Mechanism of a Piano

Playing musical instruments, perhaps a dream or expressing a feeling of joy or stress relief. Apart from that, have you ever wondered before, how do instruments work and the mechanism of musical instruments?

Before that, what is the mechanism? The mechanism means in any machines, a system of parts functioning together by giving some input and gaining the output out of it.

Let us learn the mechanism of one of the most romantic instruments to express love towards your loved ones, piano.

What is called Action?

The mechanism of the piano that leads the hammers to strike the strings when a key is pressed is called the action. Action is the heart of the piano. Its purpose is to transmit the actions of the pianist to the hammers. Many piano manufacturers make their unique modifications to the action.

Single Escapement

Cristofori’s original design included a single-escapement action. The single escapement, the hammer to be released (escape) from the impact of the key and the rest of the action. The hammer strikes the string and falls back, even if the key is still depressed and was not ready for the next keystroke. Without this escapement, the hammer would be held against the string (excluding its vibrations) for as long as the key was depressed.

Double Escapement

The modern grand double escapement action is what allows the grand piano to quickly repeat a note without fully releasing the key.

The double escapement action was developed by Sebastien Erard of France in the 1800s. Double escapement occurs when the jack is reset below the hammer as the key is partially released. This allows the note to be repeated quickly without the action parts returning to their original at-rest positions.

It is said that Erard presented a prototype of this mechanism to Beethoven in 1803, and this helped the great composer write new works. This mechanism has also been passed down in a more refined form in today's modern actions.

Action Mechanism

The action mechanism consists of several parts. The wippen, the repetition mechanism, the jack and let-off button and the hammer. These parts are activated by the key and work together to push the hammer toward the string.

Each key on the piano controls its action mechanism – there are usually 88 on the modern grand double escapement action. The action parts are mounted on rails which are supported by four to five metal action brackets. These brackets are screwed into the top of the keyframe.

The hammer rises pathway through its movement. This allows it to respond correctly and produce sound, even when played many times in sequence. Functionally, the key can be played a maximum of 15 times per second which explains the movement of the levers.

Damper Mechanism

The damper mechanism is another important part of the action. This mechanism quiets the sound instantly as soon as the finger is lifted from the key. When the finger is lifted from the key, the dampers touch the strings from above and stop the strings from vibrating. A damper weight is attached to the bottom of the long vertical wire.

Sound Creation

When a key is pressed, a hammer inside the piano strikes the strings from below. However, this only produces a soft sound. One end of the strings is supported on bridges, which are attached to the soundboard. The vibrations of the strings are transmitted to the soundboard through the bridges, and a loud sound resonates as a result of the soundboard vibrating the air. The entire piano, notably the soundboard, vibrates to produce sound.

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