Who Invented the Piano and When - Bartolomeo Cristofori
Digital keyboard instruments are ubiquitous nowadays and mostly used for learning, performing and in studios. Keyboard instruments of today are lightweight and portable but then it wasn’t always like this. Advancement in technology has made this possible.
If you do come across the acoustic grand piano once in a while, then you will truly get amazed by the grandeur of the instrument and also marvel at modern technology which has made keyboard instruments so portable.
But ever wondered who and when Invented the Piano?
Bartolomeo Cristofori - Who Invented the Piano & When
Grand Piano
It was this gentleman from Padua, Italy and was known as Bartolomeo Cristofori of Padua.
As to when was it invented, there are various opinions from different people as to when was the piano exactly invented.
This is because 'Bartolomeo was working on adapting the harpsichord instrument to respond to touch of the keys (as in a piano). Though the harpsichord was also a popular instrument, many were not happy with the fact that the keys were not touch sensitive. It could not respond to touch.
So when Bartolomeo started working on improvising the instrument, no one knows for sure what was the exact year when he managed to get it completed.
But it was in the seventeenth century with many believing it to be in the period 1650 and 1770. The resulting instrument was called the pianoforte, now popularly known as the piano.
Upright Piano
Once the acoustic grand piano gained popularity, there were many who were wondering if it could be made smaller in size without compromising on the sound quality much.
This gave rise to the upright piano!
The upright piano was invented immediately later, and was done obviously to be fit in a smaller space. Johann Schmidt from Austria invented the upright piano in 1780.
It was further improved by Thomas Loud (London, England) in 1802. His upright piano had strings running diagonally.
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