，許多作曲家發現對於親切的室內樂是一種得體的樂器。人們最喜歡用具備明快有力音調的撥絃古鋼琴來配合當時小型管弦樂團的低音樂器以 及在演奏會上演奏。但它的音調難以變化，除非使用機械或構件裝置。18 世紀早期的義大利，鋼琴在一位撥琴鋼琴製造者手中得到完善(儘管音樂理論家們指出有更早的例子)。這種樂器被稱為 piano eforte (義大利語，柔和而響亮的)，以顯示它有力的多樣性。演奏者用 一個頭部帶皮氈的彈擊樂錘敲擊琴絃。更早的這種樂器之上的金屬絲要重得多。從此，持續到 19 世紀的一系列機械上的改進，包括引入踏板以維持音調或使其柔和，改善金屬框架，以及使用最佳效能的.鋼絲，最終產生了一種具備無數音調效果的樂器。這些效果涵蓋了從最精緻的和聲到幾乎全部的管絃樂音響，從明快流暢的吟唱的音調到尖銳的打擊樂器的清晰動人的恢巨集氣勢。
