Let me preface all this by saying, this is an opinion, not official. As a lot of musicians argue this both ways, I felt the need to write about my opinion, reasoning, and some commentary. All my research was done in a very casual setting and is only meant to support my opinion.
The Wrong Side
A percussion instrument is defined as an instrument that is struck to create sound (Percussion Family of Instruments: What Instruments Are in the Percussion Family?, 2022). A piano, as many of us know, uses hammers to strike strings and create that beautiful sound that is so familiar to us all. So, in a sense this is the perfect dictionary definition of a percussion instrument, right? Well, we can discuss that in the next section. If you need a spoiler though; it is not a percussion instrument.
The Right Side
My biggest reasoning behind not believing the piano is a percussion instrument is due to the fact that it has more strings than any other instrument in the modern orchestra (Percussion Family of Instruments: What Instruments Are in the Percussion Family?, 2022). If we call it a percussion instrument, then we would need to call it a string instrument, and if that is the case, then we have a cat-dog situation in my eyes. Do we lean towards which one it is closest to? If that’s the case, there are twice as many strings as hammers in a piano making it a stringed instrument.
Another argument is from a player’s perspective. I have a degree in percussion performance, which means, I am highly trained in anything percussion-wise, and I generally agree with that. If you give me something that is truly a percussive instrument, I can play it at a pretty high level. However, if you put me on a piano and ask me to play it, I am going to make it sound like the most hideous disgusting thing in the world. My college piano proficiency is up to a fourth semester, or two-year ability, which was a requirement for me to graduate. If I wanted to become a pianist, I would have gone to school for a piano performance degree.
Think about the main interface of a piano, which is the black and white keys (Miller Piano Specialists, 2020). If this is the primary interaction for performers, then we need to include things such as synths, electric keyboards, and organs (Miller Piano Specialists, 2020). This opens up an entire argument that usually has no end.
Classification
So how do we classify this instrument if it is not a percussion instrument? That seems to be the argument and question from both ends. For me, why can it not just be the piano or keyboard family? There are plenty of different instruments in the world that share the same interface but function just a little differently. I can agree it needs to belong somewhere, so let’s put it in its own family along with these other keyboard-style instruments.
Conclusion
Again, this is all an opinion and nothing I say should change what the piano is to you. As a lifetime percussionist, I disagree with every argument that has been made stating piano is a percussion instrument. While this argument will never end, I think it is important to appreciate what this instrument is capable of as well as how important it is to the music world today.
References
Miller Piano Specialists. (2020, February 15). Is a piano a string or a percussion instrument? Miller Piano Specialists. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://millerps.com/piano-string-percussion-instrument/
Percussion Family of Instruments: What instruments are in the percussion family? (2022). Oregon Symphony. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://www.orsymphony.org/learning-community/instruments/percussion/
Tyler J. Haley 