The Piano

The piano is one of the most loved music instruments in the world. It has a long row of black and white keys. When you press a key, a small hammer inside hits a string. This makes a pretty sound. People play the piano at home, at school, and on big stages. You can play soft music or loud music on it.

How It Works

A piano has 88 keys in all. There are 52 white keys and 36 black keys. Each key is linked to a tiny hammer. When you press a key, the hammer taps a string inside the piano. The string shakes and makes a note. Some notes are low and deep. Some notes are high and bright. You can play many keys at once to make a song.

History of the Piano

The piano was made a long time ago in Italy. A man named Bartolomeo Cristofori built the first one around the year 1700. Before that, people played an instrument called the harpsichord. The piano was special because it could play both soft and loud sounds. In fact, its full name is pianoforte, which means soft and loud. Today, people all over the world play the piano.

Fun Facts

• A piano has 88 keys and more than 200 strings inside it.
• A grand piano can weigh as much as a small car.
• The word piano is short for pianoforte, which means soft and loud in Italian.

Did You Know?

The piano is both a string instrument and a percussion instrument because small hammers hit the strings to make sound.