Is the Piano a Percussion or a Stringed Instrument? (2024)
The piano is one of the most-popular musical instruments in the world. But peek inside it, and you’ll quickly discover that it is also among the more-complex instruments. You might also begin to wonder what type of instrument it is—percussion or stringed?
Inside a piano, there are strings, and there is a long row of uniformly rounded felt-covered hammers. In the traditional Hornbostel-Sachs system of categorizing musical instruments, the piano is considered a type of chordophone. Similar to a lyre or a harp, it has strings stretched between two points. When the strings vibrate, they produce sound. On a piano, however, those vibrations are initiated by hammers hitting the strings rather than by plucking or by moving a bow across them. So, the piano also falls into the realm of percussion instruments. As a result, today the piano is generally considered to be both a stringed and a percussion instrument.
Each of the 88 keys of a piano is attached to a hammer that strikes a string of varying length and thickness, with both dimensions of the string becoming smaller in size as the player goes from left to right across the instrument (most apparent in a grand piano). When a key is pressed, it sends its associated hammer into motion, accelerating it toward the string. If the string that is hit is long and thick, the pitch of the sound produced is relatively low; the key, in other words, was on the left end of the piano. If the string that is hit is thin and short, the pitch is higher, indicating that the key played was on the right half of the piano. After striking the string, the hammer rebounds and returns to its original position, ready for the next attack.
On a piano, however, those vibrations are initiated by hammers hitting the strings rather than by plucking or by moving a bow across them. So, the piano also falls into the realm of percussion instruments. As a result, today the piano is generally considered to be both a stringed and a percussion instrument.
Most instruments known as chordophones are defined as string instruments, wherein their sound is derived from the vibration of a string, but some such as these examples also fall under percussion instruments.
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers that are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital pianos.
Band instruments typically include: Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet or Cornet, French Horn, Trombone, Baritone, Tuba and Percussion. Orchestra instruments typically include: Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass. Is it possible to play the guitar or piano in band or orchestra class? Generally, the answer is no.
On a piano, however, those vibrations are initiated by hammers hitting the strings rather than by plucking or by moving a bow across them. So, the piano also falls into the realm of percussion instruments. As a result, today the piano is generally considered to be both a stringed and a percussion instrument.
Before the piano, there were a number of earlier keyboard instruments. The organ is one of the oldest of these, and its earliest predecessors were built in Ancient Greece in the third century BCE.
The celesta looks like a tiny upright piano and sounds a lot like the glockenspiel with its delicate bell-like tone. Celestas usually have a keyboard of 49–65 keys. As with the piano, you make sound on the celesta by pressing down on a key with your finger, which lifts a hammer inside and strikes a metal bar.
For beginners or players on a budget looking for an authentic playing experience, you cannot beat the sound and feel of a digital piano. For children or casual players that value portability or don't have the space for a full-size piano, keyboards are an excellent place to start.
The most common percussion instruments in the orchestra include the timpani, xylophone, cymbals, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, maracas, gongs, chimes, celesta, and piano.
Using normal classical music language, guitar would be a string instrument because the string is plucked, just as is a harpsichord. A piano, by contrast, is usually said to be a percussion instrument, because the strings are hammered by a mallet.
A piano is a percussion instrument, whereas an organ is a woodwind instrument meaning that they produce very different sounds when played. A piano can only sound like a piano, however, an organ can be altered to sound like a variety of woodwind and reed instruments.
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