The plate, or metal frame, of a piano is usually made of cast iron. It is advantageous for the plate to be quite massive. Since the strings are attached to the plate at one end, any vibrations transmitted to the plate will result in loss of energy to the desired (efficient) channel of sound transmission, namely the bridge and the soundboard. Some manufacturers now use cast steel in their plates, for greater strength. The casting of the plate is a delicate art, since the dimensions are crucial and the iron shrinks by about one percent during cooling. The inclusion in a piano of an extremely large piece of metal is potentially an aesthetic handicap. Piano makers overcome this handicap by polishing, painting, and decorating the plate; often plates include the manufacturer's ornamental medallion and can be strikingly attractive. In an effort to make pianos lighter, Alcoa worked with Winter and Company piano manufactuers to make pianos using an aluminum plate during the 1940s. The use of aluminum for piano plates, however, did not become widely accepted and was discontinued.
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.
Grand pianos have the frame and strings placed horizontally, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. This makes the grand piano a large instrument, for which the ideal setting is a spacious room with high ceilings for proper resonance. There are several sizes of grand piano. Manufacturers and models vary, but a rough generalisation distinguishes the "concert grand", (between about 2.2 m to 3 m long) from the "boudoir grand" (about 1.7 m to 2.2 m) and the smaller "baby grand" (which may be shorter than it is wide). All else being equal, longer pianos have better sound and lower inharmonicity of the strings. This is partly because the strings will be tuned closer to equal temperament in relation to the standard pitch with less stretching (See: Piano tuning). Full-size grands are usually used for public concerts, whereas baby grands are often chosen for domestic use where space and cost are considerations.
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How to Read Piano Music | eHow.com
:)) For one thing, .but I will try.HI Miss Butterfly, Well, it is not too hard to learn to read notes but I am not sure if it is easy to explain it on Answers
Piano Notes: Learn Read Music
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Flash Cards - Reading Piano Notes -- Musicards.net
Reading. Piano Notes These flash cards help you to train yourself to find notes on the piano or keyboard quickly after seeing them on the musical staff.
Our self-pace beginning piano lessons course is interactive, and free. Learn about notes and rhythm. ... Lesson 3 * " Beginning to Read Notes " Important Information : When taking the course, if you ...
