The tangent piano is a very rare keyboard instrument that resembles a harpsichord and early pianos in design. It normally features five octaves of keys and the strings are acted upon by narrow wooden or metal slips when the keys are depressed. Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is any of a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument currently called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. ... A grand piano, with the lid up. ... In music, an octave (sometimes abbreviated 8ve or 8va) is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double the frequency. ... The strings of a harp A string is the vibrating element which is the source of vibration in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. ... Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a solid material derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds. ...

History

In 1440, Arnault de Zwolle described what is believed to be the first keyboard instrument which used a tangent action. It is speculated that this was a clavichord or harpsichord. Pantaleon Hebenstreit is credited with the creation in 1705 of the first tangent piano. Christoph Gottlieb Schroter claimed that he invented the new tangent piano by letting blank harpsichord jacks hit the strings, also incorporating dampers into the action. A famous early piano maker, Gottfried Silbermann, was making 'pantaleons' by 1727. The Germans gave another name to the pantaleon, the Tangentenflügel and the English 'tangent piano.' For alternative meanings, see number 1440. ... Henri Arnault de Zwolle was an attendant to the Duke of Burgundy. ... A tangent, when referred to in the context of the action of a tangent piano refers to the small slip of wood similar in shape to a harpsichord jack or similar to an unleathered fortepiano hammer which strikes the string to produce sound. ... Large five-octave unfretted clavichord by Paul Maurici, after J.A. Haas The clavichord is a European stringed keyboard instrument known from the late Medieval, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is any of a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument currently called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. ... // Events Construction begins on Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, England. ... Gottfried Silbermann (January 14, 1683-August 4, 1753) was an influential German constructor of keyboard instruments. ... Events 1727 to 1800 - Lt. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ...

In 1777, Mozart referred to the tangent piano as the "Spattisches Klavier," after the maker of tangent pianos, Spath. Other names included the Italian cembalo angelico, and the French clavecin harmonieux et celeste. This is all evidence that the tangent piano spread throughout Europe. By the earliest decade of the 19th century, Spath tangent pianos were sent all over the globe and given a wide 6 octave range, which enabled it to compete with the piano. At the same time, the fortepiano began to eclipse the harpsichord and clavichord as the keyboard instrument of choice. Year 1777 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fortepiano designates the early version of the piano, as it existed from its invention by Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. ...

The creation of the tangent piano, and the fortepiano, was a result of an attempt to remedy the lack of dynamics in harpsichord sound. Both the tangent piano and fortepiano offered a variety of sound that was appealing to the changes in classical music, which featured more expressiveness and intensity than the harpsichord could offer. The tangent piano had a short life in popularity, and dropped off somewhere in the late 1700s or early 1800s. The fortepiano, however, buried the harpsichord in popularity by 1800. It then slowly evolved to the massive modern iron-framed giant of 88 keys. The tangent piano's popularity lasted for such a short time, that very little music was written for it. It is possible that CPE Bach's keyboard concerti were written for this instrument or for the fortepiano. In either case, the tangent piano is an appropriate choice for the keyboard instrument in the concerti. In addition, other sons of the famous German composer JS Bach wrote pieces expressly for the tangent piano. Miklos Spanyi recently released a recording for them on the tangent piano. Events and trends The Bonneville Slide blocks the Columbia River near the site of present-day Cascade Locks, Oregon with a land bridge 200 feet (60 m) high. ... Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1805 - 1815). ... // ON MAY 5 1853 MR.FADER HAD SEX WITH A MAN NAME MR WIEN THEN THEY HAD SON NAMEDMRS COTURE AND MR MANOOGIAN WENT INTO MRS HASKELLS OFFICE NAKED AND DANCED AROUND AND MASTERBATED ON HER CHEST AND SHE LICKED IT OFF THEN THEY HAD ORAL SEEX WITH NAPLOEAN OF... Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (Weimar, March 8, 1714 – December 14, 1788) was a German musician and composer, the second son of Johann Sebastian Bach. ... For other people named Bach and other meanings of the word, see Bach (disambiguation). ...

Tonal quality

The tangent piano has an unusual sound that fuses the qualities of the harpsichord and piano. The treble resembles the bright sound from a light action piano, and the bass resembles the bass from a harpsichord. The sound from instrument to instrument varies, as does one's personal description of the tangent piano's sound.

External links

• tangent piano in the fortepiano - photoarchive