[musictlk] Question About Music Instruments

Mon Sep 10 12:16:18 UTC 2012

Annabelle,
The sound of any acoustic instrument is always dictated by its makeup. The
standard pianoforte (as invented by Cristofori) is defined by its smaller
size of 76 keys as opposed to the larger 88 key piano that Beethoven helped
bring into existence and was abused by the likes of Liszt and Rachmaninoff.
The pianoforte reflects its size. Try comparing a Haydn piece with a
Beethoven piece and you'll hear it immediately.
Also, the temperament of the two instruments are slightly different since
the harp is differently sized.
A 76-key piano will have different tuning than an 88-key piano.
-Andy

-----Original Message-----
From: musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
Behalf Of Annabelle Susan Morison
Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2012 8:18 AM
To: 'NFBnet Music Talk Mailing List'
Subject: [musictlk] Question About Music Instruments

Hi, it's Annabelle.
I have a question for you, and I was wondering if you might have an answer
for me. I was wondering, how would I compare the difference in tone between
a pianoforte and a piano? What I want to find out is, is there a difference
in timbre between the pianoforte, the modern piano, and a 19th century
piano, like the ones that were made in 1878, when Peter Dodds McCormick
wrote "Advance Australia Fair"? Would they have sounded like the kind of
pianos made this day? Or would they have sounded more like harpsichords?
here's the comparison I am referring to.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Frederic_Chopin_-_Opus_25
_-_Twelve_Grand_Etudes_-_c_minor.ogg
and
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Frederic_Chopin_-_etude_n
o._12_in_c_minor%2C_op._25.ogg

If you have any further information, questions, or suggestions for me,
please feel free to Email me at any time, as I check my Emails several times
each day.

Kind Regards,

Annabelle

foristnights at comcast.net

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