A tack piano (also known as a harpsipiano, jangle piano, and junk piano) is an altered version of an ordinary

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, in which objects such as thumbtacks or nails are placed on the felt-padded hammers of the instrument at the point where the hammers hit the strings, giving the instrument a tinny, more percussive sound. It is used to evoke the feeling of a honky-tonk piano. Tack pianos are commonly associated with

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

pieces, often appearing in Hollywood Western saloon scenes featuring old

upright piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temper ...

s. The instrument was originally used for

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

performances as a substitute for a

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

Honky-tonk piano

A honky-tonk piano has a similar tone as a tack piano; however, the method of obtaining its sound is different, and simply involves one or more strings of each key being slightly detuned, without the use of tacks. The resultant sound produces acoustic beats in a manner similar to undulating organ stops.

References

American frontier Piano Gilded Age Victorian era category:Belle Époque {{Zither-instrument-stub