Short essays, added as they are written
The story and sound pages tell how this instrument came to be. These notes are for everything around it — the strange Italian words printed over a pianist's hands, the habits of practice, and what was learned tuning a piano that has no strings. New notes are added as they are written.
No. 3 · September 24, 2026
Piano e forte — why the piano is named after softness
The instrument's name is short for “a harpsichord with soft and loud.” Why a plucked string ignores your touch, how harpsichordists shape dynamics anyway, and what Cristofori's thrown hammer changed.
No. 2 · September 24, 2026
The sustain pedal — which sustains nothing
The right pedal lifts every damper off every string. What that does to the sound, how to read Ped. and the star, what Beethoven meant by “senza sordino,” and why good pedaling always comes a little late.
No. 1 · July 29, 2026
Una corda — what the two words on the left pedal mean
Two ordinary Italian words that mean “one string”: where the name comes from, why a pedal counts strings, why the modern grand quietly breaks the arithmetic — and what the pedal really changes, which is not the volume.
Questions, corrections, or a word you'd like unpacked next: being.cognitive@gmail.com