Most pianos have 88 keys. And most great piano
music comes from the middle of the keyboard
only rarely do the players fingers venture onto
the tinkly keys at the top of the keyboard, or
the booming bass notes at the bottom. But a
craftsman in Newcastle, New South Wales,
Australia, thinks the instrument has room to
grow; and he wants to nudge the piano out of
complacent middle age. He has designed a grand with an unprecedented 102 keys.
The <http://www.stuartandsons.com/>Stuart and
Sons grand piano has 14 more keys than most,
which means its lowest and highest notes live
very much on the edge. Its designer, Wayne
Stuart, says a few other grands can play as low
as this 102-key model, but none can play as high.
"I'd hate to go back to the 88-key piano," he
says. "I couldn't stand it. It's too limited."
The extra notes might lend themselves to great
feats of acrobatics, but they're not exactly musical. So why have them?
For color, Stuart says, and resonance. "There's a
tremendous amount of energy in the low-octave
notes, and you can hear the power."
<http://www.npr.org/2011/01/18/132945634/musical-innovation-a-grander-grand-piano>Link
