Piano

The history and development of the piano is facinating. The piano has been around since the 18th century and is based on earlier instruments like the harpsichord and dulcimer. Whilst the traditional piano was used to compose world-famous pieces of music for centuries, the ability to play piano is now a real advantage. It’s almost essential when it comes to creating modern music too. Synthesisers and sampling keyboards emerged in the 1980s. Any computer-based digital audio workstation is likely to have a keyboard attached to it.

The pioneers

The great classical pianists include Fryderyk Chopin and Ludwig Van Beethoven. As with all instruments, later generations of players pushed the role of the piano into new areas.

In the ’50s, contemporary players like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard brought the piano into rock and roll with an aggressive and often bizarre playing style. The age of the synthesiser spawned exceptional players in the world of progressive rock such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman, who began to ‘stack’ keyboards, using several at once. Almost the entire movement of ‘electronica, during the ’80s was based on the keyboard and modern-day producers like Calvin Harris couldn’t do what they do without it.

 

The piano and technology

The classical roots of the piano haven’t gone away, there are lots of highly respected modern-day composers like Carl Vine and Conrad Tao who continue to produce world-class pieces of music.Now of course, the piano is more than simply a stand-alone musical instrument. Technology has given us MIDI which later found a common language with modern-day computers. The keyboard can now access the sounds of any instrument or sound that you can imagine.

 

So the history and development of the piano is central to muaic production and music composition. It’s possibly the most useful isntrument that you can learn to play. Our piano teacher, Dean M Davies, is qualified to diploma level and teaches students of all ages. If you’d like to try a lesson or just have a chat then head over to our contact page.