![]() Other changes during the late 19th and early 20th centuries include the use of cast iron frames which led to an increase in string tension resulting in heavier and deeper action, the lengths of keys, the height of blacks over whites, and the vertical dip of the black and white keys. ![]() Digital piano and keyboard manufacturers have simply followed suit. The basic cross-strung design from that time, with its ‘standard’ 6.5 inch octave keyboard, has since been adopted by virtually all acoustic piano manufacturers, in both grands and uprights. ![]() To produce a bigger sound in large concert halls, piano design started to incorporate cross-stringing and bigger soundboards, incorporating wider keys in order to minimise the angle of key flare.Īs virtuosi performers were large-handed males ( such as Paderewski and Anton Rubinstein), the slightly wider keys would not have presented a problem. Today’s keyboard size dates back to about 1880, when male virtuosi were still actively involved with, and being promoted by, piano manufacturers. Pianists such as Anton Rubinstein and Paderewski both toured the US for Steinway in the late 1800s. A Czech company did market a smaller keyboard for ‘ladies’.ĭuring the nineteenth century, European composers such as Liszt and Kalkbrenner had strong links with the major manufacturers who built concert halls and organised recitals for these composers/virtuosi in order to market their products. Teaching piano however, was an acceptable occupation for women. Women were expected to be dignified, feminine and graceful, and were warned by Karl Czerny and others not to play certain types of repertoire. Direct comparisons with men were not welcomed. In the 1800s, separate competitions were held for men and women in the Paris Conservatoire. There was a clear distinction between amateurs (mostly women) who performed in the home and public performers (mostly men). For them, the piano was an integral part of domestic activity, including the courting ritual. Like cooking and sewing, piano playing was seen as a highly desirable accomplishment for middle and upper class women. Much of the best known piano repertoire was written between 17 at a time when the keyboard was smaller (with narrower keys) and repertoire rarely contained intervals larger than an octave. Sakai (2008) has documented the variations in keyboard span of various keyboard instruments dating back to 1559. These range from 156 mm to 188 mm for the modern piano keyboard (measured across seven keys). Piano keyboards have not always been the size they are today between 17, they mostly had narrower keys.
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