PIANO CARE
Tuning is typically recommended twice a year for home pianos, however it is usually done every one or two weeks for music establishments, and up to once or twice a day for concert instruments. Voicing involves needling or treating the hammers to even-out the tone of the piano or alter it to the liking of the performer. A piano, depending on the amount of use, can require voicing anywhere from a few months to a few years.
Regulating: There are about 30 adjustments that can be made, for every key of the piano, to optimize the action and make it perform as intended by the manufacturer or as desired by the performer. A piano will gradually fall out of regulation, due to the impact from the playing and the compression of the felts. A piano should be regulated every 3 to 15 years, depending on the initial quality of the instrument and the usage.
New strings and action. Again, depending on the situation, a piano may need new strings, a new pinblock (the plank where the tuning pins are driven into), hammers or other action parts. This is usually necessary every 30 - 60 years if the piano is used in a home.
The soundboard of the piano is the resonating board that you see if you look inside a grand, under the strings and plate. It amplifies and beautifies the sound of the resonating strings, and is really the “soul” of the piano. The soundboard initially is not flat, but has a crown, and downward tension is exerted from the strings onto the soundboard via the bridge. The bridge is visible if you look inside a grand piano. It is in two pieces: one is for the bass strings, and is visible near the tail of the piano, and the other for the treble, and follows the curvature of the case. The bridge is the only object in contact both with the strings and the soundboard of the piano. Oftentimes, soundboards will loose their crown and not provide enough counter bearing to the strings to produce a nice tone. In these cases a new soundboard is recommended, along with a new bridge. This is usually necessary every 100 years or so, however it may be needed much sooner if the wood of the soundboard had not been initially aged enough or the environmental conditions had been harsh. On the contrary, I have encountered pianos that after 100 years did not need a new soundboard.
Refinishing is a purely cosmetic procedure that I usually leave to the owner of the piano to decide on.
Send me email at andrewgeorgas@yahoo.com
©2004-2006 Andrew Georgas. All Rights Reserved.
Regulating: There are about 30 adjustments that can be made, for every key of the piano, to optimize the action and make it perform as intended by the manufacturer or as desired by the performer. A piano will gradually fall out of regulation, due to the impact from the playing and the compression of the felts. A piano should be regulated every 3 to 15 years, depending on the initial quality of the instrument and the usage.
New strings and action. Again, depending on the situation, a piano may need new strings, a new pinblock (the plank where the tuning pins are driven into), hammers or other action parts. This is usually necessary every 30 - 60 years if the piano is used in a home.
The soundboard of the piano is the resonating board that you see if you look inside a grand, under the strings and plate. It amplifies and beautifies the sound of the resonating strings, and is really the “soul” of the piano. The soundboard initially is not flat, but has a crown, and downward tension is exerted from the strings onto the soundboard via the bridge. The bridge is visible if you look inside a grand piano. It is in two pieces: one is for the bass strings, and is visible near the tail of the piano, and the other for the treble, and follows the curvature of the case. The bridge is the only object in contact both with the strings and the soundboard of the piano. Oftentimes, soundboards will loose their crown and not provide enough counter bearing to the strings to produce a nice tone. In these cases a new soundboard is recommended, along with a new bridge. This is usually necessary every 100 years or so, however it may be needed much sooner if the wood of the soundboard had not been initially aged enough or the environmental conditions had been harsh. On the contrary, I have encountered pianos that after 100 years did not need a new soundboard.
Refinishing is a purely cosmetic procedure that I usually leave to the owner of the piano to decide on.
Send me email at andrewgeorgas@yahoo.com
©2004-2006 Andrew Georgas. All Rights Reserved.