Aluminum piano plate
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A
aluminum and aluminum products.[1]
The metal frame of a piano, often called the plate or harp, anchors both ends of the strings, withstanding a tension of 20 tons or more. The first completely metal frames were patented in the mid-1820s, and they are now generally cast in iron.
The similar strength of aluminum and cast iron permitted the weight of the cast metal frame to be reduced more than 60 percent, to as little as 45 pounds for a
Etude
, a magazine for the musician and pianist, in 1949 and 1950. The typical ad campaign boasted the slogan “stop…lift…listen,” which was asking consumers to stop, feel the light weight of the new piano, and listen to the quality of sound. A brochure, circulated by Alcoa, claimed that some 50,000 pianos had been created containing this aluminum plate by 1949. After 1950, however, the aluminum piano plate was no longer used by piano manufacturers.
Other aluminum instruments
As soon as aluminum was available in the late nineteenth century, people began experimenting with making new or improved musical instruments, but it was not until the 1930s that companies began to consider mass-producing them. At that time
J.C. Deagan
, is the same instrument, but created out of aluminum instead of wood or steel. Due to its success, Leedy began manufacturing their vibraphones with aluminum in 1929, and they are still made of aluminum today.
In the mid-1930s, the Blüthner piano company built a lightweight aluminum alloy piano for the airship Hindenburg.[1]
References
- ^ "Winter & Co., Announce Alumatone Piano Plate Reducing Weight by 54%." The Music Trade Review, November 1945, 15-16.
- The Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Library and Archives, Alcoa Collection, Pittsburgh, PA.
- Etude: The Music Magazine, 1945-1950
- Carr, C. C. (1952). Alcoa: An American Enterprise. New York: Rinehart & Company, Inc.
- Pierce, B. (1965). Pierce Piano Atlas: The Original Michel’s (6th ed.). Long Beach, CA: Bob Pierce.
- Wade-Mathews, M. (2002). Music: An Illustrated History. New York: Hermes House.