stackyFACTS
Culture & entertainment

Classical pianos originally lacked the crucial sustain pedal

HERE’S THE INTERESTING PART

Early iterations of the instrument couldn't hold out a ringing chord. If a composer wanted a sustained, dramatic sound, they were forced to relentlessly trill the keys, essentially mashing their fingers into a vibrating blur just to fake the illusion of a lingering romantic note.

Classical pianos originally lacked the crucial sustain pedal
STACKY / Culture & entertainment
One discovery leads to another.

Keep exploring facts in this topic.

Culture & entertainment →
STACKY FOR IPHONE

A bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.

Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.

Download on the App Store
ONE MORE DISCOVERY?

Keep exploring

All in this topic →
Why piano keys were called “ivories”
Culture & entertainment

Why piano keys were called “ivories”

The phrase tickling the ivories is brutally literal. Before plastics were invented, the white keys on pianos were sliced directly from elephant tusks, meaning…

Discover more
Why classical musicians rejected the saxophone
Culture & entertainment

Why classical musicians rejected the saxophone

Adolphe Sax invented his iconic hybrid to perfectly bridge the gap between woodwinds and brass. Instead of embracing it, classical purists fiercely rejected…

Discover more
Tubas were strictly invented to replace unstable instruments
Culture & entertainment

Tubas were strictly invented to replace unstable instruments

The ophicleide was an early brass instrument that sounded notoriously terrible and was incredibly hard to play. The modern tuba was specifically engineered as…

Discover more
When symphonies played over dinner and cards
Culture & entertainment

When symphonies played over dinner and cards

We currently sit in absolute, terrifying silence at classical recitals, but in the eighteenth century, symphonies were basically bar music. Aristocrats would…

Discover more
Steve Buscemi returned to firefighting after 9/11
Culture & entertainment

Steve Buscemi returned to firefighting after 9/11

Before he was getting shoved into wood chippers in Fargo or running Atlantic City in Boardwalk Empire, Buscemi was an actual working FDNY firefighter in the…

Discover more
The cinemas with soundproof rooms for crying babies
Culture & entertainment

The cinemas with soundproof rooms for crying babies

Back in the 1940s, theaters were deeply tired of wailing babies ruining the ambiance. They installed glass-enclosed, soundproof rooms at the back of the…

Discover more
StackyMore discoveries in the app
Download on the App Store