Ear training. A term given to the aspects of beginning piano lessons that focus on teaching aural aspects of learning the pitches or sounds of the notes, how they relate to each other, and how to regulate volume at the keyboard.
Electrophonic piano. A piano in which electro-magnets, replacing the soundboard, pick up the vibrations of the strings which are then amplified and modified electronically.
Emanuel Moor Pianoforte. A grand piano with two keyboards sounding an octave apart and with an octave coupler; it was introduced by Moor in 1921.
English action. See STOSSMECHANIK.
English double action. A development of the English single action that incorporated an intermediate lever and, in Geib’s patent, an escapement in the form of the sprung hopper.
English grand action. The action in which intermediate lever is omitted and a hopper acts directly against the hammer butt. A regulating mechanism (‘set-off’) disengages the hopper after a note is struck, so that the hammer falls back from the string to be caught and held by the check and so prevented from rebounding. It was develop by Americus Backers (by 1772), with John Broadwood and Robert Stodart, and became standard for English grand pianos.
English single action. The action developed in England in the mid 1700s (chiefly by Zumpe), with the hammer shanks attached to an overhead rail. Two Zumpe square pianos with this action survive from 1766 .
Escapement. The disengagement of the hammer from force of the key and action levers. Also called set-off.
Escapement button. See SET-OFF BUTTON.
Euphonicon. An upright piano patented in 1841 by John Steward in which the strings stand exposed on a harp-shaped iron frame and the soundboard is replaced by three violin-shaped soundboxes. Its action incorporated Wornum’s tape-check principle, in which the tape assists the return of the hammer to the check.
Fall. The casework part that covers the keys when the piano is not in use.
Fallboard. Key cover on the piano.
Flitch. A flitch of veneer is several sheets or rolls of veneer that all come from the same tree. This is important in matching grain character and color when crafting cabinets.
Flooring company. A lender that specializes in financing inventory stock for retailers. Typically retailers pay interest only for several months or until an instrument is sold, then payoff the remaining balance.
Flugel (Ger.: ‘wing’). A term used for the harpsichord and later applied to the GRAND PIANOFORTE.
Flyer [fly lever]. American term for the HOPPER.
Forte. A volume descriptor for loud play.
Fortepiano. A term sometimes used for the piano of the 18th and early 19th centuries to distinguish it from the more modern instrument. German writers sometimes use the term ‘Hammerflugel’ for the same purpose.
Frame. The part of the piano that bears the tension of the strings, which are fastened from the wrest plank at one end and to the hitch-pin plate at the other. Iron bracing was introduced to strengthen wooden frames c1820 and in 1825 Babcock patented the cast-iron frame, subsequently adopted in all models. See also COMPENSATION FRAME.
French grand action. See DOWN-STRIKING ACTION.
Front-touch rail. The foremost rail of the keyframe which governs the depth that the keys can travel.
Full warranty. A warranty covering parts and labor for term without restrictions to ownership, i.e., it is transferable.
Fully weighted touch. Refers to the resistant feel of the keys. Acoustic piano keys have a weighty (52+ gram down weight) resistant fell, as well as a feeling of a hammer moving toward the strings.
