Giordano, Nicholas J. - Physics of the Piano

A central quest in the study of musical instruments is to understand why the sound of the 'same' note depends greatly on the instrument, and to elucidate which aspects of an instrument are most critical in producing the musical tones characteristic of the instrument. The primary goal of this book is to investigate these questions for the piano.

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CONTENTS

1 Introduction
2 Waves and sound
3 Making a musical scale
4 Why the piano was invented: A little history
5 Vibrating strings
6 Hitting strings with hammers
7 The soundboard
8 Connecting the strings to the soundboard
9 Evolution of the piano
10 Psychoacoustics: How we perceive musical tones
11 The magic of Steinway
12 What physics can and cannot teach us about music and musical instruments