The ancestry of the piano can be traced to the early keyborad instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth century -- the spinet ,the dulcimer,and the virginal.In the seventeenth century the organ,the clavichord,and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group,a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century.The clavichord's tone was metallic and never powerful;nevertheless,because of the variety of tone possible to it,many composers found the clavichord a sympathtic instrument for intimate chamber music.The harpsichord with its bright, vigorous tone was the favorite instrument for supporting the bass of the small orchestra of the period and for concert use,but the character of the tone could not be varied by mechanical or structural devices.

The piano was perfected in the early eighteenth century by a harpsichord maker in Italy(though muciscologists point out several previous instance of the instrument).This instrument was called a piano e forte(sort and loud,to indicate its dynamic versatility;its string were struck by a recoiling hammer with a felt-padded head.The wires were much heavier int he earlier instruments.A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century,including the instroduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it,the perfection of a metal frame,and steel wire of the finest quality,finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound,from a liquid,singing tone to a sharp,percussive brilliance.