A piano is a beautifully complex instrument. When you press a piano key, you employ over twelve thousand parts to function and create a sound. As a beginner, all you know is that you have to learn the notes assigned to each key and then start playing. But playing the piano is more than just pressing some keys. If you want to hone your skills and improve, then you must understand the inner workings of a piano. If you are a stranger to the inside of your instrument, then beautiful playing will be a stranger to you.
Playing the piano is just like any other subject. Along with learning the concepts by heart, you need to understand its functioning. If you understand mathematics, you can easily frame formulas, and if you understand piano, you can easily frame techniques. Knowing how your finger movement persuades a piano to create a sound will help you in controlling those movements and honing your skills. The interior of a piano is a fascinating mystery and this article will help you unleash it.
A piano is an exemplary instrument comprising of thousands of tiny parts. All of these parts play a unique and important role in playing the piano. If even one part decides to quit, then you won’t be able to charm an audience. For an impeccable performance, you need peaceful and melodious coordination among all the parts. You need to understand the inner workings of your piano to work on your skills. Let’s take a walk through the interior of your piano, and learn what happens when you press a piano key.
The Whippen Assembly Is Activated
Every key in the piano is connected to the whippen assembly. The whippen assembly is a mechanism made up of nine small but important parts. The whippen assembly is like a messenger who receives the motion from the keys and delivers it to the hammer. It’s the only part that is directly connected to the keys. When you press a key, you activate the whippen assembly.
Then Come The Hammer And The Damper
The whippen assembly informs the hammer that it is now free to hit the string. As the whippen assembly is activated, the motion is transmitted to the hammer(s) and it is released to strike against the string and return. Hammers are felt-covered parts that allow the strings to vibrate. The function of each hammer is to hit the string(s) and then return to its position. The returning part is important because if it remains in contact with the string(s), then the string(s) will be muted.
Along with the hammer, the damper is activated. A damper is a part that mutes the strings when not in use. When the whippen is in motion, the damper is lifted, and as soon as you release the key, the damper comes back to its position, ensuring that the note is played only when you press the key. A damper helps in preventing unwanted stretched notes.
Next Are The Vibrating Strings
The magic spell of a piano is in its strings. There are approximately 230 high-tensile steel wire strings assembled in your piano. For high notes, three strings are placed together; for lower notes, two strings; and for extremely low notes, only one string is attached to the piano key. Furthermore, to ensure the low notes, the bass strings (the strings connected to the keys on the left) are encircled with copper. As the hammer strikes against the string(s), they start vibrating and resonating. The reason behind this motion is the tension on the strings. Each string is tied according to the note it is expected to play. With regular use and wear and tear, the strings lose tension and that’s why tuning is necessary.
And Now The Bridge Activates The Soundboard
The vibrating strings transmit the resonance to the soundboard through the bridge. The wooden soundboard is also known as the amplifier. The soundboard is placed beneath the strings and it amplifies the vibrations so that the sound waves are audible to the audience. The soundboard is the top management board that decides the pitch of your note. Due to fluctuations in humidity, soundboards tend to expand and contract, which affects the pitch adversely. Thus, ensuring a stable environment for your piano is essential. The soundboard receives the vibrations, amplifies them and allows you to hear the note that you played.
These are only a few major parts that function when you press a piano key. There are thousands of parts that work 24/7 to ensure that your piano is in ‘sound’ health. For instance, the iron cast plate that helps the piano hold tension plays an important role in the working of your piano. The heavy backbone of the piano is settled above the soundboard and the large holes, known as rosettes, on its edges allow the vibrations to travel. The pinblock holding one end of the strings assists the caste in maintaining the frame despite the heavy tension.
For a brief understanding of the interior of your piano, these parts should suffice. For more, we will talk about the functioning of the pedals. Generally, there are three pedals in a piano that perform a variety of responsibilities:
Soft Pedal
You use the extreme left pedal when you desire to play a soft note. The soft pedal instructs the hammers to shift a little. When the hammer is repositioned, it strikes against fewer strings (3 to 2, 2 to 1) and plays a softer note.
Sostenuto Pedal
The middle pedal is used to customize the duration of vibrations. When you use a sostenuto pedal, then the dampers of the currently played keys are lifted. This provides you slight control over the vibrations. You can plan for a note to sustain for a longer time than others.
Sustaining Pedal
When you want the vibrations to cease naturally, then you use the extreme right pedal. The sustaining pedals lift up all the dampers and sustain the vibrations. You can overlap the notes and experiment according to your will.
Now you know what happens in the interior of your piano. You must be feeling empowered. Now that you understand your piano, you can use this knowledge to work on your skills. You know how to frame the technique to hone your skills. The interior of the piano is a school in itself. It teaches you the importance of tuning, maintaining your piano and its complex parts, and the significance of exercising fingering of adequate pressure. Now it is time to employ the knowledge, practice correctly and improve.
