difference between string instrument and percussion instrument?
Percussion instruments are struck or shaken to produce vibrations. (ie: drums, cymbals, bells, maracas)
The interesting part of this question is regarding the piano. It is considered percussion because the strings are struck with hammers to produce sound. Alternatively, the harpsichord (a baroque instrument similar to the piano and with a similar arrangement of keys) vibrates because the strings are plucked by a mechanism inside the instrument when the keys are depressed. The harpsichord is considered a string instrument.
One more thing: the harpsichord, due to the mechanism by which the strings are plucked, produces only two degrees of volume -- soft and loud. This feature suited the harpsichord to baroque music, with alternating soft and loud sections being a defining characteristic of the time.
The piano, though, because the hammers strike the strings with a force proportional to the how hard the keys are played, produces all variations of sound from soft to loud. In Italian, the words are "piano" and "forte" (soft and loud.) The instrument we know today was shortened from its original name, "piano-forte," to the familiar "piano."
The interesting part of this question is regarding the piano. It is considered percussion because the strings are struck with hammers to produce sound. Alternatively, the harpsichord (a baroque instrument similar to the piano and with a similar arrangement of keys) vibrates because the strings are plucked by a mechanism inside the instrument when the keys are depressed. The harpsichord is considered a string instrument.
One more thing: the harpsichord, due to the mechanism by which the strings are plucked, produces only two degrees of volume -- soft and loud. This feature suited the harpsichord to baroque music, with alternating soft and loud sections being a defining characteristic of the time.
The piano, though, because the hammers strike the strings with a force proportional to the how hard the keys are played, produces all variations of sound from soft to loud. In Italian, the words are "piano" and "forte" (soft and loud.) The instrument we know today was shortened from its original name, "piano-forte," to the familiar "piano."