ribbons instead of strings?

Any physics types want to comment on the idea of using
ribbons instead of strings in a piano? Is the total cross
sectional area all that matters, regardless of shape?
I doubt it. I would guess it only matters in the direction
of vibration, so ribbons would seem to make sense. They
would also kill side-to-side modes of vibration, which
presumably only hurt power transfer to the soundboard.
If one ribbon could stand in for three strings, it'd make
tuning easier, and it would presumably save space along
the keyboard, which is one of the blocks to building
acoustic keyboards with > 12 tones/octave.

-Carl