The piece of musical technology that I decided to choose is an instrument, the piano. The piano is a keyboard musical instrument (invented around the year 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori) that has wire strings, that sound when struck by felt-covered hammers operated from a keyboard. The standard modern piano has 88 keys (52 white keys and 36, shorter black keys) and has a compass of seven full octaves plus a few keys. It quickly became popular due to it being both louder and more versatile than the previous popular keyboard instrument, the harpsichord. It is louder because instead of a hammer plucking the strings as you do when you play a harpsichord, the piano’s hammer strikes the strings, giving louder ranges in volume. In the past, there have been people who played the piano in an unorthodox manner, as it was been said that Wolfgang Mozart played the piano once with his nose, and people on YouTube have played the piano in ways that include: blindfolded, backwards, two pianos at once, while playing the violin and with pencils. I never learned how to play the piano, but I would love to one day.
One piece of music that uses the piano is the song “Out My Mind, Just In Time” by Erykah Badu. In the first 1 minute and 50 seconds of the song, the song has a homophonic texture, as it is only Erykah singing and the piano playing alongside her. Later (until 2:35, where the first part of the song ends), a violin joins the piano, but the piano is still the primary instrument.
I have not heard this song before but from listening to it now, I enjoyed the 10 mins of the music. The use of piano is very clear and efficient in helping the singer with setting the mood of the music. I also think you should learn to play the piano since it will be worth it to listen to melody of the piece of music you’re playing.