The Student Room Group

If the piano was 'invented' in an Arab country would the keys be reversed?

It may be a silly question, but I assumed the piano went from low-to-high from left-to-right because in Europe we read from left-to-right. Do you think it would be reversed if keyboard instruments originated in an Arab country? (They might have even originated there, I have no idea!)

Just wondered what people thought!
could a deaf person be a stand up comedian if they had an audience of people who knew sign language?
Reply 2
I think you have way too much time on your hands.

It is the type of question that the only answer is possibly.
Reply 3
Original post by sleepysnooze
could a deaf person be a stand up comedian if they had an audience of people who knew sign language?


What? :')
I like the way you think OP :biggrin:

Have to say though, I think pianos are high pitch on the right, because most pianist's dominant hand is their right. So it was easier for more heavy-handed work to get passed off to the left hand, leaving the right free for delicate and complex melodies.

just my take on it
You should ask this question on the website called Quora
Original post by SuperHuman98
You should ask this question on the website called Quora


Or Reddit
Reply 7
Bro
Reply 8
Al-Mohamzart would be the composer I'm guessing?
It's an interesting thought. I think keyboards originated in Ancient Greece, and I also think Ancient Greek is read left to right, so it is plausible that's why piano keys go left to right in terms of ascending pitch. I think a more interesting question might be how many keys [per octave] there would be on a keyboard instrument if it had been invented in an Arab country, because as far as I can tell, they don't use the 12-tone system used in most Western music.
Reply 10
What the too much time on your hands or the only possible answer is possibly?

I'm not saying it is a bad question or that it shouldn't be asked but it's the type of question people come up with when they are bored.
yes to go with their backwards culture
Reply 12
Original post by SirKyrgystan
I like the way you think OP :biggrin:

Have to say though, I think pianos are high pitch on the right, because most pianist's dominant hand is their right. So it was easier for more heavy-handed work to get passed off to the left hand, leaving the right free for delicate and complex melodies.

just my take on it


Ah, that would make sense!! Thanks :P
Reply 13
Original post by ShatnersBassoon
It's an interesting thought. I think keyboards originated in Ancient Greece, and I also think Ancient Greek is read left to right, so it is plausible that's why piano keys go left to right in terms of ascending pitch. I think a more interesting question might be how many keys [per octave] there would be on a keyboard instrument if it had been invented in an Arab country, because as far as I can tell, they don't use the 12-tone system used in most Western music.


Would they have like quarter tones and stuff then? The piano would look quite different then!
Original post by maestrocam
Would they have like quarter tones and stuff then? The piano would look quite different then!
Yes, it would be quite bizarre. I can play about a ninth apart on a piano with one hand when I'm really stretching. That would barely cover half an octave were the keys spread out the same amount with a piano using quarter tones. Assuming Arabic music uses the same kind of intervals Western music does, you'd need your hands to move and jump around quite a lot more than modern pianists are used to. Alternatively, if you squash the keys together there might be a bit of a problem physically squeezing in all the hammers and getting each note to work properly, especially if it was invented a couple of millennia ago. (Random fact: look carefully at the F# and Bb keys on a standard piano and you'll notice they're not actually equidistant from the white notes around them. I don't quite understand the physics of it all but it's to do with the hammers and the connections between the notes, and notes needing to be spaced out for it all to work properly.)

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