The piano is considered a percussion instrument due to changes initiated by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the turn of the 18th century, according to Best Piano Lessons. Its predecessor, the harpsichord, used mechanisms that plucked strings to make sound. Today's piano uses hammers to strike the strings instead, which allows the player to alter volume levels.
Innovations in piano playing have influenced different genres of music. In the late 19th century, Scott Joplin created the genre ragtime, a fusion of jazz music with syncopated rhythms, while 100 years later Ray Charles combined R&B with gospel to create soul, states Get Piano Lessons.com.
Pianists compose and perform music for a variety of reasons, although fame and personal promotion was common. Franz Liszt, who composed thousands of works, was like a rock star in his day; women were entranced by his performances, according to Get Piano Lessons.com. Ludwig van Beethoven, another Romantic era composer, was one of the first composers to have a career independent of earnings from the Church or wealthy patrons.