Piano

Piano is a percussion instrument.  Notes are produced by hammer striking the strings with force purposely asserted by the player.  The amount of force determine the loudness of the notes.  The piano was invented in 1709 in Italy.  The full name is call piano-forte which means soft-loud.  The instrument predate piano is called harpsichord which produce note by plucking strings instead of hammering like piano.  Harpsichord player cannot alter loudness as the plucking distance is constant.