Piano Care and Maintenance
Did you know that a piano can have up to 12,000 moving parts? It’s true. Not only that, but many of those parts are moving parts. And if you want your piano to stay in good working order, it needs a little bit of maintenance to stay its best.
During your first year of piano ownership you’ll probably want to get your piano serviced two to four times. I know that sounds like a lot, but keep in mind that a piano is an investment. This includes having it tuned, regulated, voiced, and getting worn parts replaced or repaired.
Tuning is the adjustment of the piano’s strings. There are over 200 strings in a piano. The piano tuner technician will adjust the strings so they are at the correct pitch. This is ensures the notes will sound in harmony when musical intervals are played.
How does a piano go out of tune in the first place? The most common cause is humidity changes. It’s recommended that you don’t get your piano tuned right after the humidity has changed or the tune will only hold a couple months.
Regulation is the adjustment of the mechanical aspects of the pianos because the cloth parts compact and settle, and the piano changes dimension somewhat due to changes in humidity. Uneven keys and keys that stick are signs that a piano needs to be regulated. The frequency of regulation needed for a piano varies according to how much the piano is used along with the climate it’s kept in.
Voicing a piano is an adjustment of the tone of your piano. As you use your piano, hammers wear and compact and some notes will become too harsh. At this point, your piano needs to be voiced. Most people find that their piano needs to be voiced every 1-5 years, depending on how much use your piano receives.
Of course there’s more to piano care than just the inner guts of the piano. There’s an exterior of your piano and it requires a bit of care too. Most people can handle keeping their piano clean, but one thing to remember is that using furniture polish on a good piano is a big no no.
A piano will also need periodic reconditioning by the piano technician which is cleaning, making any needed repairs, and replacing specific parts if needed. When your piano technician comes over to work on your piano, it’s a good time for you to dust the hard to reach areas of the piano such as the behind the lower panel where the pedals are.
If your piano has deteriorated severely then reconditioning it won’t be enough. You’ll have to get the piano completely rebuilt which involves completely disassembling the piano. As you might imagine it’s very labor intensive and quite expensive, but in some cases it’s the only way to restore the original performance level of your piano.
A piano is an investment. (not a gigantic paperweight that needs dusting.) If you properly maintain your piano, not only can it provide a lifetime of music and enjoyment, but it can actually increase in value.
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.