One further frequent and important addition to the action may be alluded to. In the mechanism above described, the key must rise to its position of rest before the hopper will again engage in the notch of the hammer for another stroke; hence, a note cannot be repeated until time has been allowed for the full rise of the key. The repetition action is a contrivance, varying in different instruments, for getting rid of this defect, by hOld ing up the hammer at a certain height while the key is returning.
Great difference of detail exists in the actions of different makers. Some are •more complicated than others; but in all are to be found the -awe essential parts; only modified in shape and arrangement. The subjoined figure represents one of the simplest grand piano-fc:te actions now in ese. A is the key, B the lever which raises the hammer, C the hammer, D the string, and E the damper; F is the button which catches the levdr after it has struck the hammer, G the check, II the damper pedal-lifter, I the spring, and K. K, K are rails and sockets.
Formerly the strings of the piano forte were all of thin wire, now the bass-strings are very thick, and coated with a fine coil of copper-wire; and the thickness, strength, and tension of the strings all diminish from the lower to the upper notes. A grand piano-forte has three strings to each of the upper and middle notes, and now, generally, only two to the lower notes, and one to the lowest octave. When the soft pedal is pressed down the hammers are shifted sideways, so as. to strike only two strings instead of three, or one string instead of two.
Besides the grand, the kinds of piano-forte in use are the in which the strings are placed still in a horizontal position, but obliquely to the keys; and the upright, in which the strings run vertically from top to bottom of the instrument. The difference in
form necessitates alterations in the details of the action, but the general principle is the same.
The piano-forte has in modern times attained a wide-spread popularity beyond that of any other musical instrument. It possesses nearly all the powers of expression of any other instrument; on no other, except the organ, can we execute such complete succes sions of harmonies; no other represents the orchestra so well, with the advantage that the various parts adapted to it are brought out by the same performer. In all cities of the civilized world there are numerous manufacturers of the piano-forte, employing multi tudes of workmen; and even in the secondary towns of Europe the number of makers is daily increasing. In England the manufacturers who have for some time past enjoyed the highest repute are Messrs. Broadwood, Collard & Co., and,Erard; but other makers are rapidly approaching them in excellence. Till lately the Gbrman makers adopted a much less perfect action than the English, producing a very different touch and tone; but they are now largely using the English action, which is spreading over the continent. Music for the piano-forte is written in two staves, and on the treble and bass clefs. Many of the most eminent musicians have devoted themselves to,composing for the piauo-forte, and some composers of note, as Hummel, Czerny, Kalkbrenner, Chopin, Thalberg, Liszt, and Heller, have almost entirely confined themselves to that instrument. See Rimbault, The its Origin, Progress, and Construction (Loud. 1S60).