Piano
was often used in Hindi film songs for a grand luxurious effect. The instrument
lends itself well to western classical symphonies. There is something about the
size and stature of a piano that it envisions a setting larger than life.The
piano has always been a crucial instrument in Western classical music, jazz,
film, television, and most other complex western musical genres. A large number
of composers are proficient pianists—and because the piano keyboard offers an
easy means of complex melodic and harmonic interplay—the piano is often used as
a tool for composition.
At the
time of its origin around the year 1700, the piano was a speculative invention,
produced by the well-paid craftsman and inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori for his
wealthy patron Ferdinando de Medici, Grand Prince of Florence. As such, it was
an extremely expensive item. For some time after its invention, the piano was
largely owned by royalty (e.g. the kings of Portugal and Prussia.
Over
the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the middle class of Europe and North
America increased in both numbers and prosperity. This increase produced a
corresponding rise in the domestic importance of the piano, as ever more
families became able to afford pianos and piano instruction. The piano also
became common in public institutions, such as schools, hotels, and public
houses. As elements of the Western middle class lifestyle gradually spread to
other nations, the piano became common in these nations as well, for example in
Japan.
To
understand the rise of the piano among the middle class, it is helpful to
remember that before mechanical and electronic reproduction, music was in fact
performed on a daily basis by ordinary people. With rising prosperity, the many
families that could now afford pianos and music adapted their home-grown
musical abilities to the new instrument, and the piano became a major source of
music in the home.The piano's status in the home remained secure until
technology made possible the enjoyment of music in passive form.
Thus
in Hindi movies too, the piano was used to depict a golden era of grandeur and
musical expression prevalent in cultured homes of the sub-continent for a long while. I myself remember in my grandparents' home, if not a piano, there certainly existed a sitar, a guitar, a tanpura, a tabla and a harmonium leading to many musical soirees. This Naushad
composition written by Shakeel Badayuni, for instance, sung by Mohd Rafi transports one to a genteel time
and place full of romance and rhapsody. Sadhana is enthralled by the hero,
Rajendra Kumar's piano playing, rousing her from a sleep of innocence and
oblivion to an awakening of desire and longing.
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