Although there were earlier attempts to make stringed keyboard instruments with struck strings, most notably hammered dulcimers such as the Iranian instruments santur and santoor, the doodad of the last word piano is credited to Bartolomeo Cristofori of Padua, Italy, who was employed by Prince Ferdinand de Medici as the Keeper of the Instruments.

In the period lasting from about 1790 to 1860, the Mozart-era piano underwent tremendous changes that led to the leading edge cast of the instrument. This revolution was in response to a consistent preference by composers and pianists for a extended powerful, sustained piano sound, and counterfeit possible by the ongoing Industrial Revolution with technological resources such as high-quality steel, called piano wire, for strings, and precision casting for the production of steel frames. Over time, the tonal area of the piano http://www.pianobench.com/catalog/1 was also increased from the five octaves of Mozart's light to the 7 or greater octaves found on cutting edge pianos.