What’s living in your piano? Does it smell?

Here’s a slightly off-putting story if you’ve not been taking care of your acoustic piano.

Have you allowed rodents or birds to make their final home in your cosy felt-lined instrument?

Even after about 60 years of piano tuning, Richard C. Kreitz, 82, of Shillington still dreads the phone calls with a voice on the other end of the line that says: “My piano smells terrible. It’s making me sick to my stomach.”

Not being a music critic, Kreitz declines to blame the pianist for the odor.

So he usually inspects stinky pianos to find a dead mouse or bird or some other tiny creature that, before death, discovered cozy piano innards make the nicest of homes because they are finely furnished with felt, hammers, strings and shiny brass or metal pieces.

It’d be unusual to find such things with electronic keyboards, unless someone has been particularly messy with food and it’s become infested with very tiny insects. Euch.

Quite apart from reading about the interesting things he finds inside pianos, it’s an interesting look at the life of a highly experienced piano tuner.

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Joy of piano moving

Brian Matthews provides some light entertainment (or not) by describing an impending piano move.

A real piano.

From what I can tell, it’s a piano made entirely out of lead and alien particles never before found on Earth that actually weigh more than any other known substance.

No-one said moving was easy.

(From Red Sneaker)

Piano technicians depend on their ears for a living

During his early days on the Greenwich Village folk scene and continuing through his electric 1966 world tour, Bob Dylan was notorious for tuning his guitar on stage — sometimes taking as long as 20 minutes while his audience fidgeted in their seats. A piano technician would snicker at Mr. Dylan’s leisurely pace: “It’s only six strings, Bob! How about trying 250?”

A piano, after all, is a stringed instrument, just like a guitar, violin or cello. But any comparisons end there, as a piano is more complex than any engine in a Ferrari or any mechanism in a Rolex watch. Your typical modern piano has 230 to 250 strings — the number exceeds 88 because most keys use two or three strings each — with a combined tension of anywhere from 15 to 30 tons. There are thousands of steel, iron, ivory, wooden and felt parts — up to 7,000 in some grand pianos — that need tender loving care.

Here’s an interesting article profiling Barbara Renner, a piano technician who has tuned pianos for classical and jazz pianists, as well as Bruce Springsteen and The Who.

Piano healthcare

Bill Huesman is a busy man - he has the responsibility for over 90 pianos at NCSA, from uprights to 9-foot, $100,000 Steinway concert grands - plus four harpsichords and one celeste.

In a small upstairs studio at the N.C. School of the Arts, Bill Huesman is bent over the opened keyboard of a Steinway, shaking his head at the wooden intestines spilling onto his lap.

This is one of the problem pianos.

Before the tuxedoed chamber-music concert, before the showy Schubert sonata, even before the daily grind of practice, practice, practice, there is this middle-aged man with a trim, graying beard leaning over the wooden hammers, levers and steel strings of a piano. It is undergoing a checkup and getting a little life support at the same time.

Full story

How to clean piano keys

Martha Stewart at Indystar.com gives advice on how to clean piano keys. Of particular importance is looking after an antique piano with ivory keys, given that it is now near-impossible to get replacement ivory.

Both instrument and furniture: a guide to buying new and used pianos

Perhaps more than any other instrument, an acoustic piano is also a fine piece of furniture that can dominate a room.

To this end, buying a piano is not purely about the quality of the sound and mechanics, but also of its aesthetics.

Stacy Downs at Fortwayne.com has written a useful article giving advice on purchasing a new or used piano.

Important factors are:

• Budget
• Musical quality
• Source (private / dealer)
• Appearance
• Entertainment additions (not for the purist!)

It also gives advice on hiring a piano.

The article then gives maintenance tips once you have your new piano, including.

• Ideal placement
• Acoustics
• Climate
• Tuning

Read the full article: Both instrument and furniture, a piano can add beauty to a home

Piano Care and Maintenance Tips

by: Mantius Cazaubon

Care and maintenance of pianos

Temperature and humidity.

In positioning your piano, you should strive for evenness of humidity and temperature. Since a piano is made mostly of wood, it is greatly affected by seasonal change. If there is lots of variation in humidity and temperature, your piano will easily go out of tune. Humidity fluctuations can also cause cracking of the wooden soundboard and damage to the finish.

For these reasons you should never put a piano next to a frequently opened outside door or in front of a picture window. Never put it near heating ducts, hot air registers, or radiators. Protect the piano against direct sunlight, humidity and sudden changes in temperature. You need to ensure a temperature of about 72 degrees Fahrenheit and a humidity of about 40 percent.

If you can’t control the environment of the house, if you can’t find a suitable location, consider installing a climate control system in the instrument itself. This will take care of climate-related problems.

Tuning

If you prize your piano, you will tune it regularly. Domestic pianos should be tuned roughly once every four to six months. For those playing in concert halls the piano is tuned just before every performance. It is important to tune the piano regularly. The longer a piano remains out of tune, the more time and effort a technician will need to restore correct pitch. When moving the piano to a new environment wait a few weeks for it to become acclimated. Only then should you tune it.

Appearance

Your piano should be cleaned and polished carefully so as to avoid introduction of any fluids into its interior. To avoid the abrasive effect of dust consider using a feather duster rather than a cloth. When a cloth is used it should be soft. You should clean the keys with a sponge dampened with water or a very mild soap. The piano lid should be closed only when necessary. While the lid provides protection when the piano is not in use, it can also lead to yellowing of the white keys.

Piano’s inside

Take proper care of the inside of your piano. Bug sprays and mothballs should not be used. Don’t try to oil it yourself. Don’t place drinks and other liquids like cosmetics, any kind of Aerosol, insecticides, paint thinner or petroleum-based products on top of the piano. They can spill inside and cause metal parts to rust and wood parts to stick. A professional should clean the inside once every three years.

Many problems can be prevented by playing your piano frequently. These include the accumulation of dust and rust.

About The Author

Mantius Cazaubon offers a guide to help you choose a musical keyboard that meets your needs on his site, http://www.yamaha-keyboard-guide.com. Visit http://www.yamaha-keyboard-guide.com for Yamaha and other music keyboard reviews.

Reproduced with permission from ArticleCity.com

Piano owners FAQ

There’s an excellent “Frequently Asked Questions” page at PianoFinders—Piano Owners’ FAQ—which covers topics including cleaning and care of a piano, moving tips, and safety.

It is suitable for both upright and grand piano designs.