The piano for kids: how it works and what to hear

The piano is a keyboard instrument with 88 keys. Inside its case are more than 200 strings. When a player presses a key, a small felt hammer flies up and strikes a string, and the string rings. A light touch gives a soft sound and a firm touch gives a loud one. That is where the instrument got its name: piano is Italian for soft, and the first pianos were called “soft and loud.”

Quick facts

• Family: it has strings, and hammers strike them, so it belongs to both the string and the percussion families
• Keys: 88, with 52 white and 36 black
• Strings: more than 200
• Invented: around 1700, in Italy, by Bartolomeo Cristofori
• Two shapes: the grand, with strings lying flat, and the upright, with strings standing up

How it makes sound

The key. A key is a long lever. Pressing the front end lifts the back end.

The hammer. The lever throws a hammer covered in felt at the string. The hammer hits and falls back at once, so the string is free to ring.

The strings. Low notes have one long, thick string. High notes have three thin strings each, to make them loud enough.

The damper. A pad of felt rests on each string. Pressing a key lifts the pad. Letting go drops it back and stops the sound.

The soundboard. A large, thin sheet of wood behind the strings picks up their shaking and makes the sound fill the room.

The pedals

The right pedal lifts all the dampers at once. Every string rings on, and the notes blend. It is the one used most.

The left pedal makes the sound softer.

The middle pedal differs from piano to piano. On many grands, it holds only the notes that are down when it is pressed. On many uprights, it lowers a strip of felt for quiet practice.

Why it took over

Before the piano, the main keyboard instrument was the harpsichord, which plucks its strings. A harpsichord key gives the same loudness however it is pressed. The piano let a player shade every note. By about 1800, it had replaced the harpsichord in homes and concert halls. See keyboard instruments for kids.

Its job in music

The piano can play a tune and its harmony at the same time, with ten notes or more at once. That makes it a whole band in one instrument. It plays alone, it accompanies singers and other players, and it stars in piano concertos with an orchestra. Now and then, it sits inside the orchestra as one more color.

Pieces to hear

“Für Elise,” by Beethoven. A gentle tune that many students learn.

Rondo alla turca, by Mozart. Quick, crisp, and bright.

“Clair de lune,” by Debussy. Soft notes with the right pedal blending them.

“Minute” Waltz, by Chopin. Fast, light, and whirling. See Chopin for kids.

Piano Concerto in A minor, the opening, by Grieg. A drum roll, and then the piano crashes down the keyboard.

The Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saëns. Two pianos play with a small orchestra. See the guide.

Starting to play

The piano is a common first instrument. Every note is laid out in a row, and a beginner can make a clear sound on the first day. Many teachers take beginners from about five or six, and Suzuki teachers start younger.

Read best age to start piano lessons and piano or keyboard for a beginner.

Things to do together

Look inside. Open the lid of a piano and press one key with a slow push. Watch the hammer rise and the damper lift.

High and low. Play the lowest key and the highest key. Count how many strings each one has.

Hold the pedal. Press the right pedal and play a few notes. Let the pedal go and hear the sound stop.

Find the pattern. The black keys come in groups of two and three. Find every C. It is the white key to the left of each group of two.

Soft and loud. Play one key as soft as you can, then louder each time, six times.

Print and play

Print the piano keyboard chart to learn the names of the keys. For all four families of the orchestra, see instruments of the orchestra for kids.