Most pianos have 88 keys. And most great piano music comes from the
middle of the keyboard — only rarely do the player’s 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 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.”