The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are
struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern
hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used
leather). It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small
levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and
thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. It was
invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700.