A large number of Western musical instruments, with the passage of time, have become inseparable components of Pakistani orchestra that are now used for the recording of radio, TV and film songs. Among these clarinets, violins, organs, keyboards and pianos are the most commonly used musical devices in Pakistan.
The musical device piano is of Western origin and is currently used on a wide scale in the countries of Europe, UK and Americas; both for solo performances as well as an indispensable member of an orchestra. Its full name is pianoforte, the Italian for "soft-loud", which indicates its wide dynamic range and capacity for nuance.
Piano was first introduced in the sub-continent musical ethos by the British colonial rulers. In the beginning, its use remained restricted within the confines of homes. However, gradually, it was brought on concert stage for the solo performances of British and European musicians, who periodically visited the sub-continent.
With the advent of orchestra in South Asia and its use in theatres and later in sound motion pictures, piano became one of the most sought after and widely used instruments by the musicians employed by the gramophone recording companies and the film industry. Whereas a sarangi player, violinist or a clarinetist needs a percussionist to accompany him during his solo presentation, the pianist is able to play on his instrument the three basic elements of a musical composition viz., melody, harmony and rhythm.
This self-sufficiency makes the piano an extremely useful instrument for the recording of radio, TV and film songs, and also for scoring background musical effects in films and TV/radio plays. It has now become indispensable for accompanying and is used on a large scale in small orchestras and dance bands in Western countries, where it is of much use for the musicians studying operatic and orchestral scores.
The piano replaced "the king of instruments"- church organ - in theatre in the Sub-continent when theatrical groups toured the length and breath of India. Later, when theatre was pushed into the shadows by sound motion pictures, piano assumed a major role in film orchestras.
All great composers of film songs in the Sub-continent used piano for the recording of their compositions at the Calcutta, Bombay and Lahore-based film industries.
Structurally, the strings of a piano are struck with little wooden hammers controlled by a keyboard mechanism. The piano must sustain tone as well as the string and wind instruments, but in the hands of an expert, inveterate performer it is capable nonetheless of singing melody.
Each string (except in the highest register) is covered by a damper that stops the tone when the finger releases the key. By pressing down a pedal the dampers are raised, so that the strings continue to vibrate together, thereby producing that luminous haze of sound, which the great European piano composers have used as an advantage.
The piano is pre-eminently suited for playing brilliant scales, arpeggios and trills, rapid passages and octaves. It has a wide range from the lowest to the highest tone and commands great rhythmic vitality. During the 19th century, piano writing in Europe leaned towards sensuous beauty and lyricism. Present-day composers in the Western world have found a new use for this instrument as a rhythmic percussion device of crisp sonority, both solo as well as a member of the orchestra.
With the invention of modern electronic musical instruments, particularly the multi-purpose keyboard, the role of piano has diminished considerably as the new electronic device, which is capable of producing scores of different musical sounds, is currently employed to create the sound of a piano in an orchestra. One of the most prolific and competent pianists, which for several decades dominated film orchestras in Pakistan, was the Lahore-born Master Sadiq Ali, who was used by every frontline composer of film songs in Pakistan.
He was hailed for his melodic prowess, which he demonstrated on a piano. Before his left for his ethereal abode, he trained a number of musicians in the art of playing piano, which included his son Akhter Ali, who is now one of the leading piano and keyboard players in the country.
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