One of the ladies on our committee for the planning of a piano festival next spring sent me the link to this short clip with pictures and music documenting the “Parentage of the Piano.”
I actually got to see some of these instruments in person this summer when I visited the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota. Lots of fascinating history! Students always love hearing little tidbits about the piano’s history and its predecessors, and I find that it is incredibly helpful to them as they learn music from the various style periods. This is a perfect length video to show during a lesson or group class!
We also went to the National Music Museum this past summer as part of the Iowa Music Teachers Association conference. It was really a fascinating trip. I ran out of picture space on my phone trying to take pictures of such interesting instruments.
The piano history video may be obtained and shown gratis for educational purposes. If you login to youtube and send me a message via that site I can email you a high-res version directly. The student who made it is pleased it has proven useful for more than a class report.
//seaXcrow