Quick Piano/Keyboard question....

A regular standard 88 key piano starts on A. Makes sense, since A is the first note... if your piano starts on something else, then you got ripped off.

Keyboards and some organs can really start on anything. Most start on A or C.

if your piano starts on something else, then you got ripped off.
That's quite an assumption...

That is quite an assumption. this piano happens to start with F.

Notice where it says "call for pricing"? As the saying goes, if you have to ask, you can't afford it... but to give you a clue, there's a used one on the web that you can have for under $50K. (It's at pianomart.com if you're interested)

You sure can, but it ain't gonna sound quite the same

Best,

A :-)

My Hammond H-182 organ starts and finishes with Cs, on both of its keyboards. My melodica starts and finishes on Fs.

Nah, I'd rather buy a corvette. Can't I get a Casio for like 50 bucks? :lol: :lol: :lol:
You sure can, but it ain't gonna sound quite the sameThe same as the big-ticket keyboard, or the same as the Corvette? :lol:

Thank you C&S, NoteBoat and Ricochet.

So it's not as standard as I thought it might be.

Why does an 88 key piano have 7 and 4/12th octaves? Or am I off on that?

Thanks again,

Mike

Got you some answers from some real keyboard pros: http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/18/t/019094.html

Thanks for doing that Ricochet. You learn something new every day! :D

Thank you to the guys over on the other forum as well. 8)

Thanks

Mike

When keyboards were first built, they were about 5-1/2 octaves - because they didn't have the technology to make an iron or bronze 'harp' for the strings, and there's a lot of tension (30-35 tons!) on a set of piano strings.

Composers wanted a bigger range... because composers use keyboards to check their orchestration. The range of a standard orchestra goes from EEE for the double bass to Bb''' for the piccolo. But some orchestras add specialty instruments - and the contrabassoon reaches CCC. So to cover all the instruments a composer might use, you need 6 octaves and a flatted seventh.

The 'extra' notes to get the standard 88 are there for two reasons: at the top end, you don't want to end on Bb - only the white keys extend to the front of the keyboard, and it's easiest to make a square case for the keys - so you want to go to at least B. Since the low end is C, a seven octave range made sense, and 'standard' pianos from the 1800s have that range

The other extensions on the low end (A, Bb, B) are there to add to the overall tone - piano strings vibrate sympathetically with each other, especially when the dampers are lifted with the pedals, and these extra overtones end up being chord tones. In effect, these serve as sympathetic drone strings - there are few pieces of music that actually use these keys.

If you look at the chords in each key, you'll see the low extensions are in the tonic chord in every key except C, Db, and Ab... Squeezing in these remaining keys would require adding two more keys, and more pounds of tension - makers decided it wasn't worth it. Besides, as you get that low the frequencies get very close together... low A vibrates only 27.5 times per second; going to low G to cover all the keys with overtones would vibrate 24.4997 times per second. With a difference of only three vibrations, they're probably going to ring anyway - the upper notes on a piano each strike two or three strings, and as these strings go slightly out of tune, they're likely to produce the bass overtones anyway!

That is quite an assumption. this piano happens to start with F.

Maybe I should stick to an instrument that I actually play....

Anyone wanna know something about tubas?

Anyone wanna know something about tubas?

No, but thanks for asking. :P J/K

Thank you for your time and your detailed explanation, NoatBoat. :)