At the beginning of the nineteenth century, two French inventors were able to successfully reproduce all the characteristics of the acoustic piano, with the exception of the curved soundboard: by the innovations of J.E. Eugène Lamé and Paul-Émile Boutan. Lamé invented the automatic damper with the ability to regulate the attenuation or weakening of the strings, thus determining how the notes are produced, according to the force and nature of the strike. The automatic damper, mounted in the frame of the piano, is fixed to the soundboard and is connected to the hammers, also mounted in the frame. Boutan took advantage of the soundboard to adapt the soundboard, pressing a flexible membrane over the soundboard, to perfectly reproduce the resonance of the soundboard. Also, he adapted the shape of the soundboard, to ensure stability. Even if the strings were not tightened, since the strings are mounted between the soundboard and the bridge, they are pressurized and they vibrate in a very regular way. That is, their motion is not very big. In that case, when a piano strike the string, the bridge jumps a little to the string, and it produces a vibrating force. The vibrations of the bridge produce an alternating movement of the membrane, which makes it vibrate. The vibration of the membrane, and of the bridge, that is transferred to the soundboard, are amplified and, in the end, amplified by the resonance of the soundboard. Thus, the vibration of the membrane and of the bridge are transformed in a much larger vibration of the soundboard. The force transmitted to the hammers is known as “pedal”. This instrument is also known as “piano action”. Once this mechanism was invented, the piano could reproduce the sound of the acoustic piano, with the exception of the curved soundboard. Even if the piano was invented as a real piano, it was not composed of exactly the same materials as the acoustic piano. For this reason, it is more difficult to manufacture pianos with these characteristics.
What is amazing is that the piano can reproduce the sound of a real acoustic piano, only with some differences. One of these is that the piano has a higher volume than the real one. This characteristic is usually known as “reflection”. It is due to the design and structure of the piano. The soundboard is curved and its curvature generates a certain amount of reflection. This has a little effect on the
Related links:
Comments