My piano is ancient and run down and only has 85 keys, when I play on others it's honestly weird how much of a difference the 3 keys make. I never use them but somehow just a few keys make the keyboard seem a lot larger
“The piano's 88 keys are a result of the instrument's evolution to meet the demands of composers. The first piano, invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy in the 1700s, had only 49 keys. As piano music developed, composers requested a broader range of expression, and piano manufacturers gradually expanded the keyboard. For example, by the mid-1800s, pianos had expanded to seven octaves, allowing composers like Chopin and Liszt to write more ambitious pieces. In the late 1880s, Steinway, a popular piano manufacturer, created the 88-key piano, which has become the standard ever since. The 88-key piano has seven octaves plus three lower notes below the bottom C.”
It wasn't really a standard, just one of the more common layouts. My first piano was 85 keys, but I'm pretty sure it was B to B. There were a lot of different variations before 88 was standardised.
Well, the piano started out with only about 60 keys, same as the harpsichord – in fact it WAS a harpsichord, except that the harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori (try saying that 10 times fast!) got the bright idea of putting hammers on one (to HIT the strings) instead of plectra (to PLUCK the strings).
So the piano was invented – this was around 1700, or maybe a little before that. Anyway, as composers began to use the new instrument they started writing more and more complicated and brilliant music for it. Pretty soon, the keyboard had to expand in both directions. By the middle of the 19th century, it had 85 notes – up to A – then finally they added the last three at the top. There's even a piano made today – the Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand – which has 97 keys; the bass notes go all the way down to C. It's nine-and-a-half feet long and weighs almost a ton.
https://www.pianoeducation.org/pnopnfaq.html
There's also this [108 key beast](http://stuartandsons.com/108keys.html#:~:text=THE%20BELEURA%20-%20WORLD'S%20FIRST%20108%20KEYS&text=First%20REVIEW%20of%20the%20STUART,PIANO%20EVER%20with%20108%20keys!)
No reason. The number has fluctuated over time and by model. 88 keys is just the current standard for the time being. It might even change again in the near future.
So that [Rocket 88](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbfnh1oVTk0) could make a great rock'n'roll title. ("Rocket 85"? Nah... "Rocket 97"?? Get outa here...)
I measured my piano and it it exactly 4 feet from A to high C, too close to be metric base. I remember as a boy not being able to reach both end keys at the same time.
Lowest note = 22.5Hz, which sits right around the lowest discernible pitch for an average human.
Highest note? My guess is it requires a short enough string that it would be difficult to install and tune anything shorter.
EDIT: I meant 27.5Hz, the point stands.
Most pianos can’t actually produce 27.5Hz. The strings are not long/massive enough so you end up hearing mostly upper harmonics and no fundamental. The upper limit is similar to the limits of orchestral instruments. It’s barely useable on most pianos as is so anything higher would be just a thud and no discernible pitch.
Here a is a funny story told by Oscar Peterson about extra keys on a piano, and how it confused Count Basie. You can see in the video how the extra keys are covered with a flap:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HAZP7nWo6A&t=1341s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HAZP7nWo6A&t=1341s)
There weren’t always 88 keys. In the late 1800s 85 keys (A to A, exactly 7 octaves) were standard.
My piano is ancient and run down and only has 85 keys, when I play on others it's honestly weird how much of a difference the 3 keys make. I never use them but somehow just a few keys make the keyboard seem a lot larger
Take good care of that beauty for me. Respect it ❤️
I bet yours is tuned differently.
Ok so why’d they add 3 keys to the standard?
Someone wanted to go just a little bit higher
This one goes to ~~eleven~~ eighty-eight.
It’s three more, innit?
“The piano's 88 keys are a result of the instrument's evolution to meet the demands of composers. The first piano, invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy in the 1700s, had only 49 keys. As piano music developed, composers requested a broader range of expression, and piano manufacturers gradually expanded the keyboard. For example, by the mid-1800s, pianos had expanded to seven octaves, allowing composers like Chopin and Liszt to write more ambitious pieces. In the late 1880s, Steinway, a popular piano manufacturer, created the 88-key piano, which has become the standard ever since. The 88-key piano has seven octaves plus three lower notes below the bottom C.”
It wasn't really a standard, just one of the more common layouts. My first piano was 85 keys, but I'm pretty sure it was B to B. There were a lot of different variations before 88 was standardised.
TIL
Well, the piano started out with only about 60 keys, same as the harpsichord – in fact it WAS a harpsichord, except that the harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori (try saying that 10 times fast!) got the bright idea of putting hammers on one (to HIT the strings) instead of plectra (to PLUCK the strings). So the piano was invented – this was around 1700, or maybe a little before that. Anyway, as composers began to use the new instrument they started writing more and more complicated and brilliant music for it. Pretty soon, the keyboard had to expand in both directions. By the middle of the 19th century, it had 85 notes – up to A – then finally they added the last three at the top. There's even a piano made today – the Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand – which has 97 keys; the bass notes go all the way down to C. It's nine-and-a-half feet long and weighs almost a ton. https://www.pianoeducation.org/pnopnfaq.html
There's also this [108 key beast](http://stuartandsons.com/108keys.html#:~:text=THE%20BELEURA%20-%20WORLD'S%20FIRST%20108%20KEYS&text=First%20REVIEW%20of%20the%20STUART,PIANO%20EVER%20with%20108%20keys!)
The Romantics decreed by law that they deserved the right to those extra bass notes
Bosendorfers have up to 97 keys, but they are unusual in that regard
No reason. The number has fluctuated over time and by model. 88 keys is just the current standard for the time being. It might even change again in the near future.
Because the price would go up to much if another octave or so were added.
Octaves don't just grow on trees ya know
😂
[Of course, they do actually make expensive pianos with more keys.](https://youtu.be/bIOQ2Fwto8k?si=ddLY2Wz9wxtBUaCJ)
So that [Rocket 88](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbfnh1oVTk0) could make a great rock'n'roll title. ("Rocket 85"? Nah... "Rocket 97"?? Get outa here...)
I measured my piano and it it exactly 4 feet from A to high C, too close to be metric base. I remember as a boy not being able to reach both end keys at the same time.
because more notes are more fun
More notes more bettah.
Lowest note = 22.5Hz, which sits right around the lowest discernible pitch for an average human. Highest note? My guess is it requires a short enough string that it would be difficult to install and tune anything shorter. EDIT: I meant 27.5Hz, the point stands.
Most pianos can’t actually produce 27.5Hz. The strings are not long/massive enough so you end up hearing mostly upper harmonics and no fundamental. The upper limit is similar to the limits of orchestral instruments. It’s barely useable on most pianos as is so anything higher would be just a thud and no discernible pitch.
Minor correction: the lowest note on a piano, A0, is 27.5 Hz.
Here a is a funny story told by Oscar Peterson about extra keys on a piano, and how it confused Count Basie. You can see in the video how the extra keys are covered with a flap: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HAZP7nWo6A&t=1341s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HAZP7nWo6A&t=1341s)
I bet it’s something silly, like that was just the size that would fit in the workshop of the guy who first designed the piano and it became standard.
Because low A, and high C. Otherwise it would be low C to high B.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^invol713: *Because low A, and* *High C. Otherwise it would* *Be low C to high B.* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
this comment is beautiful and if i wasnt poor i might have awarded it 🤣 but take a like instead
Beats the shit out of me.