Giraffe piano

Modern sources credit the invention of the Giraffe piano to Martin Seuffert, Seuffert himself at the time acknowledged collaboration with Wachtl and Bleyer, although denied Bleyer's claims: == Design ==

The narrow end of the instrument was frequently capped by a large scroll resembling giraffe's head. Alternatively, the space on the side was used for the display shelves. The enclosed shelves produced a boxy look, resulting in the appellation "cabinet piano" (not to be confused with the more modern cabinet grand). The pianos mostly used the German action with hammers below the keys and typically had four pedals. Until the turn of the 19th century, the pin block was placed above the keyboard, so the cases had to be quite tall. Moving the pin block to the top of the frame and sloping the string plane cleared the path to the modern upright piano design – and eventually ended the era of the 19th century upright grand pianos. == History ==

The development of the upright grand versions of pianos in the 18th-19th centuries was spurred by the need to reduce the space taken by the grand pianos, at the time about 2.5 by 1.5 meters; the size of more compact square pianos was also increasing. Vertical design, with the soundboard oriented toward audience, allowed to produce full sound in аn instrument with a smaller footprint. The idea of a vertical placement of strings is very old: clavicytherium, an upright version of the harpsichord, was known as early as 1480. The first upright hammer-action grand piano was constructed in Italy by in 1739. The development then shifted to Vienna, with Christian Ernst Friederici creating the first pyramid piano in 1745. After a hiatus, the uprights experienced a renaissance in Austria in the early 19th century (Seuffert, Wachtl, Bleyer) with significant contributions by Christoph Ehrlich in Germany. The instruments featured two to six pedals, controlling the piano, sustaining, bassoon-register, and sometimes "janissary" (drum and bells) functions (Friederici also used hand stops). The lyre piano, made popular by in 1820s was the last iteration of the upright grand piano design. ==Gallery==

File:Bareschel, Amsterdam, ca. 1815 - Musical Instrument Museum, Brussels - IMG 3857.JPG|Pyramid piano () File:Lyraflügel um 1820.jpg|Lyre piano by Schleip (1820) ==See also==