Editing Fortepiano (section)

==Construction==
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The fortepiano has [[leather]]-covered hammers and thin, [[harpsichord]]-like strings.  It has a much lighter case construction than the modern piano and, except for later examples of the early nineteenth century (already evolving towards the modern piano), it has no metal frame or bracing.  The action and hammers are lighter, giving rise to a much lighter touch, which in well-constructed fortepianos is also very expressive.

The range of the fortepiano was about four [[octave]]s at the time of its invention and gradually increased. [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] wrote his piano music for instruments of about five octaves.  The piano works of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] reflect a gradually expanding range; his last piano compositions are for an instrument of about six and a half octaves.  The range of most modern pianos, attained in the 19th century, is 7⅓ octaves.

[[File:Fortepiano Danilo Mascetti.jpg|thumb|Danilo Mascetti, fortepiano specialist]]

Fortepianos from the start often had devices to change the resonance like the [[piano pedals|pedals]] of modern pianos, but they were not always pedals: sometimes hand stops or knee levers were used instead.