Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/505

 PIANOFORTE 489 the stage of Oovent Garden theatre as " a new instrument," according to a playbill bear- ing date May 16 of that year, now in pos- session of the Messrs. Broadwood. About 1755 the poet Mason had invented an action for the piano ; but this seems not to have come into permanent use. In 1774 a patent was granted to Joseph Merlin for a compound harp- sichord, having hammers on the plan of the pianoforte. A more positive claim on the part of English makers is that concerning the first invention of a grand action, it being ad- mitted that about 1772 Americus Backers, a German, assisted by John Broadwood and Rob- ert Stodart, all in the employ of Tschudi, to- gether succeeded in applying an action, simi- lar to that then in use in pianofortes, to the harpsichord. The action devised by them is essentially the same as that still used by the firms of Broadwood and Stodart in London, early adopted by Pleyel and by Herz in Paris, and known among European mechanics as the English action, in this country more com- monly as the Pleyel action. It is marked by simplicity, efficiency, and durability, whence it is called also the direct action. From the time of this change the harpsichord makers rapidly became piano makers. The earliest entry of a piano on the books of Broadwood and co. occurs under the date of 1771 ; of a grand piano, 1781. The piano is now made in three distinctive forms : the grand, the square, and the upright ; in the first two the strings run horizontally, in the third verti- cally or obliquely upward. Of these, the up- right is the form most common in England, the square in the United States, but large numbers of upright and grand pianos are now made in this country. The square pianos of the United States probably surpass in work- manship and perfection of tone those of any other country; but the grand piano is that adapted to the introduction of the best mech- anism, and hence it is always chosen in cases where, as in a concert instrument, the greatest power and brilliancy are required. In the grand, all the octaves, save about two lowest in the scale, have for each note three strings attuned in unison and struck at once by the same hammer ; from four to seven of the low- est strings may be single, and through about another octave and a half two strings to each note are often used. The largest of these in- struments are known as full or concert grands ; a medium size, as semi-grands ; a size still less, as parlor grands. The square piano, until the application to it of mechanism somewhat simi- lar to that of the grands, was a very inferior instrument. The upright was at first a grand set on end, and raised on legs ; the hammers over or in front of the strings, striking them at their lower ends. In other forms the hammers are almost invariably below the strings. The first patent for an upright appears to have been granted to William Stodart in 1795. In 1807 William Southwell of Dublin reduced the di- mensions of the upright, before very unwieldy, replacing it by the " cabinet," in which also the frame was lowered, and by means of long slender stickers the strings were struck above. In 1811 Robert Wornum introduced the "cot- tage" upright, 4 to 5 ft. high ; and in 1827 the u piccolo," rising not more than 3| ft. from the floor. The compass of the scale of piano keys did not at first exceed five octaves, from FF, or the F below the lowest of the violoncello, to F in alt. It was next extended to above ; then to F yet above this, making six octaves ; by a third extension, to the below ; and then, by an added treble string, to G. Thus its compass came to be from COO (corresponding to about 64 single vibrations a second, and to an open organ pipe 16 ft. long) to G, six and a half oc- taves above. Large pianos are now commonly made with a compass of seven octaves, the bass reaching to about A below 000, and the treble being extended also by one or more strings. In the London exhibition of 1851 was a piano of seven and a half, and another of eight octaves. The corresponding enlargement of the instrument, and especially of the sound board, gives an augmented volume and force of tone ; but the deficient quality of the upper- most notes has led good judges to question whether any real advantage is gained by ex- ceeding seven octaves. The making of pianos is divisible into four parts: 1, the framing and sound board; 2, the stringing; 3, the keys and action ; 4, the ornamental or other case. 1. Framing and Sound Board. In pianos of full to largest size, the sum of the tensions of the strings, when stretched in attuning, is not less than from 6 to 12 tons. Hence the framing, or those parts within the case which serve as a strut or stretcher between the ends of the strings, and which are to resist this enormous pull, must be made correspondingly strong and rigid ; since by any gradual yielding under the pull of the strings, their lengths and ten- sions, and hence their tone, must undergo pro- portionate change. In the earlier instruments, having small strings, the frame was of tim- ber only. Builders then sought only truthful- ness of tone, depth and power being out of the question. With the progress of metallurgy, and the gradual introduction of iron structures, this metal came to be used for the piano frame (i. e., for the platform or parts receiving the strings, which is not to be confounded with the case). This frame was cast in a few parts, which were united by bolts or screws ; and this plan is still followed in London, and indeed in Europe generally. In pianos of all forms, the scale of lengths of successive strings required to yield the notes through the compass of the instru- ment results in a series of strings conveniently grouped in a form identical with or approxi- mating that familiarly known in the harp. In grands the inner or remote ends of the strings run in a curve representing the curved side of the harp, the treble strings lying to the right hand. In squares, usually, the harp curve is