The Google Doodle showing Bartolomeo Cristofori who invented the piano
Today's Google Doodle marks the 360th birthday of Bartolomeo Cristofori - who invented the piano - in a rather unique fashion.
Born in 1655 in Padua which was then called the Republic of Venice, Mr Cristofori's biggest contribution to the world of music was creating a hammer mechanism which helped in producing soft and loud sound that ultimately led to the invention of the Pianoforte or Piano.
"The use of a hammer made it possible to produce softer or louder sounds depending upon how light or hard a player pressed on the keys. In fact, that's how Cristofori's new instrument got its name -- in Italian, piano means soft, while forte means loud. Being able to change the volume was a major breakthrough," Google said in an article.
The mechanism is vividly shown in the doodle which showcases an animated version of Mr Cristofori playing the musical instrument. As Mr Cristofori presses the keyboard a hammer can be seen striking the string and thus producing sound. Alongside the doodle, is a sidebar which gives the viewer an option of increasing the volume of the piano. When the viewer scrolls up the bar the volume of the sound produced increases.
Born in 1655 in Padua which was then called the Republic of Venice, Mr Cristofori's biggest contribution to the world of music was creating a hammer mechanism which helped in producing soft and loud sound that ultimately led to the invention of the Pianoforte or Piano.
"The use of a hammer made it possible to produce softer or louder sounds depending upon how light or hard a player pressed on the keys. In fact, that's how Cristofori's new instrument got its name -- in Italian, piano means soft, while forte means loud. Being able to change the volume was a major breakthrough," Google said in an article.
The mechanism is vividly shown in the doodle which showcases an animated version of Mr Cristofori playing the musical instrument. As Mr Cristofori presses the keyboard a hammer can be seen striking the string and thus producing sound. Alongside the doodle, is a sidebar which gives the viewer an option of increasing the volume of the piano. When the viewer scrolls up the bar the volume of the sound produced increases.
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