The Impact of the Pianoforte

Steven Ngo Senior Division Website

Steven Ngo December 7th, 2011 Period 3 World History AP Process Paper How did you choose your topic? My topic of choice was the impact of the invention of the piano. At first, the development of the modern computer was my choice of topic, but realizing that long term effects would be hard to determine, I needed to find a topic that occurred relatively a long time ago. I have loved and played the piano since I was a child so choosing the topic was almost automatic; it also fit the previous criteria by being invented more than 300 years ago. Learning about the piano interests me, thus the choice in topic. How did you conduct your research? My research process mostly concerned searches of several keywords, such as piano, Classical era, etc., on several search engines. A strategy I found useful in looking for sources were finding articles that had cited their sources (for example, Wikipedia) and accessed their sources. Accessing public library databases also helped in my research process. I also looked for missing points of views that I looked over in my research. How did you select your presentation category and create your project? I chose to do a website. I have been interested in web design for a while, and doing this project in this way just satisfies that desire. Its ability to put media in the website readily and easily also charms me. For such an informational based website, I found that a wiki served my needs well. It was easy to navigate, clean, and easy to edit and add things. I looked at my thesis and added pages based on every point I had stated. How does your project relate to the NHD theme? Reform, Revolution, and Reaction was this years National History Day theme. The invention of the piano reformed and revolutionized the music of the Classical and Romantic era. Many composers moved towards the piano in favor of its versatility over the harpsichord and clavichord. Even today we have synthesizers and portable electric pianos due to the invention of the piano; these instruments are hugely utilized in all modern genres of music, including techno, pop, and punk.

Steven Ngo December 7th, 2011 Period 3 World History AP Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources Cristofori, Bartolomeo. Cristofori Pianoforte Escapement Action. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Britannica_Pianoforte_Cristofori_Escapement_Action. png. 1720. Blueprint. This helped prove its versatility over previous keyboard instruments, for example the harpsichord and the clavichord. The innovation of felted hammers and triple strings helped the pianoforte gain dominance. Teng, Vienna. Antebellum. Rounder Records: April 7 2009. Music. Daley, Sean. Yesterday. Rhymesayers: April 22 2008. Music. Haydn, Joseph. Piano Sonata in E Flat Hob. XVI. 1789. Music. Haydn, Joseph. Piano Concerto in D Major Hob. XVIII. 1784. Music. Frederic, Chopin. Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2. 1833. Music. Frederic, Chopin. Fantaisie Impromptu. 1834. Music. These pieces of music help show piano usage throughout history, through the Classical Period (Haydn), Romantic Period (Chopin), and in modern music genres, like pop (Teng) and rap (Daley). Michael, Nick. Flemish harpsichord. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:Flemish_harpsichord.jpg. 2005. Photograph. Kunde, Karl. Hamburg Steinway D-274.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:D274.jpg. June 2005. Photograph. Lhermet, Frank. RHODES Mark II. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:018_RHODES_MARK_II.jpg. October 2009. Photograph. The harpsichord and pianoforte were heavily used in the Classical and Romantic periods and the invention of the synthesizer enabled electronic sounds and thus electronic music, such as techno, electropop, trance, club, and house. Also, these pictures show the range of tones: A1 to A7, or 6 octaves, the highest of any instrument and thus making it the most useful in terms of composition and rehearsal.

Secondary Sources Damico, Ryan. The Romantic Era Composers. http://library.thinkquest.org/15413/history/history-rom-comp.htm. ThinkQuest.com. Article. This article gave me a list of composers in the romantic era, most of them composers for the piano, helping prove piano dominance in the Romantic Era. Kraemer, Brandy. 10 Pianists Who Revolutionized Jazz. http://www.piano.about.com/od/jazzpiano/tp/10-jazz.htm. About.com. Article. As the title says, this source helped by contributing pianists themselves who revolutionized jazz. Parahilas, James. Three Hundred Years of Life With The Piano. Yale University Press; 1999. Article. This article discussed about the social and economic impact of the piano. Loesser, Arthur. Men, Women, and Pianos. Dover Publications, 1954. Book. This book explained the social impact of the piano, in terms of women and men. Hostage, Peter. Classical Period Composers. http://www.teach-me-piano.com/classical-periodcomposers.html. Peter Hostage: Teach-Me-Piano, 2009. Web. This source listed several classical period composers who wrote for the piano. Glover, Daniel. The Modern Piano: The Influence of Society, Style, and Musical Trend on the Great Piano Composers. Alfred Music Publishing: Van Nuys, CA, August 2006. Book. This source explains several techniques and music genres that spawned from the piano.