Piano#Grand

The wing is a design of the piano. His body consists, inter alia, from which the strings holding frame and soundboard and lies horizontally on three legs. He achieved this with a total height of approximately 1.4 meters.

The wing shape was already harpsi the norm. On the other types of sound production, the term alludes to the harpsichord for the harpsichord.

The curved body shape is similar to the wing of a flying animal, and gave this piano form of the name. On straight body end keyboard, mechanics and soundpost are housed. The housing is covered on top with a lid that can be opened up in order to let the sound come out better and upwards, for example; below a wing is usually already open, except for very early instruments of the 18th century.

The structure on which the pedals are mounted is called the " lyre ," because their shape is modeled on the same Greek stringed instrument in older instruments.

While the upright design of the piano, the upright piano, due to space and cost reasons mainly is used in the home and school, which sounded stronger for greater lengths and generally differentiated playable wing is the instrument for the serious amateur as well as for professional and concert area.

The English name for wing grand piano ( grand piano ) or grand short. The French name is piano à queue ( " piano with tail ").

Components

Schematic structure

Corpus

The curved shape of the body gives the wing its name. The body, together with the catch, the bearing element of all the constituents of a wing. The outer contour, called the " Rim ", produced almost exclusively today from glued together long layers of hardwoods that are clamped on a Rimbiegeblock and dried thereon to the good bonding of the glue. With elaborate instruments preferably laminated wood consist of maple. This preparation method is based on an invention by Theodor Steinweg 1878. Prior wing housing were built from individual parts whose aufwendigstes the curved S-shaped plank. The larger Bösendorfer piano are still made this way.

The catch the bottom of the wing box made of large planed, grooved, mortised and befrästen timbers, has the tasks

• To him fasten the legs and lyre,
• To give the sound board and the casting frame and the support
• To keep the wing contour in the form or under tension.
• Some manufacturers also the functioning of the soundboard (camber, cant, also the vocal posture ) to the exact shape keeping the rim contour depends. For other manufacturers, the soundboard is pregnant in buckled or the rim contouring adjustable, eg Mason & Hamlin.

Another element is the keyboard bottom, made ​​of grooved wood. The keyboard bottom serves the game mechanics to rest. Behind the keyboard ground the dam adjoins essentially in a transverse wing standing board, on which the attenuation of the vane is attached. The dam is divided from the game mechanics of the sound system.

The cover of the wing can be - and often several stages - open and remove as needed, depending on how the radiation of sound is desired. Earlier, the case was laborious polished with shellac. In the U.S., the painting of wings in semi-gloss black finish is common.

The visible parts of the body are now usually equipped with production facilities in Europe or Asia with a polyester layer, usually shiny black, rarely white or colored, or colorless, if the case is veneered. The application of the polyester paint in multiple layers, also called "wings paint ", and in particular the subsequent grinding and polishing of the polyester is specialist work: it is dangerous because of the flammable dust from sanding and can only be performed in specially equipped workshops.

Only after finishing position of Rim and detent, the " furniture ", usually done the installation of the sound system with cast frame and soundboard. However, there are manufacturers (for example, Grotrian ), the first notch build and sound system, then build the Rim to the body or the furniture to the sound system around.

Cast iron plate

The cast iron plate is the supporting element in the interior of the wing. She is holding a by the strings on their load tensile force from 150,000 to 250,000 Newtons ( equivalent to the weight of 15-25 tons). Previously, it was poured into sand molds exclusively, for some years it is also manufactured in a vacuum process. Vacuum formed boards have better surface and partly to be manually reworked less in order to achieve the desired plate finish. Material of the cast plates was first historically been since the 1840s ordinary gray cast iron, but use individual manufacturers, partly since the end of the 19th century, special casting formulations that make the material much higher pressure and bending loads than ordinary cast iron.

Before the cast plates a pure wooden frame was used historically at first. With increasing tensile forces, thicker hammers and strings for ever larger auditoriums steel brackets came for bridging the hammer shaft for use. Later, from 1820, steel struts took on a part of the Saitenzugspannungen, braces that were bolted to the sound post and the attachment plate. Then the one-piece solid cast frame came on. The currently valid design principles for wing plates developed in 1859 Henry Steinway Jr. in 1869 and his brother Theodore, the bass crossover and the cover of the reed block.

For design of new sash and frame modern tools such as CAD and finite element systems are used widely today in part. Fazioli is a prominent example, even companies in China ( Hailun, George Steck) and in Japan ( Kawai, Yamaha) and others working with modern software.

Sounding board

The soundboard, which contributes significantly to the sound characteristics of an instrument is mounted on the soundboard bed below the strings. He takes on the data transferred from web vibrations of the strings and they are as sound to the environment.

It is made of spruce wood with 10 mm thickness and is curved upwards, uniaxial ( cylindrical geometry ) or biaxial (ball surface interface ). Its curvature is stabilized on the one by the attached at the bottom soundboard ribs formed on the other partly externally acting forces. The piano maker attaches to the soundboard curvature in addition to the so-called bridge pressure, the deflection referential strings in bass, middle and treble, which will often be of two millimeters in the bass to about one millimeter in the treble. In the corners or edge areas today the soundboard is often down to 6 millimeters thin ground to achieve better vibration (patent of Paul Bilhuber, " Diaphragmatic Soundboard ").

Age soundboards made ​​of spruce tonewood. Steinway and many U.S. piano manufacturers give the general life of a soundboard, with approximately 50 years and then often recommend replacement - European piano makers, however, often prefer the reconditioning of cracked soils become old sound ( peck drilling, wedging ). Next subject soundboards requirements in operation at constant temperature and above all attitude in a relatively uniform humidity. Ideally, a soundboard should be at about 50 % relative humidity. Soundboards of wings or pianos can " broken heated " are in modern homes, if is not observed in the winter, the humidity can be far fall below the allowable range. Once a minimum humidity of 40 % can not be maintained, the operation of a humidifier is useful to protect the soundboard. Wings should never be stored in basements or garages; their soundboards soak up water; the next heating then they tear often. Professionals arm themselves against this when buying Used with wood moisture measuring instruments.

Some manufacturers also offer special lackierbehandelte soundboards, whose lands are screwed in place in tropical environments to prevent gumming ( Blüthner in the standard, Steinway as an option ).

Sound wood, densely grown wood of red spruce with tight, even annual rings, arrives in Europe from the high altitudes of the Alps, often from the Fiemme Valley or Val di Fiemme, where already the master luthier from Cremona moved into their wood in the 17th century, from the Czech Republic as well as from Eastern Europe. U.S. provider process Sitka spruce from Canada and Alaska, after the supplies were depleted of white spruce tone wood from the Appalachian mountains in the 1920s.

Part today also materials away from spruce tonewood be put to use, either a soundboard of a glass plate ( an Australian development ) or from carbon fiber reinforced plastic ( " Phoenix " system from Florida, at Feurich and Steingraeber in option). With alternative soundboard materials is often a different string attachment on the webs associated: Terminal - clasps instead of the string alignment over bridge pins.

Pinblock

The sound post is in the front part of the body, be it as an insert in the rim, or as a unit under screwed under the frame. He wears the tuning peg with which the strings are tuned. The soundpost is made of laminated hardwood ( beech, maple). With modern wings of the voting stock is covered by the cast-iron plate, often referred to in this case as armor plate. This is designed to improve posture of humor. The sound post is a critical component because the holding forces bz the breakaway torque of the tuning pins must be very high. Failure of the tuning pins and clamping moments in sound post, so this causes a lack of tuning stability up to the failure of the instrument and requires expensive repair to replace the reed block. Depending on the construction of a wing for this are not only the strings to relax, but has also displayed some of the frames.

Keyboard

Per octave there are seven naturals and five intervening semitones twelve keys. The naturals ( cdefgah ) can be found on the mostly white, formerly with ivory, now covered with plastic front or sub- keys. The five shorter, mostly black background or black keys are in higher quality models are still made ​​of ebony. Modern wings generally have a total of 88 keys ( the lowest note is called Subkontra -A, the highest c5, the scope is 7 ¼ octaves). Stuart & Sons in Australia builds wings with 102 keys.

Only the middle button of the black triad is located halfway between the neighboring white keys. The rest of the black keys are slightly displaced outwardly, so that the fingers are better between them.

In international trade, with wings it often leads to problems because of the ivory used to a large extent on the key pads. Countries like the U.S. and Japan have the strictest laws and regulations, no wings to let into the country, where ivory is installed, unless it is shown by CITES certificate that the material was (or wing ) before the 1980s produced. These regulations are enforced sharply wings will be demolished by the customs officers when importing the ivory; the owner gets a bill for this type of service. An alternative to the specialty plastics today mixed with a subdivided ceramic pads are still made ​​of bone or mammoth ivory. Also - from CITES - protected herds in Germany again a new purchase of ivory keyboards feasible; the additional cost of a Steinway grand piano with ivory is about 3,000 euros (as of 2011 ).

Spielwerk

The game works ( the grand piano action ) transmits the power button on the hammer strikes the strings. The hammers are made of a wood core and an under voltage applied thereto pressed Filztafel from long-fiber wool threads; they strike the strings from below. The dampers are lifted shortly before the attack of the strings. After releasing the keys, they return to the starting position and thereby dampen the sound. The parts of the grand piano action are made of white beech, maple, birch, plywood and partly of plastic.

In 1700 Bartolomeo Cristofori replaced the first time Zupfmechanik a harpsichord by a hammer action, so you ( piano) could play to loud ( forte) infinitely quietly. The pianoforte was born. Sébastien Erard in 1825 constructed the so-called Repetitionsmechanik that allowed repetitions with minimal key motion. Be Repetitionsmechaniken until today almost exclusively in leaf, rarely installed in upright pianos. Since then, there have been only isolated improvements of the grand piano action.

The keys consist of a beech wood board, now often with CNC milling machine for storage on steel pins with felt - lined pockets ( " toppings " ) edited and then shared on a band saw to single keys. Among the keys to a keyboard frame storage of keys and the above mechanism is built. The keyboard frame is on the keyboard bottom of the wing seitenverschieblich for the Una Chorda function (see below). Thus, the overall game mechanics for leaves after removing the key cap and remove the side wooden blocks ( " cheeks " ) be removed with little effort, a process which often causes great astonishment at the ignorant. A wing game mechanics holds approximately 11,000 items twice as many parts as a modern car.

Theodore Steinway in 1870 invented the patented Steinway tube rack for storage of all mechanical parts above the keys. Pressed in brass tubes are woods, further allow screwing the hammer nuts and Repetitionsnüsse in wood, with (compared former heads) increased stability. The brass tubes are soldered to Gestellböckchen. By increasing the timbers and since the 1960s by the work of Japanese manufacturers wing with aluminum profiles comparable and sometimes better rates are today, however, to have.

Since the 1960s, there were extensive efforts to use newer materials instead of wood for the repetitions or lifting members or as ingredients in them. Steinway (USA) superimposed 1962-1982 Hammer and Repetitionsachsen in Teflon bushings instead of felt. This change, however, was abandoned after 20 years: the different dimensions of the wood components and Teflon resulted in transitional seasons partly to uncontrollable, quiet clicking sounds.

Since the 1980s, Kawai developed his grand piano action with shares of plastics, partly fasererverstärkt, suspended on aluminum rails. The current system of " millennium action" and also the competitive product from Yamaha can be as established in the market and considered reliable. European providers continue to rely more on filzgelagerte wood components.

High appreciation will enjoy the products of the provider Renner ( Gaertringen near Stuttgart ). After Steinway in the New York production recently (2011) hired to build their own mechanisms and the same acquisition as Steinway Hamburg uses ( Kluge Remscheid for keyboards, lifting members by Steinway construction of Renner and Renner hammers ), one can say that it 100% vertical integration in grand pianos now no longer exists - mechanical components are now in all known manufacturers purchase parts.

Latest development of the keyboard mechanics are repetitions and hammer handles in plastic, reinforced with carbon fibers. This game mechanic is offered by Wessell, Nickel & Gross from the U.S. for wings.

Strings

A wing has about 230 steel strings. In the treble and middle layer, there are three strings per note (string choir ). In the bass range, there are one, two or even three with copper wire (formerly also brass and iron wire ) braided strings per note. Calculating the Saitenmensur (length of the string, strength, percentage utilization, voltage, ... ) is an essential for the sound characteristic of the instrument (e.g., the inharmonicity ) work key in the construction of a wing. Long strings are beneficial for volume and purity of sound, especially in the bass. The more mass is, however, wound up on ever shorter strings, the more impure the sound. Short wing under 180 cm are therefore disadvantaged sound.

Lyra and pedals

The component to which the pedals are attached, is called the multiple use " Lyra ", because its shape was initially modeled on the eponymous Greek stringed instrument in older instruments. Pedal operation affects the sound:

• With the right pedal all the dampers are lifted from the strings, so every note after striking and releasing a button on sounds. In addition, the now undamped strings of other sounds resonate with what the piano is a fuller, more rushing, but also blurred sound.
• The middle pedal (also called " sostenuto " or " sustain pedal " ) was developed in France (Jean Louis Boisselot 1844, Claude Montal 1862) and patented in the United States ( Albert Steinway 1874). Today it is offered by almost all wings producers, at least as an option. It will sustain tones or sounds. Its operation prevents the damper already raised it to fall back. The above damper be so done up with the sostenuto pedal. All other dampers, however, continue to respond to the play and releasing the keys. In some piano works of the 20th and 21st century, the use of the sustain pedal is prescribed.
• The operation of the left pedal ( " shift pedal " ) shifts the entire keyboard mechanics to the right so that the hammers no longer take all three strings of a stringed choir, hence the name una corda ( " a string "). Exact: it is less struck a chord - with the exception of the deepest bass tones, which anyway have only one string. In addition, meet with the shift other parts of the hammer felt on the strings. These points on the hammer head are specially processed by certain manufacturers, so that when pressing the left pedal (displacement) another " intones acts " - that is, the heating engineer ( Intoneur ) processed eg with Intoniernadeln, loosened and softened. This results in an altered tone and a slightly lower volume.
• The manufacturer Fazioli provides for its 308 model to a fourth pedal that operates the hammers closer to the strings and so relieved piano performances without changing how the left pedal on the other wing the tone as the soft pedal on a piano.
• Steingraeber offers an optional left pedal to acting in combination: first it introduces the Una Chorda - shift, then it stands to facilitate the piano game control the hammers closer to the strings.
• The Pédale Harmonique which there are standard, for example, the manufacturer Feurich as 4th pedal on all wing models, combines the features of three pedals in one pedal: The traditional damper pedal
• The " harmonic resonance " - the special sound of the Pédale Harmonique
• The sostenuto or sustain pedal

Sizes and weights

Wings are built in many different sizes. A non-standard classification is:

• Stutz or Mignon wing (length about 140 cm to 180 cm, weight about 280-350 kg)
• Salon, conservatories or studio wing (about 180 cm to 210 cm, about 320-450 kg)
• Half concert grand (about 210 cm to 240 cm, about 400-500 kg)
• Concert grand (about 240 cm to 308 cm, about 480-700 kg)

The width of today's wing is generally about 150 to 158 cm, the exception are instruments with extended range. Historical wings can also be a lot slimmer with reduced range.

The term " baby grand " for a short wing dates from the 19th century, when the music-making, increasingly, the middle class became common and a great need for tools was given. Enough space for up to 3 m in the castles of the nobles was long fortepiano, in the smaller living spaces of citizens. So long old instruments were unceremoniously cut - " trimmed ". Thus, a change in the stringing in the lower-middle position and the bass was necessary, which means that a substantial proportion of the sound changed adversely. Compared with the high piano or upright piano is shorter wing design but still differ in the mechanics, the shape of the soundboard and the sound radiation. The first baby grand by today's understanding of size as completely new design, ie to trim without a longer wing, was built by Ernst Kaps Piano Fabrik AG in 1865.

Baby grand piano can be easily surpassed in sound volume of larger pianos since their soundboards are larger. However, baby grand retain the benefit of their wings finer contemporary touch which can not be generally obtained by high pianos. To sonically to have advantages over good pianos, wing lengths of 170 cm should be avoided if possible below. In short wings which compromises the bass be too large: the inharmonicity increases; the bass sound is no longer round with shorter string lengths. Baby grand piano being built today usually with a length of about 150 cm. Chance to find even shorter specimens whose oblique to transverse rolling strings complex in lengths down to 128 cm, more and more the characteristics of the square pianos approaches in the bass, which were abandoned due to their structural and tonal disadvantages in the mid to late 19th century.

A special design of the nozzle vane is hard to find bells wings. Its name comes from the striking symmetrical outer contour of a bell: the bass strings run diagonally to the center. Their rounding corresponds to the " bell hanger ". Its strings system allows a mirror symmetrical double rounding the housing on two walls, bass and treble. Bells leaves can be therefore well placed in room corners. The sound of bells is subject to the wing the same limitations as an asymmetric baby grand. There was, however, in the symmetrical arrangement of the bells wing even grand piano ( Blüthner, 19th century ).

A typical concert grand piano is about 270 to 285 cm long - the Steinway D measures about 274 cm. Chance concert grand piano are even larger, the Bösendorfer 290 "Imperial" or 308 cm at the Fazioli F308. However, a technical limit of the currently available materials is given the high voltages of the steel strings with approximately three meters achieved.

Even longer wings, which were built in individual pieces or by special order ( Rubenstein 375, California, USA) have no constructive such high voltages and are therefore not suitable to sonicate large concert halls such as Carnegie Hall adequate; their "scale ", the interpretation of the strings and sound system, is less suitable for today's concert business for lack of sound projection, sufficient volume and punch. Their advantage is the lower due to the larger string lengths inharmonicity; the result is a smoother and rounder sound.

The typical weight of a concert grand is about 550 to 600 kg. The Steinway D -274, most frequently to more accurately stage wings, is the lightest of today's " Konzerter " and weighs about 480 kg. Very large wings like the Bosendorfer Imperial 290 can weigh more than 600 kg. Of the historically worst Steinway Serienbauten, the " Centennial D" in 1880, the predecessors of today's D -274, weight of just 700 kg will be handed down. In the same weight class occurs with 690 kg on the longest series concert grand piano, the Fazioli F- 308. For putting up such heavy wings on other than the concrete floors Consult a structural engineer is advisable.

Concert grand piano can be very noisy in the series interpretation; they must be able to assert themselves in piano concerts in large halls with an orchestra. After all, today's standard size was designed in the late 19th century to the sonication of halls the size of Carnegie Hall, which holds about 3,000 listeners. Today in even greater Settings ( Royal Albert Hall in London with 8,000 listeners ) are given piano concertos without electronic amplification. Concert grand piano are in their normal setting because of their maximum volume often less suitable for the private home environment. You can, however, both by a more gentle intonation as well as by changes in their mechanisms ( lighter hammers, lever ratios, eg other pilot screw position ) modified so that the volume is not a problem even in living rooms less than 100 square meters.

In general, however, not a grand piano, but half concert grand to 210 to 220 cm are the most sought after instruments ambitious pianists. Concert grand piano can be found in home environments often when a pianist plays piano professionally, wants to practice at home in ratios, the same stage situation.

Pedal Piano

A special form of the wing is the pedal piano, which has an additional pedal board like a church organ. These instruments were used, as well as equipped with additional pedal harpsichords, especially for practicing organ music, without the player had to seek for a church and had to rely on the help of calcants. However, several composers such as Robert Schumann also wrote works specifically for pedal piano.

Pedal Piano consist of either two successive self- made ​​instruments or pre-recorded from the pedal strings are installed under the actual piano corpus. Also, there are models in which the pedals are connected to the normal mechanics of the upper part and thus sounded the same strings.

Known manufacturers

Known wing manufacturers ( in alphabetical order): Baldwin, Bechstein, Blüthner, Bösendorfer, Borgato ( pedal piano ), Broadwood, Collard & Collard, Erard, Estonia, Fazioli, Feurich, August Förster, Gaveau, Grotrian -Steinweg, Ibach, capes, Kawai, Carl Mand, Mangeot, Mason & Hamlin, Pearl River, Petrof, Pfeiffer, Pleyel, Sauter, Schiedmayer, mold, Seiler, Steingraeber & Söhne, Steinway & sons, Yamaha, Young Chang.