Which instrument family does the piano belong to? I need to know for school....my music teacher says the String family, but my other music teacher says Percussion....which is correct?
I've also been told somewhere that it belongs to the 'keyboard family'...which I didn't even know was a family!!!
Pianos are members of the percussion family. This is because the hammers strike the strings. Harpsichords, however, are members of the string family because their strings are plucked.
definitely percussion as said before can't remember who by but the strings are hit with hammers so its percussion and technically there is no such thing as a keyboard family
I just learned in Music Appreciation class that it is a definite-toned percussion instrument and a keyboard family instrument. It is both. And I hope this doesn't come too late
~Ashton
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P.S. My music appreciation teacher has been teaching Music Appreciation for over 15 years, so he knows what he's talking about.
I am currently a music teacher. I know that it is too late to help you with your class. I had always been taught through high school that piano was a percussion instrument, but when I went to college found that there is an ongoing debate about which family it belongs to...string or percussion. The keyboard family doesn't really exist as of now. Most of the keyboard instruments are considered percussion because you strike them all with a mallet, but if the keyboard family does come into existence then it would stop all of this confusion over the piano. Wouldn't it?
Really, since the piano more and more goes over to be digitalized, do you think that will change? You can't really say an electric piano is a percussion instrument...
Actually now that you mention it there is kind of a family called electronic, but it isn't official or part of the symphony orchestra or anything like that. The electric keyboard, electric guitar, electric bass, etc. would be considered electronic.
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