There are 52 white keys and 36 black keys on a traditional piano. The piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy around 1700. Cristofori was an expert craftsman specializing in constructing harpsichords. He originally named his invention “un cimbalo di cipresso di piano e forte” (meaning a keyboard of cypress with soft and loud). The name was abbreviated to fortepiano, which eventually was shortened further to just piano. Three of Cristofori’s pianos exist today, all from the 1720s, with two residing in museums in Europe and one in New York. Cristofori passed away on January 27, 1731, at age 75.