Ode to the Pianoforte

You can play piano. You can play forte. It’s the most magical of musical instruments.

Photo by George Coletrain on Unsplash

There’s something magical about the pianoforte. For my money, it’s the perfect instrument.

It’s not constrained to a small range of notes, but rather, has a full range of expression. From the highest highs to the lowest lows, the piano can capture the full breadth and depth of the musical range.

And those notes, they’re arranged the most logically of any instrument. No confusing holes or levers or buttons; no confusing strings and frets, where you have to remember the shape and placement of each chord. Though since I’ve started learning the ukulele, I’ve learned the pattern, each fret taking you down a half step along the string, but still. The piano has it beat in terms of logic and simplicity: each key to the right is a half step up. It makes learning to read music easier, spaces and lines translating simply to keys, a simple spatial relationship. The world of music brought right in front of a new musician’s eyes, until muscle memory is built.

And you no longer have to have a concert hall. Thanks to modern technology, we have full-size keyboards that can be transported from place to place, no more strings to be tuned or full-sized movers required. We have pianos that can be folded and…