Jane Pierce wrote:

>My students are being told at school that the piano (manual) is a
>presently being classified as a string instrument rather than what I always
>was taught, piano is a precussion instrument because the hammers hit the
>strings.  I am wondering if the new nomenclature comes because strings are
>a greater part of the structure of the instrument.  Why was it classified
>as a percussion instrument before?

Does it matter how it is classified? The sound of the instrument is
produced percussively, but the instrument has strings.  If the student
understands this, does the label matter?

I am a classroom music teacher at secondary school.  The text we use in
years 7 and 8 includes the piano in a section on keyboard instruments.

Regards

Helen Duggan