The instrument had a brand-new hammer and damper mechanism, two keyboards and a range of four octaves (49 keys). Poet and journalist Scipione Maffei described it in 1711 as a ‘gravicembalo col piano, ...

These early models led to the invention of the grand piano, whose strings are struck by felt-coated wooden hammers to create sounds. The word “piano” is a shortened form of the Italian ...