50 Punchy Piano Innovations

The first piano innovations were not very well received. In fact, upon playing an early version of the instrument, the master composer Johann Sebastian Bach found it lacking and amateurish. Granted, in its early forms, the piano was not nearly as well developed as it is now, but this is still humble beginning for one of the world's most successful and popular instruments.

No other instrument can claim to have the same musical breadth and depth as the piano. It allows for lush harmonies that are simply not possible or impractical to play on other instruments. One can overlay chords with melodies that span an entire seven octaves -- more than almost any other instrument. Even those instruments -- harpsichords, claviers, organs -- that have the same harmonic capabilities and pitch range as a piano do not allow for nearly the same nuance and finesse when it comes to dynamics. A skilled pianist can play a pieces ranging from the most faint pianissimo to the boldest fortissimo.

Yet beyond it's musical capabilities, the piano is a supremely elegant instrument. It is such beauty that has inspired the innovations featured here.