> How many keys are on a standard piano keyboard?And the answer: 88.Photo credit: Arto Alanenpää[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Arto_Alanenp%C3%A4%C3%A4]Of the 88 keysfound on a standard piano, 52 are white and 36 are black. The earliest pianoshad fewer keys, but in the 1880s, the piano manufacturer Steinway was the firstto popularize the 88-key piano.The piano has come a long way since its invention in 1709. Originally known asthe pianoforte, which means soft (piano) and loud (forte), the first pianos wereso expensive that, for nearly a century, only aristocrats and royalty ownedpianos. Today, nearly 20% of Americans have a piano on their home. Pianos are some of the most intricate instruments. A single piano has over12,000 parts, 10,000 of which are moving. Interestingly, the piano can beconsidered both a string and percussion instrument, yet most categorize it as apercussion instrument because hammers strike the strings inside to producesound. Up until the 1950s, piano keys were made from elephant tusks. Today, inorder to protect and preserve elephants, most piano keys are made from plastic.Fun fact!A piano offers the largest notes range of all instruments. In a typical pianowith 88 keys, there are 7 octaves, compared to the four octaves found on aguitar and violin. A piano can play a note lower than the lowest note on adouble-bassoon and higher than the top note of a piccolo– an entire orchestralrange in one instrument!Learn more about the history of the piano here[https://www.normans.co.uk/blogs/blog/10-interesting-facts-piano].