The Development of the Construction of the Pianoforte in America (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Development of the Construction of the Pianoforte in America

In order to understand more comprehensively and sympathetical-l ly the history of the American pianoforte, knowledge of the heri tage bequeathed to the early American inventors is necessary. The precursors of the pianoforte divide themselves into four groups. The monochord, the first of this series, was an instrument used by Pythagoras (582 b.c.) for experiments in the mathematical relation of musical sounds. A single string, presumably catgut, was strung over a wooden box. Directly underneath the string a strip of paper was glued to the top of the box, on which the sections and subdivisions corresponding with the intervals of the scale were marked. The monochord came into universal use among the Greeks, and also in the Roman churches as an instrument to sound the key note for chorus singing. To assure a quicker and more correct ih tonation, Guido d'arrezzo (about 1100 a.d.) used a movable bridge under the string of the monochord, After this invention, further improvements came rapidly. The clavis or keys were applied to the monochord, which then was built with more than one string. Each clavis or key had a tangent or pricker. As soon as the clavis was pressed down, this tangent would prick the string on the proper divisions of the scale, and cause the sounding of the correct tone. The use of the clavis soon led to an increase in the number of.

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