The piano first came into existence about 1709, but until the 1770's it was probably used most successfully as an accompanying instrument because of the small volume of tone it could produce. In its earlier stages the piano was not capable of producing even as big a tone as a large. sized harpsichord, During these seventy years piano builders experimented a great deal with the piano and its mechanisms, As with any instrument, some ideas were kept and improved, and others were tried and then discarded.