Why is piano a superior instrument?

Pianos Contain More Notes It's the only instrument with 88 separate keys, and you can play the lowest and highest notes all at the same time, a trick that can't be achieved by many other instruments. The range of notes that can be played on the standard piano is staggering.

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JohnMello is a writer, composer, musician, and author of books for children and adults.

Why the Piano Reigns Supreme

In the kingdom of the instruments (barring pipe organs) the piano reigns supreme. Not only is it one of the largest instruments you can play, but it also offers a variety of expression and playing potential unrivalled amongst its cousins. As much at home in the concert hall as in the front room, it's a keyboard, a percussion instrument, and a stringed instrument, capable of being played on its own or as a substitute for an entire orchestra. With an average of 88 keys spread over more than seven octaves, no other acoustic instrument can lay claim to the power, depth, and versatility of a piano. From the simplest melody to the most complicated harmonies and contrapuntal textures, the piano makes musicians out of young and old, amateur and professional, from the moment that first key is pressed.

Pianos Come in All Shapes and Sizes

With the exception of the pipe organ, the piano is the largest instrument on the planet. Even the smallest upright piano needs a decent amount of space to house it appropriately, while grand pianos can weigh in at as much as 1,400 pounds. Most modern pianos come with 88 keys—52 white and 36 black—although there are naturally exceptions. Pianos with smaller keyboards are often manufactured for use in rehearsal rooms, while some makers of grand pianos have extended the range down to bottom C. These extra notes are often accessed via a flip-up panel, giving the piano an otherwise normal appearance. Designs differ even with the least expensive models, some uprights being just a few feet tall. And there are so many variations between grand pianos that they've had to be classified according to their length:

Baby grand: up to 5 feet long

Parlor (or boudoir) grand: 6 to 7 feet long

Concert grand: up to 10 feet long

The piano has the widest range of any musical instrument Number Googol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pianos Contain More Notes

No other instrument has as many notes on offer as the piano. It plays lower notes than a double bassoon and higher notes than a piccolo. It’s the only instrument with 88 separate keys, and you can play the lowest and highest notes all at the same time, a trick that can't be achieved by many other instruments. The range of notes that can be played on the standard piano is staggering. From the lowest note A to the highest note C, even the simplest scale passage from one to the other would take an army of other instruments to match.

Piano Solo or in Combination

Few other instruments possess the versatility of the piano. Play it on its own, or use it to accompany a singer, a flautist, a guitarist or trombonist. Dazzle audiences as you rip through a piano concerto, playing with the largest orchestra, or become the orchestra yourself as you accompany any solo instrument.

Piano, Forte, and Everything In Between

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The piano can produce the softest, most delicate notes up in the higher register, or it can be used to pound out thunderous booming low notes. Its full name is pianoforte—the combination of the Italian words "piano" and "forte"—meaning soft and loud respectively. And naturally, the piano can create every subtle variation possible between those two extremes. That’s why it’s possible for a piano to accompany a soloist on the flute, for example, without drowning them out—or perform with the biggest orchestral forces and still be heard above them.

Pianos Blend and Fit

Most people think of the piano as a keyboard instrument, similar in design and possibility to an organ or harpsichord. But the piano is much more than that. Think of almost any other instrument—the trumpet, for instance—and you can automatically classify it. The trumpet is a brass instrument. That's the family it belongs to, and that's the only family it fits in. Not so with the piano. That it's a keyboard instrument is undeniable, but that's only part of the story. Look below the surface and you'll find two bits of clever apparatus that allow it to participate in the families of other instruments with dignity and a sense of belonging: Hammers: When you press a key on the piano it throws a hammer forward to strike the strings. Pressing the key down is a percussive activity, as is the action created when the hammer gets thrust at and comes into contact with the strings. Strings: Inside the average piano you'll find as many as 230 strings, distributed in sets of one, two, or three depending on their position. Lower notes have one string, middle notes two, and higher notes three, producing a rich variety of resonating sounds. So the piano can claim to be the only keyboard instrument that also holds membership of the string family and the percussion family. It can be used to play melodies, accompaniment, or both at the same time. It can play staccato and legato at the same time, or be used to hold down a chord with one hand while the other gets up to all sorts of musical whimsy.

Whichever way you look at it, the piano deserves its place at the top of the musical hierarchy. And how many other instruments are there that can play themselves (see video below)?

JohnMello (author) from England on November 14, 2017:

Thanks for your feedback, Edward88. Perhaps as someone else pointed out to me the piano could be called the queen of instruments. Either way, it's still pretty awesome. I'll think about changing the title ...

Edward88 on November 13, 2017:

JohnMello,

The premise of this whole article is wrong. Haven't you ever heard or seen the Wanamaker Organ in Macy's Department Store in Philadelphia? It inhabits the seven stories of the building's Central Court. Surely this instrument -essentially heard half a block away from the console- is the consummate example of the 'King of Instruments.' Haven't you ever set foot in a church or a cathedral? Don't you know that the phrase, "The King of Instruments" was coined by Mozart? Said he, “To my eyes and ears the organ will ever be the King of Instruments.” Also, the range of a pipe organ easily outreaches the range of a piano. The lowest note an organ can sound is C−1 (or CCCC), which is 8 Hz, below the range of human hearing. While the note C8 (Helmholtz pitch notation: c′ ′ ′ ′ ′) is the highest note of an 88-key piano, the highest pitch of an organ exceeds C9. Thus, the organ reaches beyond the pianos range by more than an octave in both directions. Get your facts straight, friend.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98KYMpBx9og

mic on August 20, 2017:

with its strength and the range of sounds limited only by the imagination, the organ wins for me.

Klara Perkins on May 30, 2017:

I second every word you said! I agree absolutely. The piano is King and always will be, to my thinking. And there has been a resurgence of interest in piano because the high-end builders of designer pianos (http://europianosnaples.com/producttags/designer/) seem to be getting more and more creative with beautiful shapes, woods, colors. A friend of mine who doesn't even play just bought a gorgeous red piano that has a player piano system in it. He uses his piano like a fantastic stereo system for entertaining. Me, I like to visit and play his, as the sound is significantly brighter than my old Steinway.

big fella on January 25, 2017:

you reposted in the wrong website.

JohnMello (author) from England on January 25, 2016:

Thanks laschoolofmusic - glad you enjoyed it!

Alana Miles from Los Angeles on January 24, 2016:

Love this article :) Piano was my first love, though I later switched to clarinet and could somehow have longer practice sessions with it. Maybe because I only had to read one line of music at a time! In any case, I believe every musician should have a piano background - the piano is a great instrument to start with. Cheers!

laschoolofmusic.com

JohnMello (author) from England on March 31, 2013:

Thanks Twinklingum! Really appreciate it.

Natalia Biniek from Choszczno, Poland on March 30, 2013:

Interesting one, i got curious after reading the title. Voted it up 'awesome' C:

JohnMello (author) from England on January 21, 2013:

Thanks BlossomSB. Always happy to hear another opinion :)

Bronwen Scott-Branagan from Victoria, Australia on January 20, 2013:

An interesting article, but you haven't convinced me - it may be the queen of instruments and is great for all the purposes you have claimed, plus for learning and for having family fun nights singing together, but the pipe organ is still king in my mind. Sorry. However, it's a great article and I love the way you have presented it.

spinditty.com - Why the Piano Is a Giant Among Instruments - Spinditty

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