Like multifarious other inventions, the piano was founded on earlier technological innovations. The mechanisms Grand Piano Covers of keyboard instruments such as the clavichord and the harpsichord were well known. In a clavichord the strings are struck by tangents, while in a harpsichord they are plucked by quills. Centuries of work on the mechanism of the harpsichord in particular had shown the most effective ways to construct the case, soundboard, bridge, and keyboard. Cristofori, himself an expert harpsichord maker, was well acquainted with this body of knowledge.
|
One of the major technical innovations that helped to conceive the total of the modern piano was the cause of a strong steel frame |
|---|
| Also called the "plate", the steely frame sits atop the soundboard, and serves as the highest bulwark against the force of string tension |
| The increased structural integrity of the indomitable frame allowed the account of thicker, tenser, and besides numerous strings |
| In a leading edge ambitious the total string tension can approach 20 tons. |