Positioning a Piano in Your Home

"Is it wrong to place a piano against an outside wall? How far from the fireplace must it be? Can I keep my piano in an unheated room?"

These are all common questions posed by piano owners. The answers lie in two important criteria: temperature and humidity.

Pianos are mostly wood and are greatly affected by seasonal change. Variations in the air's relative humidity, and to a lesser extent temperature, cause a piano to go out of tune. In the long run, repeated swings in relative humidity can cause damage to the finish, cracking of the wooden soundboard, and even structural failure. So, when locating your piano, try to choose a spot with the fewest drafts, no direct sunlight and stable temperature and humidity.

Common lore says that a piano should always be on an inside wall. This is not necessarily true. If your home is well insulated, an outside wall will usually be fine, as long as the piano is not directly in front of a window or close to a furnace vent or other source of warm (or cold) air.

Evenness of humidity and temperature is what you should strive for. Thus, a piano in an unheated room is better off than one in a family room that's alternately heated, cooled and ventilated with open windows.

Remember :
• If the piano is facing a fireplace or heater and its surface feels warm, it's too close.
• Avoid direct sunlight; it will wreak havoc on your piano's tuning and eventually fade and crack the finish.
• Consistency is more important than the actual levels of temperature or relative humidity.


If you can't find a suitable location, have a climate control system installed in the instrument itself. These units can greatly improve tuning stability and other climate-related problems where it's not practical to control the environment of the entire house.