Pianos and Pioneers

Do you have fun plans for Pioneer Day next week? Well, you should definitely plan on visiting us at the Provo Pioneer Day Extravaganza at Pioneer Village! There are going to be a lot of fun and educational booths explaining how the pioneers lived and teaching the skills they used. There will be cooking booths and woodworking booths…and there will even be a piano booth!

We are going to have a booth set up where we teach about pianos in the pioneer days! Did you know that some pioneers who crossed the plains took pianos with them? Pianos are not light objects—it would have taken a lot of work to load one into a wagon and pull it for thousands of miles. But people knew how valuable music was, so they wanted to make sure they had instruments to share the music with. While they crossed the plains, the pioneers sang lots of songs. This helped them find joy in their hard journey. At our booth, we will have a real piano there to teach some pioneer-era songs! You’re probably familiar with the songs “Come, Come, Ye Saints” and “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” right? Did you know that those were made up by people crossing the plains to come to the West?

During the late 1800s, pianos were starting to become more popular. They were cheaper to make, so people could afford to have them in their homes. Have you ever wondered what pianos are made of? There are actually hundreds of parts to a piano, and these parts are made of metal, wood, and even animals! Wool for the felt on the hammers comes from sheep, and the ivory for the keys comes from elephant tusks.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you next Tuesday from 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.!