History of the Piano

History of the Piano Blake Stutts The piano is a string percussion instrument which makes sound with vibrations. The cause of vibrations are the hammers inside the piano which strike the strings, and then the vibration of the strings is transmitted to a soundboard. Even though the sounding system of early and modern piano is pretty similar, there are some differences between of them. The modern piano has a cast-iron frame capable of withstanding the tremendous tension of the strings which makes a louder sound than earlier ones. Modern hammers are covered with felt, but earlier generations hammers were covered with leather. On the other hand, early piano had wood frames, and they could only lightly string. The piano is a well-made instrument that can be traced back through the centuries to create masterpieces. The piano is the most popular instrument. It is not too much to say that more people know how to play the piano than any other instrument. The piano has been many things and performed many tasks. The history of making the piano and different piano technique has had a lot of development since the 18th century. There were many forms of piano system and techniques in earlier times. A lot of attempts and efforts since then have created a well-done and popular instrument. Many musicians used the piano to create their well-known music pieces. These are only examples of differences between past and present pianos. In fact, there are many differences between the two kinds of instrument. The first piano was invented in Florence, Italy in 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori, a craftsman who repaired harpsichords for Italys royal court (Hoover, Adams and Rucker). He conceived Gravecembalo col piano e forte, which is a harpsichord which can produce soft and loud sounds, in 1709. In the mid-18th century, the piano had become widely popular. (Ehrlich) Throughout the centuries piano occupied a dominant place in music and society from Mozart to modern day music. Piano is the origin to most music due to the fact that the piano allows you to use all ten fingers to produce ten different notes and pitches including the use of your feet. Many pianos have had pedals or levers that comes in three causing the music to become softer, longer, or louder known as the soft pedal (una corda), sostenuto, and sustain pedal (23-24). The word piano is a shortened form of pianoforte, the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which derives from gravicembalo col piano e forte[1] and fortepiano (Fine and Gilbert). The piano was influenced on earlier innovations in keyboard instruments such as the clavichord and the harpsichord. In a clavichord, the strings are struck by tangents, while in a harpsichord, they are mechanically plucked by quills when the performer depresses the key (23-24). Over the centuries as the harpsichord developed the mechanic had shown instrument builders the most effective ways to construct the case, soundboard, bridge, and mechanical action for a keyboard intended to sound strings. A popular medium for musicians to create musical masterpieces, Pianos started to rise during the baroque, classical, and the romantic period. Well known composer and musician that used the piano to create their masterpiece are Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. There are four types of vertical pianos, which is based on the pianos height: Spinet, Console, Studio, and the Upright. The standard width of an upright piano is about 5 and the depth is between 2 2ÂÂ ½. The total floor space should be about 5 wide by 5 deep, including bench space. The height of the piano makes no difference in the floor space needed but it makes a major difference in the quality of sound the piano produces (Types Sizes of Pianos Bluebook of Pianos). The size is measured from the floor to the top of the lid. The spinet piano is the smallest of the vertical pianos because of the dropped action that transfers the force of striking the key to the hammer strike-ng the string. The console is the most popular of the vertical pianos due to the speed of the hammer. The additional height of the studio piano gives it a richness and tonal quality comparable to those of many grand pianos. The upright piano is the final vertical piano that is the tallest of the vertical p ianos. The grand pianos is the only type of horizontal piano, but it has many sizes due to the width and length that influence the volume and the tone quality of the piano (Types Sizes of Pianos Bluebook of Pianos). Having a piano is a pain in the butt to the fact pianos are very heavy yet delicate instruments. They require professional piano movers to use special techniques for transporting both uprights and grands pianos to prevent any damage. Pianos need regular tuning to keep them on pitch and regular maintenance to ensure the felt hammers and key mechanisms are functioning properly. The tuning of a piano involves the adjustment of the tensions of the pianos strings. Aligning the intervals among their tones so that the instrument is in tune[2]. The relationship between two pitches, called an interval, is the ratio of their absolute frequencies. Two different intervals are perceived as the same when the pairs of pitches involved share the same frequency ratio. The easiest intervals to identify, and the easiest intervals to tune, are those that are just, meaning they have a simple whole-number ratio (Fine and Gilbert). The construction and components of a piano can be difficult because they ca n have an upward of 12,000 individual parts, supporting six functional features: keyboard, hammers, dampers, bridge, soundboard, and strings. Most pianos now a day the casing is made of hardwood, typically hard maple or beech. The first electric pianos from the late 1920s used metal strings with a magnetic pickup[3], an amplifier and a loudspeaker. Pressing keys on the electric pianos has the same action as a regular piano. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations which are converted into electrical signals by magnetic pickups, which are then connected to an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker to make a sound loud enough for the performer and audience to hear (Ehrlich). Most people think the electric piano is the same thing as the electronic pianos, but they are the totally opposite. Electronic pianos are non-acoustic; they do not have strings, tines or hammers, but are a type of synthesizer that simulates or imitates piano sounds using oscillators and filters that synthesize the sound of an acoustic piano (Dacies). Luckily with the electronic pianos maintenances is not require regularly. They are really inexpensive due to their popu larity in pop and rock music in the 1960s and 1970s (Hoover, Adams and Rucker). They also allow a person to practice with a headphone on to avoid disturbing others. Digital pianos are also non-acoustic and do not have strings or hammers because they use a digital sampling technology to accurately reproduce the acoustic sound of each piano note, while connected to a keyboard amplifier and speaker to produce sound The piano is one of the most beautiful sounding instruments that can range in sound from as low as a water well, to as high as the sky. It has evolved over time and become an amazing instrument. We can thank Bartolomeo Cristofori for his hard work. The piano was accepted very well in history and it has generated many changes in the music industry. The piano was also used a lot in society and has had many applications grow from it. Without it, many classical masterpieces as well as modern songs wouldnt have been possible. Work Cited Dacies, Hugh. The New Gravoe Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Second edition). London: Macmillan, 2001. Book. Ehrlich, Cyril. The Piano: A History. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990. Bool. Fine, Larry and Douglas R Gilbert. The Piano Book: Buying and Owning a New or Used Piano (4th ed.). Brookside Press, 2001. Book. Hoover, et al. Piano Notes: History. 2001. Web. 10 October 2016. . Kamien, Roger. Music An Appreciation 8th Brief. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015. Book. Pianos, Bluebook of. Types Sizes of Pianos Bluebook of Pianos. 2015. Web. 8 October 2016. . [1] Pollens (1995, 238) [2] A particular fixed set of pitches. [3] a transducer that captures or senses mechanical vibrations from stringed instruments

The Use of Deconstruction in Public Policy Formation Essay -- Problem

Deconstruction is a poststructural theory that has been applied with good results to such areas as Anthropology, Architecture, Critical Legal Studies, Graphic Design, and Literary Criticism. Our purpose is to introduce it into the practice of consulting in general, and public policy formation in particular. Several features of the recent work of Jacques Derrida (the Philosopher responsible for deconstruction) are relevant to our design of a Problem Tour. Problem A deconstructive approach to problem solving puts in question the concept of "problem" and the notion of "solution." "Problema can signify projection or protection, that which one poses or throws in front of oneself, either as the projection of a project, of a task to accomplish, or as the protection created by a substitute, a prosthesis that we put forth in order to represent, replace, shelter, or dissimulate ourselves, or so as to hide something unavowable--like a shield (problema also means shield, clothing as barrier or guard-barrier) behind which one guards oneself in secret or in shelter in case of danger. Every border is problematic in these two senses" (Derrida, 1993: 11-12). An allegorical definition of the effect of problem as shield is the scene in which the ghost of Hamlet's father, a "revenant," appears in full armor on the ramparts of Elsinor. The definition involves the fusion of a series of terms: advice, advise, adviser, advisory, visor. "To feel ourselves seen by a look which it will always be impossible to cross, that is the visor effect on the basis of which we inherit from the law. Since we do not see the one who sees us, and who makes the law, who delivers the injunction; since we do not see the one who orders 'swear,' we cannot identify i... ...ames the essence of tragedy. This dynamic continues today, and is the reason for the "urgency" of the emerAgency. WORKS CITED Benitez-Rojo, Antonio (1996), THE REPEATING ISLAND: THE CARIBBEAN AND THE POSTMODERN PERSPECTIVE, 2nd Ed., Trans. James E. Maraniss (Duke). Derrida, Jacques (1993), APORIAS, trans. Thomas Dutoit (Stanford). ____________ (1994), SPECTRES OF MARXS: THE STATE OF THE DEBT, THE WORK OF MOURNING, AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL, trans. Peggy Kamuf (Routledge). ____________ (1997), POLITICS OF FRIENDSHIP, trans. George Collins (Verso). Peters, F. E. (1967), GREEK PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS: A HISTORICAL LEXICON (New York University). Poundstone, William (1992), PRISONER'S DILEMMA: JOHN VON NEUMANN, GAME THEORY, AND THE PUZZLE OF THE BOMB (Doubleday) Ventura, Michael, "Hear That Long Snake Moan," in SHADOW DANCING IN THE USA (Tarcher, 1985).

Certification In Education And Training Essay

Task 1 1, Explain what your main role & responsibilities are as a teacher/trainer in Education and Training (1.1) My role as a Teacher  As a teacher, one of my main roles is to motivate my learners, to develop their ability to learn also to develop my learner’s aspiration to learn. When you train to teach you read about delivering training and how to facilitating learning, but in reality you do much more than that, your role as a teacher is not just about teaching your subject or preparing learners for assessment. The focus of your role as a teacher I feel relates very much to inspiring your learners to change and develop their personal, social and professional skills to the best of their ability. My ultimate aim is to enable my learners to understand how to take responsibility for their own development. I would do this by planning and preparing teaching and learning activities that take account of the needs and well-being of individual learners as well as groups of learners. Some key aspects of my role as a teacher may be: Carrying out initial and/or diagnostic assessments. Clear communication with learners, other professionals. Promoting appropriate behaviour and respect for others. Identifying and meeting individual learner’s needs. Being aware of the support available. Being organised. Being reflective, (which means learning from successes as well as mistakes). My responsibilities as a teacher?  As a teacher, my responsibility is to ensure that learners are enrolled onto the correct course that is suited for them and to make sure of meeting their needs and abilities, also i need to ensure that my learner is on the appropriate course in terms of meeting their award and organizational requirements. To do this you I will probably have to be responsible for the following: Promoting a safe and supportive learning environment. Promoting equality and diversity. Adhering to legislation and codes of practice. Modelling professional behaviour at all times to inspire my learners. Ensuring my own professional development.  Working with a team of professionals in order to improve the experience and achievement of my learners. Designing or contributing to a design of the course curriculum. Negotiating appropriate learning targets for groups and individuals and make sure their appropriate to their needs and aspirations as well as the course aims. Planning learning activities based on the needs of your group and specific individual needs within the group. Amending or designing learning resources that are varied or appropriate to the award aims, to intellectually challenge my learners. Keeping accurate records to contribute to your organisations quality improvement strategy. This will include keeping accurate records of recruitment, retention, achievement and progression of your group, as well as evaluation of how these can be improved; Keeping accurate records of individual learners’ progress and future needs. (This is often recorded in the form of an individual learning plan). Providing learners with appropriate points of referral as required. (Word count 467) 2, Explain how your role involves working with other professionals and what the boundaries are between your teaching role and other professional roles. (3.1, 3.2) â€Å"Professionalism requires us to maintain appropriate standards and fulfil our responsibilities to learners, institutions and colleagues† (Francis and Gould, 2009). This can be achieved by setting professional and personal boundaries which will enable us to be clear about what our limits are and what our professional role involves. It is our responsibility to identify areas outside of the professional boundaries of a teacher, either because of lack of necessary skills or expertise or because it is inappropriate for the teacher to deal with it. This is when external support from other professionals will be required and it is important to identify the appropriate colleague to which to refer the matter. For example a student who is having financial problems should be referred to the appropriate colleague within the institution. With personal matters it is important not to given preferential treatment to one or a group of learners and to treat  everyone equally. Teachers should not give out personal information or get personally involved with a student e.g. not join social networking sites etc. You should avoid touching students inappropriately or give preferential treatment to some students and not others. These boundaries could have a negative effect on us as teachers as well as other professionals within the organisation. We therefore need to deal with these boundaries by referring to the Institute for Learning’s Code of Practice (2008) which outlines the behaviours expected of teachers. (Word count 234) 3, Summarise the key aspics of legislation, regulatory requirements and codes of practice relating to your role and responsibilities as a teacher/trainer. (1.2) . Teachers always have to protect themselves and the best way to do it is to follow the rules of the code of practice. Being a teacher makes me automatically an example for my students so therefore I must not discriminate, abuse (physically or verbally), dress inappropriate, and be late or turn up for teaching intoxicated. The Code of Professional Practice comes in support of all teachers as guidance to how to be a good teacher. In a continually changing society the profession of teaching is becoming more complex and important and in order to keep up with the changes, I need to ensure that I meet the highest possible standards. Following this, I must be committed to my own professional learning, seeking to expand my skills and to deepen my knowledge as a teacher. Confidentiality and Data protection Act (1998) are very important legislations for a teacher, learners expect us to respect and protect confidentiality, this duty extends to any information relating to a learner which we acquire in the course of our work. Confidential information includes personal details. â€Å"Confidentiality can be defined as when one person receives personal or sensitive information from another person, then that person who receives the information has a duty not to pass it on to any other person without the consent of the person who confided in them.† As a professional teacher, I won’t share any information regarding my students unless the situation requires it. I’ll do my best to keep safe the information they are sharing with me and to gain their trust, if they will trust me then they’ll feel safe in my classroom. (Word count  272) 4, Explain how to maintain a safe and supportive learning environment. (2.1) â€Å"Good classroom management depends a lot on how you establish the ground rules at the beginning of a course. Students need to know what you expect from them and what they can expect from you during the course. They need to know where the boundaries lie and what will happen if they step over the boundaries.† (http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/teaching-tips/establishing-ground-rules) I feel that ground rules are useful strategy to help set the expectations of how a group can achieve a organized and pleasant approach when working together in the class room. When the ground rules have been established and agreed with the group you are working with, this then provides a frame of reference for the future. It can be useful at times for the ground rules to mainly be suggested by the students to give a sense of ownership, however teachers, might at times, wish to include suggestions in the ground rules if not thought of by the group. This is particularly important for teachers of adults, as it is an accepted way of looking at how students will agree appropriate behaviour, and be respectful during the learning process. When there arises some difficulties in the classroom related to behaviour and respect, the teacher can use the ground rules as one way of opening a dialogue or indeed to bring order back to the learning environment. A way of promoting appropriate behaviour and respect is to keep the established ground rules as an existing agreement, so it may be added too during the duration of learning with the group and learn from it and adapt it to other groups for future learning. (Word count 270) 5, explain why it’s important to promote behaviour and respect for others. (2.2) One of the most effective ways to promote appropriate behaviour and repect for others is to model the behaviour yourself. Create a learning environment where people feel comfortable in expressing their interpretation of what they believe appropriate behaviour to be. This may vary slightly or considerably depending on who is involved  within my case. An open discussion at the beginning of proceedings allows an opportunity for everyone to contribute. This may bring up cultural or behavioural differences which can be expressed and may raise issues not previously considered by some. It is important to do this to promote equality and diversity within the learning environment and not to raise issues and complicate learning for my students. (Word count 116) 6, Explain why it’s important to identify and meet individual learner needs and describe the points of referral to meet these needs. (1.4, 3.3) It is important that you identify the needs of your learners so you can design the course to reflect individual differences. Although this is usually described as the first stage in the teaching/training cycle it is a process that may have to be deferred until you meet your learners for the first time and usually should be a continuing requirement throughout the learning journey. However, some organisations interview their learners before the course, or there may be an application process where learner needs can be identified. The range of learner needs can be described by a variety of acronyms – one of which is used is; SPICE: Although inclusion is about supporting learner’s needs, it is not always possible for teachers to do this without support themselves. You should be aware of the limits of your responsibility and know when and where to access support both for yourself and your learners. If you have a line manager, he or she should be your first point of contact for referral. If you have team meetings or contact with other teachers, your colleagues may also be able to help through their own previous experiences. Support may be available in your own organisation, through a learning support department or from Skills for Life specialists. Some organisations have specialist resources for supporting disabled learners or may be able to provide a learning support assistant. It may be appropriate to refer a learner for an Information, Advice and Guidance session either within your own organisation or to an external organisation. Many of the voluntary and charitable organisations have websites with advice about teaching strategies to support people with sensory or physical disabilities or may be able to supply resources. Points of referral will differ according to the type of organisation you work in; it is your responsibility to find out what support is available locally. (Word count 433)

Growing Up As A Young African American Girl - 869 Words

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