Toy piano:Upright Piano

Before technological innovation brought the record player, radio, and television set into American homes, the piano served as a major source of entertainment, and families gathered in the parlor to play and sing along to the popular tunes of the day. Toy pianos ensured that the littlest members of the household could participate in this pastime as well. These miniature instruments served a dual purpose, acting both as a form of entertainment and education for young children. The A. Schoenhut Company (1872-1935) of Philadelphia, a major supplier of toy pianos in America and abroad, often sold their pianos with sheet music and instruction booklets, in hopes that these might serve as a training tool for children and advance their musical capabilities. Furthermore, the keys on Schoenhut pianos had the same width and spacing as full-sized piano keys, ensuring an easy transition when the child graduated to a real piano. Schoenhut pianos, one might say, had both playful and serious intentions. These two purposes have united in recent years. Toy pianos, with their unmistakable metallic tone, have made appearances in classical and contemporary musical contexts, used in renditions of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and alternative rock songs alike.