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Vanessa Carlton => General Vanessa Carlton Discussion => Topic started by: AisforAdrn on December 22, 2011, 09:19:22 am

Title: Vanessa Carlton: Puzzle of the Day
Post by: AisforAdrn on December 22, 2011, 09:19:22 am

http://www.kendenmead.com/2011/12/vanessa-carlton-a-google-a-day-puzzle-for-dec-22/



What? I have no idea what this is, and this question is really hard.

Quote

An orchestra or band may consist of as few as 50 players and as many as 100 plus. What percussion instrument can reproduce much of the scale of the orchestra by striking a steel string with a felt tipped hammer?

Title: Re: Vanessa Carlton: Puzzle of the Day
Post by: Arwen on December 22, 2011, 09:25:29 am

Piano, maybe?

ETA: Has to be piano! From wiki:

Pressing a key on the piano's keyboard causes a felt-covered hammer to strike steel strings. The hammers rebound, allowing the strings to continue vibrating at their resonant frequency.

Title: Re: Vanessa Carlton: Puzzle of the Day
Post by: sarab on December 22, 2011, 09:48:09 am

but is a piano a  "percussion instrument?"

Title: Re: Vanessa Carlton: Puzzle of the Day
Post by: joey on December 22, 2011, 10:57:32 am

Surprisingly it is.

Title: Re: Vanessa Carlton: Puzzle of the Day
Post by: AlexanderLaska on December 24, 2011, 12:27:10 pm

I knew it was piano right when I saw "felt-tipped hammer."  If you open up a piano, you can see the little mallets striking the strings when you push down a key.  And yes, a piano is percussion because you hit the keys, and it's also technically a string instument because the vibrations of the steel strings is what's making the sound.

(I've been playing piano for a decade or so, so please forgive my complete geekiness haha)

Title: Re: Vanessa Carlton: Puzzle of the Day
Post by: sarab on December 24, 2011, 12:43:54 pm

I had always just thought of it as string.  good to know!