Pianos have had pedals, or some close equivalent, since the earliest days. (In the 18th century, some pianos used levers pressed upward by the player's knee instead of pedals.) The three pedals that have become more or less standard on the modern piano are the following.
The damper pedal (also called the sustaining pedal or loud pedal) is often simply called "the pedal", since it is the most frequently used. It is placed as the rightmost pedal in the group. Every string on the piano, except the top two octaves, is equipped with a damper, which is a padded device that prevents the string from vibrating. The damper is raised off the string whenever the key for that note is pressed. When the damper pedal is pressed, all the dampers on the piano are lifted at once, so that every string can vibrate. This serves two purposes. First, it assists the pianist in producing a legato (playing smoothly connected notes) in passages where no fingering is available to make this otherwise possible. Second, raising the damper pedal causes all the strings to vibrate sympathetically with whichever notes are being played, which greatly enriches the piano's tone.
The iron frame, also called the "plate", sits atop the soundboard, and serves as the primary bulwark against the force of string tension. The iron frame was the ultimate solution to the problem of structural integrity as the strings were gradually made thicker, tenser, and more numerous (in a modern grand the total string tension can approach 20 tons). The single piece cast iron frame was patented in 1825 in Boston by Alpheus Babcock, combining the metal hitch pin plate (1821, claimed by Broadwood on behalf of Samuel Hervé) and resisting bars (Thom and Allen, 1820, but also claimed by Broadwood and Érard). Babcock later worked for the Chickering & Mackays firm which patented the first full iron frame for grand pianos (1843). Composite forged metal frames were preferred by many European makers until the American system was fully adopted by the early 20th century.
The part of the piano where materials probably matter more than anywhere else is the soundboard. In quality pianos, this is made of solid spruce (that is, spruce boards glued together at their edges). Spruce is chosen for its high ratio of strength to weight. The best piano makers use close-grained, quarter-sawn, defect-free spruce, and make sure that it has been carefully dried over a long period of time before making it into soundboards. In cheap pianos, the soundboard is often made of plywood.
The Piano Bench - assorted ELP transcriptions
There are literally thousands of MIDI files (songs) on the Internet to download , edit if you desire, put on a floppy and play on the MIDI capable piano or keyboard.
VMPK. Virtual MIDI Piano Keyboard
Download Midi Piano and play MIDI files in a virtual piano keyboard! We earlier covered a free piano software called Simple Piano with which you can learn to
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The MIDI files contain the data that make the keys on the piano play and control the In fact, MIDI data of live Disklavier piano performances can be
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Piano / Keyboard MIDI File Software Disks - Stagepass.com
Midi disks: Turbo Music, Pianosoft, Smart PianoSoft, Disk Orchestra , StarLights, for midi ... General Artist Song Title Instrument Books Video Software MIDI Product # ISBN
MIDI Grand Piano | Disklavier Recording | Midi Piano Music
Our attentive and knowledgable engineers will take your Disklavier, Clavinova or Standard MIDI File and send it to our beautiful piano. Capturing the realism and sensitivity that can only be expressed ...
For more GM files visit the new MIDI File Library at MIDIWORLD. Piano Music from - Greg Jones (http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/palladium/6197) Since these midi files only contain piano, any mix ...
