The Italian terms of music, piano and forte indicate 'soft' and 'loud' respectively, referring to the variations in volume in this context, i.e., loudness produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure exerted on the keys: the greater is the velocity of a key press, the greater is the force of the hammer hitting the strings, and the louder is the sound of the note produced and the stronger is the attack.
The word piano is an abbreviated form of pianoforte, the Italian term for the same coined in the early 1700s versions of the instrument which in turn derives from gravicembalo col piano e forte and fortepiano. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys, which are actually small levers, that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both the hands to make the hammers to strike the strings. It is an instrument which is played when the strings are struck by hammers. The piano is a stringed, acoustic musical instrument which was invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700.
