Acoustic pianos & grand pianos

The piano is the queen of the keyboard instruments. And if the piano is the queen, then the grand piano is the emperor of the music world. That’s not only because most pianos, with their 88 keys, have a range of over seven octaves — from sub-contra A to the C in the fifth octave. For the first time in music history, the pianoforte made it possible to vary the volume continuously between piano and forte. In addition, the modern piano is a keyboard, percussion and string instrument in one. A key triggers a hammer, which in turn causes the string to vibrate and sound. Pure perfection to the ear.

Owning a piano or a grand piano

If you own a grand piano, you also own a piano — but owning a piano does not necessarily mean you own a grand piano. Here’s a short explanation of the similarities and differences. Let’s start with the terms piano and pianoforte. Originally, the term covered anything with keys. Today the word is mainly used for upright acoustic instruments and is rarely applied to grand pianos. The word piano, which is the correct term for a keyboard instrument in many European languages, can still be used synonymously in German.

What distinguishes a grand piano from an upright piano?

Upright pianos and grand pianos already look very different at first glance — mainly because of their construction. While the upright piano stands vertically, the grand piano is laid out horizontally. As a result, the strings of an upright piano run vertically, whereas the strings of a grand piano are arranged horizontally. For the sound, the orientation is secondary: what matters most is string length. The longer the strings, the better the tone. In this respect the grand piano has many advantages over the smaller upright. Grand pianos range from the roughly 180-centimetre baby grand up to the 3-metre concert grand.

The action of uprights and grands also differs. In an upright, the hammer strikes the string from the front. To reset and prepare for the next note, the jack must fall back beneath the hammer butt. In a grand piano the almost horizontal hammer strikes the string from below. The jack’s return path is much shorter, so the key does not need to be fully released. This allows for fast, precise runs.

The acoustic piano for the joy of music

Not everyone has space for a concert grand at home, but if you want to buy a piano you can usually find room in almost any living space. For aspiring musicians the acoustic piano remains the first choice. With its precise tones and the controllable, learnable way of shaping them, it is still the best instrument for learning technique and developing musical creativity. The natural tone of the acoustic piano also trains the ear. On the acoustic instrument the aspiring musician gains a feel for music — for how it’s produced, its sound and its beauty. Once that foundation is in place, those skills can be transferred to electric and electronic instruments.

For musicians who prefer something more compact and digital, we’ve got lots of alternatives to acoustic pianos in our Digitalpianos & E-Pianos category.