A Brief History of Piano Mechanics

Russo, Matteo; Robles-Linares, Jose A.

Abstract

© 2021, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The piano action mechanism transforms key motion into hammer swing, which creates sound by striking the strings. The mechanical design of the key action influences keyboard responsiveness, heaviness or lightness, which are critical playability parameters that can “make or break” an instrument for a pianist. From the rigid lever mechanism of 14th-century clavichords, key action mechanisms developed into the modern piano action, with dozens of bodies and compliant elements. This paper presents a brief history of this evolution, with an analysis of the most important designs from a technical perspective.

Citation

Russo, M., & Robles-Linares, J. A. (2021). A Brief History of Piano Mechanics. In Advances in Italian Mechanism Science: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of IFToMM Italy (11-19). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55807-9_2

• Online Publication Date: Aug 20, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Aug 26, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 21, 2021
• Pages: 11-19
• Series Title: Mechanisms and Machine Science
• Series Number: 91
• Book Title: Advances in Italian Mechanism Science: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of IFToMM Italy
• ISBN: 9783030558062
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55807-9_2
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4852423
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-55807-9_2
• Additional Information: First Online: 20 August 2020; Conference Acronym: IFToMM ITALY; Conference Name: The International Conference of IFToMM ITALY; Conference City: Naples; Conference Country: Italy; Conference Year: 2020; Conference Start Date: 9 September 2020; Conference End Date: 11 September 2020; Conference Number: 3; Conference ID: iftommitaly2020