CHAPTER III.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MODERN PIANOFORTE.
The pianoforte of to-day is the most complex and ingenious of musical instruments. With the possible exception of the pipe-organ, there is no existing tone apparatus that combines within itself the product of so many varied industries. Both as to the raw material and the finished parts, this instrument draws its tonal charm, in the ultimate analysis, as much from the saw-mill, the machine shop and the iron foundry as from the forest and the mine. Trees of the forest, ore from the mines—even the wooly coats of the peaceful sheep—alike contribute their share to the completion of the wonderful product of musico-mechanical ingenuity that we recognize in the modern pianoforte.
In such circumstances as these, it is easy to understand that the commercial production of these instruments is a formidable undertaking. To the musical and technical skill that is essential must now be added large capital and a great manufacturing plant. The moderate prices at which it is at present possible to sell pianofortes would not be maintained for a moment without this modern system of productive concentration and distributive expansion. The application of such business systems to the production of an essentially artistic structure has had the double effect of cheapening the selling price and improving the quality.
This is not the place to go into details of the organization of a modern pianoforte factory, but we may very properly devote some moments to a consideration of the main points of construction that are observable in the pianofortes of the day. Critical analysis of these points will be in order later on in the course of the present work. For the moment we shall be content with obtaining a bird’s-eye view, as it were, of that which we are later to dissect and criticise.
There are to-day two distinct and prevailing types of pianoforte. These are the “upright” and the “grand.” Of the once popular “square” it is unnecessary here to do more than say that the type has passed into a state of obsolescence and is fast dying out. Both structurally and tonally, it was most defective; and its popularity was due rather to the imperfect development of the other types during the period of its vogue than to any inherent advantages of its own. It has well and faithfully served its appointed time, and we may properly leave it to die in peace.
For the last thirty years in this country and for considerably longer in Europe, the upright, succeeding the square as a home instrument, has remained victorious. Its small size and great convenience, together with the surprising tonal capacity that has been developed in it in the United States, have universally commended it, and only the development of the very small grand has lately seemed to be threatening its long unchallenged supremacy.
The exterior form of an upright is familiar to all. If we strip from it all the outer appendages, and then remove the action and keys, we shall at once see that the instrument consists essentially of a sound-board and a frame, the latter partly wooden and partly metallic, upon which are stretched strings of regularly graduated lengths and thicknesses. Attached to this framing are two more or less ornate wooden erections which are denominated the “sides” of the instrument, while a horizontal wooden shelf, called the “key-bed,” serves to join the sides and support the keys and their frame.
The strings of an upright are arranged vertically from the top to the bottom of the framing already described, with the exception of those which serve the bass notes. These are strung diagonally over the treble strings. It will also be observed that the strings become progressively shorter as the scale ascends until the speaking lengths at the highest notes are two inches or less. The thickness also varies directly as the length. The material of which the strings are made is cast-steel wire, and the overstrung bass strings are, in addition, covered with copper or iron wire. These strings, in order that they may be maintained at the proper tensions and in the correct positions, must be supported by suitable framing. The demands of modern construction require that the framing be most massive. We have already cast a hurried glance at it, and may now proceed to describe it in more detail. First of all, however, it is necessary to investigate the apparatus that amplifies the sound waves projected from the strings and transforms them into the pleasing tones of the pianoforte. We must, in short, examine the sound-board.
We shall have occasion later, critically to examine and discuss the resonance apparatus of the pianoforte. It is sufficient, therefore, that we glance briefly at it here, so as to familiarize ourselves with its general form and construction. The sound-board is usually constructed of a sheet of spruce fir of varying thickness and arched inwards towards the strings, the crown of the arch being at its middle portion. It carries wooden bridges, over which pass the strings and upon which the vibrations of these strings are impressed and which serve to limit their speaking lengths. The side of the sound-board, remote from the strings, is strengthened by the addition of a series of strips of hard wood called “ribs,” which are tightly glued on to it.