Is a piano stringed or percussion?

Answer 1

Yes! The piano is both a percussion instrument and a string instrument. Sound is created when a pianist strikes a key, which causes a hammer to hit a string. Because the hammer hits the string, it is considered percussive.

Yes it is considered as a Perscussion instrument due to the hammers that hit the strings inside the piano to produce vibration on the strings that cause it to make sounds.

Certainly it is not a stringed instrument or by the same logic a cymbal would be a brass instrument.
Technically the piano can be classified as a percussion instrument, because the sound is made from hammers 'hitting' strings, which vibrate and produce specific notes. In this case, it can be grouped with instruments such as the xylophone, or timpani. However, the harpsichord, although similar, is not classified as a percussion instrument as the strings are plucked, rather than hit.

Keyboard instruments are numbered among the percussion instruments in Orchestras and bands, not so much because of their mechanisms, but because it is easier than trying to associate them with multiple sections. Sometimes, this leads to inverted definitions, such as:

Yes, since the hammer strikes the string to produce sound, it is technically a percussion instrument. Other variations such as the Harpsichord are not though, since the string is plucked rather than struck.

While this is true of the piano when it is used as a percussion instrument, with sharp chords or percussive playing of musical lines, the piano is capable of great versatility, and can be considered as a solo instrument, a section unto itself, part of the percussion section, or part of no section at all. In St. Saens Symphony #3, called the "Organ Symphony", the piano is most often treated as a harmonic instrument, sometimes as a soloist, and sometimes as percussion. In cases where the Piano does not serve a clearly percussive function, it is better to consider it as not belonging to a section, per se, like the Harp or the Saxophone: an instrument added to the orchestra without becoming a permanent part.

There are other instruments which are played similarly to the Piano, with the three-two sharp/flat groupings within a natural scale of seven notes (before the repeating octave). These include the Celeste, Marimba, Xylophone, Vibraphone, Orchestra Bells, Chimes, and Organ. While the Celeste is generally considered part of the percussion section, and placed within the bounds of the percussion instruments, and the others named (minus the Organ) use mallets held by percussionists and used to strike the tonal bars or tubes of the instrument, the Organ is generally not considered a percussion instrument.

Two others are worthy of mention: the Harpsichord and Clavichord, which use the same keyboard arrangement as the piano. The Clavichord strikes strings with a metal tangent when the key is pressed, but is so quiet that it is not used except as a solo instrument (usually in a small, quiet room). The harpsichord was the mainstay of harmony and rhythm in late Renaissance and Baroque orchestras, lasting in orchestral performance until the piano replaced it. Neither of these would be considered part of the percussion section, not because of their method of sound production nor their keyboards, but rather because the Harpsichord would only appear with a modern symphony under very special conditions, and the clavichord wouldn't be bothered with, at all.

Answer 2

The piano is a hybrid instrument, i.e. it is a combination of string and percussion.

It's a string instrument in that musical tones originate in the strings, and it is a percussion instrument, because the strings are set into vibration by being struck with hammers rather than plucked by plectra, which was used to set into vibration the strings on the harpsichord.


Source: Music historian, researcher and musician with MA in Music, Musicology and Ethnomusicology

Sorry, but by that logic a cymbal is a brass instrument.


Obviously, this person knows nothing about music or they would have supported their argument with evidence of why it is not hybrid. Of course, a piano can be classified as a hybrid instrument A) it has strings B) it has hammers, which strike the string and not pluck them, unlike the harpsichord, which would be classified as a string instrument. Therefore, the piano is hybrid as it cannot be easily classified as string or percussion, but is composed of both.

Answer 3

"Percussion. The piano makes sound when small hammers hit the strings inside the piano. This hitting action classifies it as percussion."

And this answer is backed up by which dictionary?

According to the Free Online Dictionary (see related link) a piano is defined as:

piano1

n pl -anos

(Music / Instruments) a musical stringed instrumentresembling a harp set in a vertical or horizontal frame, played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike the strings and produce audible vibrations See also grand piano, upright piano

[short for pianoforte]

According to the Real Academia Española (the most prestigious and highly respected dictionary in Spain) a piano is defined as:

piano.

(De pianoforte).

1. m. Instrumento musical de cuerda provisto de un teclado, cuyo accionamiento permite golpear las cuerdas metálicas mediante macillos forrados de fieltro, y de pedales que hacen possible la variación de la intensidad del sonido.

(Instrumento musical de cuerda = Stringed musical instrument). This would mean that it is in the string family.

Answer 4

The Piano is a percussion instrument. The reason for this is that the strings on the harp are struck with a hammer. Refer to diagrams of the grand piano action or upright piano action.

Other keyboard instruments are not necessarily percussion because the strings are plucked or, there is an electronic signal that produces the sound. The digital piano is called a piano most likely because the original piano name was piano forte that could achieve both quiet sounds and lound sounds. A digital piano is not a percussion instrument unless smashing it against something is how it is to be played.

Answer 5

Of course it is since the strings inside play the cords! So it is.

Though it uses strings to play the chords and music, some say it is both a percussion and a string instrument. The piano is even listed as a percussion instrument. Pianos have many similarities with the xylophone, vibraphone, and marimba, which are considered percussion instruments.

Answer 6

no, a piano is only a percussion insrument because he strings are hit by a mallet or a hammer.

Answer 7

It isn't usually classified as a stringed instrument, ocassionally it's called percussive - as hammers hit the strings. Nowadays, pianos are classified as chordophones.

Answer 8

A piano is considered to be a percussion instrument because inside of it, once u press a key it hits a sting inside causing the pitch.