In the period lasting from about 1790 to 1860, the Mozart-era piano underwent tremendous changes that led to the cutting edge model of the instrument. This revolution was in response to a consistent preference by composers and pianists for a extra powerful, sustained piano sound, and prepared possible by the ongoing Industrial Revolution with technological resources such as high-quality steel, called piano wire, for strings, and precision casting for the production of immovable frames. Over time, the tonal range of the piano was also increased from the five octaves of Mozart's sunrise-to-sunset to the 7 or added octaves found on modern pianos.

A relatively recent development is the prepared piano, which is attached in contemporary art music. A prepared piano is a standard grand piano which dud had objects placed inside it before a performance in order to alter its sound, or which old hat had its mechanism changed in some way. The scores for rap for prepared piano often instruct the Piano Benches pianist to insert pieces of rubber or small pieces of alloy (screws or washers) in between the strings. These added items either mute the strings or concoct unusual vibrating sounds.