Friday, May 15, 2009

What is Piano Voicing?


Every piano has its own unique sound. One might be described as 'glassy,' another as 'warm'. One might have a 'full singing' tone, and yet another sounds 'thin.' Although the original design establishes the basic character of your piano's tone, your technician can modify it to better suit your taste or restore its original tone if it has deteriorated with age. The process of modifying a piano's tone is called voicing.

What is the difference between tuning and voicing?
Tuning is the adjustment of the tension of all of your piano's 220 (or more) strings to the correct pitch or frequency. This ensures that notes played in a musical interval (octaves, chords, etc.) will sound in harmony.

Voicing is the adjustment of a piano's tone or quality of sound. Tone can be changed without affecting the pitch. For example, turning the bass or treble knobs on your stereo changes the tone but does not alter the notes the musician recorded. A skilled piano technician can voice a piano to change its tonal personality from mellow to bright or robust to delicate. The degree of change possible depends upon the piano's design and condition.


What is good tone?
Tone varies, even among pianos of the same make and model. No matter what its size or cost, any good piano should provide a wide range of tone, from soft and sweet to loud and bright. The tone should be even from the lowest to the highest notes. Most of all, it should sound musical.

What does the perfect piano tone sound like?
There is no single answer, because everyone's taste varies. Also, certain tonal characteristics are more suited to specific styles of music. A bright, lively tone might be best for jazz, whereas you might prefer a rich and dark sound for Beethoven's music. There are many different sizes and models of piano available in the market place; you chose your piano because it sounded good to you.

But a piano's tone changes with use. As the hammers wear and compact, the tone often becomes too bright and harsh, robbing the pianist of the ability to produce a sweet sound. As parts wear, the regulation (adjustment of the mechanical parts that transmit motion from the fingers to the hammers) becomes uneven, and the pianist loses control over volume and tone. This is most noticeable in quiet playing. A delicate pianissimo passage becomes very difficult or impossible to play, and some keys may not sound at all if played very lightly.

Aging of the piano's strings and structure also can diminish its tone.

Other factors that affect the sound you hear from your piano are:

• ROOM ACOUSTICS -- Hard shiny surfaces such as windows and bare floors reflect high frequencies, making a piano sound bright and loud. High ceilings or large adjoining rooms add resonance. Rugs and upholstered furniture soften tone and add warmth.
• THE LID -- Both grands and verticals sound louder and brighter if the lid is opened.
• YOU -- Your ears are sensitive, and will perceive sound differently if you have spent all day in a quiet office or at a loud construction site.


Does my piano need voicing?
• Your piano may benefit from voicing if:
• Your piano sounds different than when you purchased it.
• You don't like the sound even after it has been tuned.
• Tone varies radically from note to note.
• You cannot achieve a range of tone (mellow to bright) at different volumes.
• The piano has lost its ability to play softly.
Before deciding if a new piano needs voicing, make sure it is well-tuned and well-regulated. Then, play a wide variety of music on it. Most voicing procedures are long-lasting, so give yourself some time to explore the sound of a new instrument before deciding to change it.

How often voicing is needed depends upon the piano's usage and its intended audience. Pianos in concert halls and recording studios often receive minor refinement of the voicing before each performance. A home piano may need some initial voicing to customize it to the owner's taste, then once every one to five years to maintain its tone.

Your piano and your musical needs are unique -- your own schedule for periodic voicing is a matter for you and your technician to decide. To find out how voicing might improve the tone of your piano, ask for a demonstration on one or two notes.


How does a technician voice a piano?
Before you or your technician can fully evaluate then tone of your piano, it must be well-tuned. Tuning is the first step in improving the sound of any piano and may actually provide the tone you desire. If the tone is still not satisfactory. Your technician will inspect the action, hammers and strings. If these components are severely worn, major repairs may be required before an improved tone is possible.

Moderately worn hammers can be re-shaped with sandpaper to remove string grooves and restore their original rounded shape. Next, the hammers are aligned to strike each string squarely.

Action regulation should be checked or adjusted. This ensures an even, powerful response from each key.

If tuning, hammer shaping and regulation are correct, the tone probably will be balanced but still may be too bright or mellow for your taste. If so, your technician might recommend voicing the hammers.

For a tone that is too loud, too bright or seems to die out too quickly, softening the hammers felt often is recommended. This is usually done by inserting needles into specific areas of the hammer to increase flexibility.

For a tone that is too weak or too mellow, hardening of the hammer felt may be necessary. This is usually done by filing away soft outer layers of hammer felt or by applying a chemical hardening solution.

Once the overall tone is correct, individual notes are voiced to make the tone as even as possible from one end of the keyboard to the other. In some pianos certain notes still may sound different from their neighbors, no matter how skillfully the technician voiced the piano. This most commonly occurs about an octave below middle C, where the strings change from steel wires wrapped with copper to plain steel. Such irregularities are a result of design compromises, and usually cannot be corrected by voicing.


Getting the most enjoyment from your piano
One of your piano's most important assets is its tone. Properly voiced, your piano can offer you a rich palette of music expression, and inspire good practice habits in every member of your family. However, piano owners are not always aware that tone can be customized to their own tastes and room acoustics, and to correct for deterioration and age. If the only service your piano has received is tuning, the sound can likely be improved by voicing.

What is Action Regulation?


As a conscientious piano owner, you probably have your piano tuned regularly by a qualified technician. You may, however, notice a deterioration of its performance despite regular tuning. It's important to note that tuning is only the adjustment of the system of strings and pins that determines the pitch of each string. Your piano also requires a periodic servicing called regulation, which attends to the mechanical parts which cause strings to sound when keys are played and affect the sound through use of the pedals.

What is regulation and how does it affect my piano's performance?
Regulation is the adjustment of the mechanical aspects of the pianos to compensate for the effects of wear, the compacting and settling of cloth, felt, and buckskin, as well as dimensional changes in wood and wool parts due to changes in humidity.

The three systems involved in regulation are the action trapwork and damper system. The action is the mechanical part of the piano that transfers the motion of the fingers on the keys to the hammers that strike the strings. It is comprised of over 9,000 parts which require adjustment to critical tolerances to be able to respond to a pianist's every command. The trapwork is the assemblage of levers, dowels and springs that connects the pedals to the action affecting sustain and dynamics. The damper system is the mechanical part of the piano that stops the vibration of the string when you release the key and is controlled by the key and pedal systems.


If I have my piano tuned regularly, why do I need to have it regulated?
While tuning corrects the pitch of your piano, it is only one component of a complete maintenance program. Regulation attends to the touch and uniform responsiveness of your action, all vital to making each performance pleasurable. In addition, regulation ensures that your instrument is capable of producing a wide dynamic range -- a critical factor, particularly in pianissimo passages.

Music is one of the most complex vehicles for expression. Its beauty is reliant upon personal dynamics and tempi. These changes require extremely fine adjustments to respond to the pianist's nuances and subtle shadings. A smooth, even response throughout the entire range of the keyboard and an extremely quick action capable of playing rapid passages and repeated notes evenly is essential. Outstanding response is essential for a pianist to create an outstanding performance.


Do all pianos need to be regulated?
All upright and grand pianos need periodic regulation to perform their best. Frequency of regulation is dependent upon amount of use, exposure to climatic changes, and the instrument's quality, age and condition. New pianos may require regulation in their first year because settling and compacting of parts sometimes necessitates adjustment.

How often is regulation needed?
Only you and your technician together should decide how frequently your piano needs regulation. Several factors can contribute to this. The intensity and number of hours your instrument is played, and climatic conditions are all determinants. A piano kept in relatively consistent conditions which are neither too wet nor dry, optimally at a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit and 42 percent relative humidity, will require less adjustment.

The quality of the instrument itself also can affect frequency of regulation. Some manufacturers decrease costs by not going over the regulation and voicing processes in the factory as much as needed. Reputable retailers sometimes do the necessary regulation themselves prior to selling the pianos, but others do not.

Also, performance instruments may require some regulation before each use, due to the higher demands placed on them.


What are the signs that my piano needs regulation?
If you instrument displays a lack of sensitivity or a decreased dynamic ranges, it's a candidate for regulation. If you notice that the keys are not level (some higher or lower than the rest), the touch is uneven or that the keys are sticking, the need for regulation is indicated. However, a sluggish action or deep grooves in the hammers indicate the need for reconditioning or repair. Ask your technicians to show you what needs adjustment on your piano.

No amount of practice can compensate for a poorly maintained action. Poor legato touch, chord playing where all notes of the chord don't speak clearly, a gradual loss of subtlety in phrasing and an inability to execute quick passages or note repetitions evenly may be the fault of the piano -- not the player.

Testing A Petrof for its Characteristic


1. Press down the right pedal. Play the far left key as soft as possible. The softer you can play it, the better the action.

2. Let the note sound as long as possible. Check the sustain (rate of decay). Notice any changes in the quality of the sound as it decays.

3. Start over. Press down right pedal. Play a chord as loud as possible in the low, low bass. Let it sustain awhile. Then, play a chord in the middle register as loud as possible. Then play a chord in the upper treble as loud as possible. Let them sustain. (Woofer, mid-cone, and tweeter). Do the chords tend to merge over time? (Which is bad? You want the tones to remain separate.) This is a performance test for the sound board.

4. Leave pedals alone. Play one note at time one, two, and three octaves above middle C very, very loudly, one at time. Does the note distort? This is an acid test. Cheap pianos rarely survive this test. The Petrofs I have tested do well.

Repeat all of the above on other pianos to compare, especially the expensive ones above your price range to see what happens with a high perform instrument.


Also, test the following:

1. Is the treble about as loud as the bass for the same effort of playing, i.e., is the volume balanced? Some pianos end up with a bright treble because the technician is trying to balance a treble that is too weak in volume relative to the bass.

2. Can you play the entire scale softly? Many pianos play loud, and louder, but not softly. This is not an uncommon problem for pianos below tier one.

3. Does the instrument play really loud? Surprisingly, I have run into a few that are volume limited. This quality is not noticeable until you specifically look for it.

Why Slam Chinese Made Piano?

Originally you asked a rather general question. Why Slam Chinese-Made Pianos? There have been a number of excellent answers to your specific questions but I would like to add a general observation or two on the overall issue.

Some of us with long memories can remember when Japanese-built pianos began coming into the U.S. The early Japanese instruments were plagued with problems ranging from such minor details as soundboards coming loose and pinblocks coming apart to unstable actions to polyester finish problems. Not to mention the myriad ongoing tonal problems. It took about twenty years for them to get their product up to a minimally reasonable standard. In the meantime they were sold viable alternatives to the piano marques. Dealers and salespeople assured one and all that the Japanese pianos were just as good as the expensive U.S.- and European-built pianos, but because of the low cost of labor in Japan they were a real bargain. What problems? They were all built to the highest standards and used only “world class” components. And many U.S. consumers ended up paying the price.

Later on the Korean’s entered the fray. The early Korean instruments were plagued with problems ranging from minor details like soundboards coming loose and pinblocks coming apart to unstable actions to polyester finish problems. Not to mention the myriad ongoing tonal problems. It took about ten years for them to get their product up to a minimally reasonable standard. In the meantime they also were sold viable alternatives to the U.S.-, European- and Japanese-built pianos. Dealers and salespeople assured one and all that the Korean pianos were just as good as the more expensive U.S.-, European- and Japanese built pianos, but because of the low cost of labor in Korea they were a real bargain. What problems? They were all built to the highest standards and used only World Class components. And many U.S. consumers ended up paying the price.

And now the Chinese and Indonesian pianos are entering the fray. The early instruments coming from these countries have been plagued with problems ranging from minor details … well, you can probably guess where this is headed. It’s déjà vu all over again. And, once again, the U.S. consumer is taking it on the chin and in the wallet. It remains to be seen just when (or if?) the Chinese manufacturers will reach the level of the better Korean or Japanese manufacturers. Not to mention the better European builders. They probably will, given time. Anyone who has walked on the Great Wall can but admire the focus and tenacity of this culture. Still, I’ve been in several Chinese factories and, while there is certainly a will to achieve world-standard status, I'm not sure if there is yet a willingness to pay the full price of admission.

It takes more than a list of features to make a good piano. It also takes more than a collection of “world class” components gathered together and stuffed into a box. It takes more than a verbal assurance that wood is now, finally, being properly seasoned. I have stood in a Chinese factory being assured that the wood used for backposts in row after row of vertical piano back assemblies had all been “properly” dried and seasoned. And no one can explain the splits running two-thirds the way up several of these backposts. Just no idea how it could happen. As we went down the line I discovered this was not the only example of raw, green wood being used in these pianos. These things were twisting and warping and splitting all over the place. But it was all “properly” dried and seasoned.

Eventually they will figure all this stuff out. Some, perhaps, have already done so. At least they mostly seem to be working on their problems. This is of little consolation to those who purchased the earlier instruments, of course. The same was also true with the early purchasers of various Japanese and Korean pianos — but that was then and this is now. Both the Japanese and Korean builders are now more experienced and one thing you are going to get for your extra money with a more established maker is experience and knowledge. They have already had it, learned from it and have paid for it. And now you are being asked to pay your share in exchange for their higher level of competence. Their products will generally reflect that competence in terms of on-going performance and an extended useful life. It is one thing to get a piano sounding really nice on the showroom floor. It is quite another to keep it working well and sounding nice in your home for ten or twenty years.

In your favor, of course, is that by now most of the really bad pianos coming from China are gone. You are now much less likely to end up with an expensive pile of junk than you would have been just five years ago. Still, in exchange for the money you will be saving you will be given the opportunity to join an ever-growing group of guinea pigs (if you’ll please pardon the expression) who will be helping the Chinese piano industry achieve world standard status. With luck you’ll end up with a nicely satisfactory piano that, while it may never be a great piano, will still be serviceable. Without that luck…well, good luck.

(from pianoworld forum)

Why piano strings break?


Imagine the sound of a whip snapping against an aluminum pie pan and you have some idea of the sound that occurs when a piano string breaks. It's startling for anyone standing nearby, but especially so if you're seated at the keyboard!
Realize that the thin steel strings are tensioned to an average of 150 pounds each and it's not hard to understand that they might break occasionally. Though they're engineered to withstand the high tension, three main factors can cause them to fail.

Corrosion
Over time, especially in a damp environment, piano strings can rust. The rust eats into the steel wire, causing weak spots which can then break during the stress of hard playing or simply during routine tuning. Replacement is the only cure for rusty strings.

Excessively hard playing
Bend any piece of metal far enough and often enough and it will break. That's exactly what happens to piano strings. Sustained hard playing, especially the rhythmic left hand style used in many churches, can drive the piano's hammers against the strings with such force that they eventually break. Regular maintenance to the hammers (see next) can reduce breakage, but very hard playing will still take its toll. One solution is to amplify the piano with a microphone and sound system so it can be played lighter and still produce adequate power.

Very hard and worn hammers
With use, the smooth rounded surface of a piano hammer wears flat. Then instead of striking the strings with the flexible, rounded shape of a rubber ball it smacks them with a flat, hard surface. This can over-stress the strings, especially if the hammers are also made of very hard felt. In this case it is critical that your piano technician keep your hammers properly shaped and their hardness adjusted through a process called voicing.

Why does my tuner play each note so loudly when tuning my piano?


A piano string presses tightly against several friction points along its length. When it is tightened or loosened during tuning, this friction prevents the new tension from being evenly distributed throughout the string.

The tuner pounds the note to bounce the string up off the friction points slightly to allow the tension to equalize. If this didn't happen, the tension would equalize on its own when you sat down and played loudly, and the piano would slip out of tune.

Why do some pianos have Keys that feel Heavy and some that feel Light?


The weight required to make a key go down is referred to as the "touch." On different pianos it might vary from 40 grams to 70 grams (26 grams make up one ounce). Differences in leverage, mass of various parts, and frictional resistance yield piano actions that play very differently.

But don't think that a lighter touch is always better. In fact, most advanced musicians like to feel a touch that is anywhere from 52 to 58 grams. If a piano is too light, there's no feedback from the piano back to the player. And if the touch is too heavy, arms and fingers tire easily and sensitive control is gone.

Some adjustments can be made to change a piano's touchweight. If you're interested, ask your piano technician.

Why Do Pianos Need Tuning?


"If I move my piano to another room, does it need to he re-tuned? My grandmother had a fine old upright that she never got tuned. Why does my piano need regular tuning? Back home we always kept a jar of water in the bottom of the piano. Does this help keep the piano in tune? How often does my piano need tuning?"

Piano technicians hear these questions every day. Tuning is the most frequent and important type of piano maintenance, but it's often the least understood. Here we'll look at why pianos go out of tune and how you can help yours stay in better tune between visits from your technician.

First, new pianos are a special case; their pitch drops quickly for the first few years as new strings stretch and wood parts settle. It's very important that a new piano he maintained at proper pitch (A-440) during this period, so the string tension and piano structure can reach a stable equilibrium. Most manufacturers recommend three to four tunings the first year, and at least two annually after that.
Aside from this initial settling, seasonal change is the primary reason pianos go out of tune. To understand why, you must realize that the piano's main acoustical structure, the soundboard, is made of wood (typically 3/8- inch thick Spruce). And while wooden soundboards produce a wonderful sound, they also react constantly to the weather. As humidity goes up, a soundboard swells, increasing its crowned shape and stretching the piano's strings to a higher pitch. During dry times, the soundboard flattens out, lowering tension on the strings and causing the pitch to drop.

Unfortunately, the strings don't change pitch equally. Those near the soundboard's edge move the least, and those near the center move the most. So, unless it's in a hermetically sealed chamber, every piano is constantly going out of tune!

The good news is there are some simple things you can do to keep your piano sounding sweet and harmonious between regular service appointments. Although it's impossible to prevent every minor variation in indoor climate, you can often improve conditions for your piano.

Start by locating the piano away from direct sunlight, drafts, and heat sources. Excess heating causes extreme dryness, so try to keep the temperature moderate (below 70 degrees).

A portable dehumidifier or a dehumidifier added to your air-conditioning system can remove excess moisture during hot, muggy summers.

If controlling your home's environment is impractical, or if you want the best protection possible, have a humidity control system installed inside your piano. These are very effective in controlling the climate within the instrument itself. Besides improving tuning stability, they help minimize the constant swelling and shrinking of your piano's wooden parts. The critical part of such a system is the humidistat, a device that monitors the relative humidity within the piano and adds or removes moisture as needed. Jars of water, light bulbs, or other "home remedies" have no such control and can actually do more harm than good.

What does "A -440" mean?


Sound occurs when air is set into motion rapidly. Humans can hear sound if those cycles of compression and uncompression occur anywhere from twenty times each second to about twenty thousand times each second.

When a piano string is set into motion, it vibrates up and down repeatedly. If the note A above middle C is properly tuned, that string will vibrate up and down 440 times in one second. That's what A-440 means.

Every note on a piano is tuned using A-440 as the starting point. A-440 has been accepted as the universal standard for most of the century. Before that, it varied as much as a semi-tone higher or lower.

And even further back in time, there was no standard at all. Every village used a prominent local instrument, such as a church organ, as the standard for tuning its musical instruments. Pity the wandering minstrel!

Types of Upright Pianos (Vertical)


When it comes to pianos, the old maxim "The bigger, the better" is usually true.
Vertical pianos come in various sizes.

The shortest is the spinet, about 35" to 39" tall. Because the action (the mechanism that transmits your keystroke to the hammer) is of a different design, a spinet will usually have a lighter and less responsive touch than a larger piano. And the spinet's smaller soundboard and shorter strings produce a thinner tone.

Consoles, 40" to 44", have a compact action that sits directly on the back of the keys. This design improves both the touch and the tone over the spinet type.

Pianos that are 45" to 48" are called studio pianos, and those 49" and above are called uprights. These larger pianos have the advantages of full-sized actions, so their touch is the most responsive of all vertical designs. With their larger soundboard and longer strings, they are capable of a richer and fuller tone.

Strings and Things!


Although there are only 88 keys, a piano has over 200 strings--one per note in the low bass, two per note in the upper bass, and three per note in the treble.
Tension averages approximately 160 lbs. per string.

All together, the strings are stretched to a tension of 18 to 20 tons (close to 30 tons in a concert grand).

The strings gradually increase in thickness and length from treble to bass, and bass strings are wrapped with copper to make them produce a lower pitch.

Pianos range in weight from about 300 lbs, for a spinet to almost 1000 lbs. for a concert grand.

There are 8000-10,000 moving parts in a piano.

Safely Moving a Piano Around Your House

Most pianos have small metal casters that are only meant for occasional small moves, such as rolling the piano a few feet on a smooth floor. Pianos that are moved often, such as those in concert halls, schools, or churches, are almost always mounted on steel dollies with large rubber wheels to prevent leg and caster damage.

Here are some tips to safely move your piano in your home:
Grands

• Close the lid and fallboard.
• Check to see that the legs are secure.
• Check for clearance under the pedal lyre throughout the move, especially over door thresholds.
• Keep kids and pets clear.
• After removing belt buckles, rings, etc. that could scratch the finish, position three people around the piano, one near each leg.
• If the piano is on a carpet, be very careful to avoid straining the legs. It's not necessary to lift the piano off the floor, but just to take some weight off the casters so they will roll more easily.
• If the floor has obstacles like thresholds or furnace grates, lift each leg over one at a time, using extra help if necessary This is very important. Never force a piano over a bump in the floor. The caster could catch and the leg might break off.
• Keep your back straight, and lift with your legs!
• All movers should be encouraged to speak up if they notice a prob­lem, but one person should be firmly in charge.


Uprights

• Read all the cautions for moving grands.
• Look for moving handles at each end in the back. Not all pianos have these.
• Use two people, one at each end of the piano (two at each end for large uprights), and always lift the casters over bumps in the floor.
• Most of the weight of an upright is located toward the back, making it prone to tipping over backwards. when moving it out from the wall, never allow anyone, especially children, to stand behind the piano.
• Most spinet and console pianos have thin unsupported front legs. These pianos should be moved with extra care, since the legs are easily broken if caught in a crack or dragged across soft carpeting. To avoid damage, carefully tip the piano back slightly as you roll it to reduce weight on the front legs.

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.

Definition of a Hammer!


There are hammers and then there are hammers. We all know about the kind that pound nails, but many people don't know that the piano wouldn't make a sound unless a felt-covered hammer struck the string.

Piano hammers are made from a piece of dense felt, glued under tremendous pressure onto a wooden molding. After the glue dries, the long strip is cut into 88 individual hammers.

Good hammer felt must have a combination of density and resilience so that the piano will have a beautiful, singing tone. The hammer's tone can be adjusted by a process called voicing.

Left Feet, Left Pedals!


Ever wonder how that soft pedal on the left really works?

On a grand piano, when you depress the una corda pedal (also called the shift pedal), the keyboard moves slightly to the right. This causes the hammers to strike fewer strings on each note. (Most notes have more than one string.) The result is a softer tone, and a different tone color as well.

On vertical pianos, the left pedal doesn't change the number of strings that the hammer strikes. Instead, the pedal pushes all the hammers half way to the strings. Since the hammers have a shorter distance to travel, they hit the strings with less force and therefore less volume.

So on a vertical piano, the left pedal is like an off-and-on switch--press the pedal and the volume drops. But on a well-regulated grand piano, you can use techniques such as half-pedaling to get not only a difference in volume but also subtle variations in tone color.

Is there anything wrong with locating my Piano near a Fireplace or Hot-Air Vent?

Absolutely!

Pianos function best when the environment is as stable as possible. Minor variations are inevitable in all households, but by keeping your piano away from a heat source, you help keep those variations to a minimum.

By locating your piano away from hot-air vents, fire- places, woodstoves, and sunny windows, you let the heat spread out and dissipate as much as possible. If you can feel one spot on your piano that's warmer than another, you have a problem.

The same holds true for cold or moist air. Watch out for open windows in winter that allow cold air to blow directly onto the piano. Avoid putting the piano near a steamy shower or a leaky clothes dryer.

If you have to put your Piano in Storage...

Don't, if at all possible.

Pianos, like people, prefer safe and cozy homes, away from drafts, dampness and rodents. Putting a piano into storage usually means moving it from a comfortable house to a cold and drafty warehouse. Even if the facility is advertised as "climate-controlled," it's rarely as well-regulated as a home. The more variable the temperature and humidity, the faster a piano deteriorates.

If you must store your piano, try to find a friend to keep it for you. Ideally, someone in the "foster home" will play the piano and agree to have it serviced periodically by a technician of your choice.

Unheated personal storage units are not suitable places to store pianos for any length of time.

A well-built garage can be an acceptable option for short term storage (up to one year), if you take some precautions:

Check the building's drainage. Make sure the floor under the piano will never be damp.

Is the building weather-tight? There should be no dew on the inside of the windows on a cool rainy day.

Ask your technician to install a climate control system in the piano. Make sure it stays plugged in to an electrical outlet.

Cover the piano with heavy blankets.

Arrange to have it regularly inspected for rodent infestation.

If the pianos have Keys that Stick, are they Worthless?



Saying a piano that has a sticking key is "worthless" is like saying your house is worthless if a door sticks when the humidity is up a little. Would you tear down a house because a door was sticking? Of course not.

Sticking keys is a common problem with pianos, and can happen to any of them. If you tossed out every piano that had a sticky key, you'd have to toss out every Steinway ever built, as well as most other pianos. Yamaha keys stick sometimes too - it's a maintenance issue, related to moisture, and easily solved. Most new pianos need prep work once they arrive at a dealer's store. A few simple adjustments and you're off to the races.

How to Sell Your Piano


When it comes time to sell your piano, whether you're trading it in on a new one or selling it outright, there are several things you can do to simplify the process and maximize the piano's worth. Here are some tips:

The easiest way to sell a piano is through an acquaintance. Let your friends know that your piano is for sale. Many instruments change hands quickly this way, with no advertising necessary.

Another possibility is selling it to a piano store. If you're planning to buy a new piano, it's common to trade in your old instrument. But retailers also buy pianos outright or will sell yours for a consignment fee (usually around 35%).

This saves you the trouble of advertising and showing it to prospective buyers. However, a store can only pay you a wholesale price, since they must pay to pick the piano up, do any necessary repairs, provide service and delivery to the new owner, and still come out with a profit.

If you have the time, energy and skill, you can often get the best price selling a piano yourself. The most common way is through a classified newspaper ad. Word your ad simply, including the brand name, piano type (spinet, console, studio, full sized upright, or grand), age and condition. For grand pianos, specify the length in feet and inches, measured from the cabinet's front edge (below the players wrists) to the lid overhang at the back of the curved case.

To best determine a fair selling price, hire a professional piano technician for an appraisal. This will give you the most accurate idea of its worth, saving you time and money. If your piano has been recently serviced, an accurate appraisal might be possible over the phone for a lesser fee.

Have the piano tuned. An in-tune piano sounds better, which means it can be sold more quickly and for a higher price. Don't worry that it may need tuning again after it's bought and moved.

Take care of minor problems. Piano shoppers are usually wary of instruments with sticking keys, buzzes, or pedals that don't work. Such problems are usually minor and easily corrected, so the repair cost will be money well spent.

Improve your piano's appearance as much as possible. Cleaning the keys and cabinet can greatly increase the eye appeal of a used piano.

How to Safely Move a Piano Around a Room

Standard piano casters are only meant for occasional small movements, such as rolling the piano a few feet on a smooth floor Pianos moved often, such as those on stages, in school buildings or in churches, must be mounted on special dollies to prevent damage to the original casters and legs.
To safely move your home piano to a new spot in the room, here are some tips:

Grands
If the piano is sitting on carpeting, or if the floor has any obstacles like thresholds, furnace grates, etc., you need to be very careful to avoid straining the legs. First lower the lid. Then position three people around the piano, one near each leg. (Remove belt buckles, rings, etc. that could scratch the piano's finish.) It's not necessary to lift the piano off the floor, but just to take some weight off the casters so they will roll more easily. Move the piano slowly, a few inches at a time. Caution: Never roll a caster over any bump in the floor; always lift it over, one leg at a time, using extra help.

Uprights
The same cautions for grands apply here. Use two people, one at each end of the piano (two at each end for large uprights), and always lift the casters over bumps in the floor. Caution: Beware that most of the weight is located toward the back of an upright piano, making it prone to tipping over if leaned too far back. When moving an upright out from a wall, never allow anyone, especially children, to stand behind the piano.

Most spinet and console pianos have thin, unsupported front legs. These take extra care, since they can easily break off if caught in a crack or dragged across soft carpeting. To avoid damage, carefully tip the piano back slightly as you roll it to reduce weight on the front legs.

How should I shop for a used piano?

A first step would be to decide on a price range and appearance you're comfortable with. Remember, you'll see it everyday even when you don't play it.

Go to piano stores, look in the newspaper, and ask your local music teachers and tuners to let you know if anything turns up.

When you find one that's interesting, play it. Try every note, listening for buzzes or notes that don't work at all. Play some music that's loud and fast, and some that's soft and slow. if you don't play yourself, bring a friend who does.

And finally, when you find a piano you think you want to buy, have it inspected by a professional piano technician. Would you buy a used car without a mechanic's advice? Save yourself the possibility of disappointment or disaster, and have a piano technician check it out for you before you write the check.

Another good source of information is The Piano Book by Larry Fine (Brookside Press, P0 Box 178, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130; hard cover $26.95, paper $16.95; 1-800-545-2022 www.pianobook.com) It's an indispensable source of complete information on buying a used or new piano, as well as how to maintain it afterwards. It has wonderful explanations of how pianos work and reviews of dozens of different piano brands.

How quiet should I be when my piano is being tuned?

The rule of thumb is: the quieter your house the better your tuning will be.

You wouldn't stand in the light of a jeweler repairing your watch. So should you plan to keep the noise to an absolute minimum when your tuner is working. If you want to do some housework and you're unsure if it might bother your tuner, just ask. Many tuners can work perfectly well despite minor background noise while they're tuning in the bass and tenor areas, but might request that you temporarily turn off the clothes dryer while he or she is tuning the high treble.

Most experienced professional piano tuners have tuned pianos during carpentry, vacuuming, TV, orchestral sound checks and even while other tuners were working in the same room. But no tuner can do his or her best work under those conditions.

How often should a piano be tuned?


For a piano in a home, the answer is once every three to six months. For pianos in concert halls, the answer is every single time it's played, which sometimes means twice in one day.

Why the difference?
Because the performance requirements and the budgets vary tremendously.

When you play your piano, it's probably at home after work, with an audience of none or one, and maybe your cat too. You play for fun, relaxation, and to express your musical creativity. Your budget may only allow one or two tunings per year.

When a concert artist plays, it might be for an audience of several thousand who have paid ticket prices ranging from $35 to $250. The 23- year-old pianist has practiced eight hours a day for ten years, and her career hinges on the reviews in tomorrow's New York Times. The performance is being recorded for international release by a major record company. The piano is a 9' concert grand that costs over $60,000. And who knows how much the pianist earns for that one performance?
Two different scenarios, two different tuning schedules.

How long will a piano last?


Pianos are among the most durable of personal possessions. Admired for their fine cabinetry and treasured for their beautiful sound, pianos usually lead a pampered life in the best room of the house. They're often thought of as permanent family fixtures, passed down to children and grandchildren. Their large size and weight give them the illusion of being able to last forever.

While pianos do last a long time, remember they're really just large machines made of wood, felt, and metal. Over the years, seasonal changes take their toll, stressing the wooden parts and straining glue joints. Felt hammers are pounded flat after thousands of collisions with the piano's strings, and metal parts corrode and weaken. Years of friction wear out the one thousand felt bushings in the action. How long a piano will last varies greatly, depending upon maintenance and repair, usage, climate, and quality of manufacture.

Here's a sketch of the life cycle of a typical home piano:
First Year
The pitch of a new piano drops considerably, as the new strings stretch and the structure settles. If the piano receives the manufacturer's recommended three to four tunings during this time, it will stay at the correct pitch, allowing strings and structure to reach a stable equilibrium. Without these important first tunings, any later tuning will involve a large pitch raise, leaving the piano unstable.

Two to Ten Years
The pitch stabilizes, assuming regular tunings (and additional climate control devices if needed). The mechanical parts of the piano's action wear and settle too. This causes two changes: first, the touch of the piano becomes less responsive as the parts go out of adjustment. Secondly, the tone changes as the hammers flatten and grooves develop from repeated collisions with the strings. Periodic regulation and voicing, important parts of a complete maintenance program, correct these changes.

Ten to Thirty Years
Wear of action parts continues, the extent depending upon how hard and how often the piano is played. Normal regulation and voicing will maintain good tone and touch if usage is moderate. If the piano suffers wide temperature and humidity swings, it will begin to show permanent deterioration during this time: loose tuning pins, rusty strings, soundboard cracks, and aging of the finish.

Thirty to fifty years
After years of playing, the hammers and other action parts will be quite worn. Years of seasonal changes cause bass strings to sound dull and treble tone to lose clarity. Eventually, adjustment alone will not correct these problems, and some parts will need replacing to restore the original tone and touch.

Over fifty years
A few geographic areas with mild climates have older pianos still in good condition. Well- built, well-designed pianos can still be playable at this advanced age if they've had good care and moderate use.
However, at some point in a piano's life, an important decision must be made:
• Should the piano be replaced? Is its life over?
• Should it be reconditioned or rebuilt (made functionally new again)?
• Should it continue to limp along with an ever worsening tone and touch?


The needs of the pianist are the real variable in judging a piano's useful life. Good performance requires a piano in good condition.

Older, high-quality instruments can often be rebuilt to like-new condition for less than the cost of a new piano. Even economy grade instruments can often be dramatically improved by judicious reconditioning. Your piano technician can help you make this decision.

Eventually, it becomes less and less practical to continue maintaining a very old piano. The undeniable end of a piano's life comes when the repair cost exceeds the value of the repaired instrument. Medium-quality old uprights reach this point sooner than do high-quality large grands. Rare and historically important instruments may never reach this point unless totally damaged in a fire or other disaster.

Happily, almost any piano that has received reasonable care will have served the art of music for decades by the time its days are over.

Gold-Plate Special


The camera sweeps the concert hall, where the piano is positioned center stage. The raised piano lid reveals a large, shining gold-colored surface. What is this mass of metal?
It's the plate of the piano, and its purpose is to allow the strings to be stretched to 18-30 tons of tension without buckling the wooden frame. A plate has to be strong to do its job, so it's made of cast iron.
The strings need to be under high tension to produce a powerful piano sound. The plate may be bulky and heavy, and no friend of piano movers, but without the plate there would be no concert!

Some of the common Fictions and Facts

Fiction:
The bigger the piano the better the sound is.
Fact:
True but more important are the three main objective areas: the scale design, the quality of materials and the workmanship than its size (meaning the height of a vertical piano or the length of a piano). A small piano that is build with all these objectives will have better sound than a big piano that is not.

Fiction:
Key sticky is a worthless piano
Fact:
Do you say your house is worthless if a door sticks when the humidity is up a little? Would you tear down the house because a door was sticking? Definitely not! Sticking keys is a common problem with pianos, and can happen to any brands. It is a maintenance issue, related to moisture, and easily solved. A few simple adjustments and you're back to playing.

Fiction:
Asia piano is suitable for our climate. European have a different climate than in Asia and therefore, those pianos will not be suitable here.
Fact:
I don’t find any logic to it, do you? There are total of seven continents in this Earth. Asia is the largest of all continents, Europe is a continent, and Africa is a continent and so on. In Asia you have more than 20 countries with different climates and with different temperature and humidity annually. A piano is made out of wood. Being a hygroscopic material, it will absorb and desorbs moisture depending to the climate condition. Piano maker have suggested that an ideal relative humidity is between 42% and 65%. If the humidity is below 42% or above 65%, it will affects the moisture content of the wooden parts, causing them to shrink and swell in the long run. It is not healthy for any piano. This may cause the finish to crack or chip, the string tension to change, the critical tolerance of action parts to be distorted, or the soundboard to crack. If your area is too dry, get a humidifier or if you area is too wet, get a dehumidifier.

Fiction:
Do I need a heater in my piano? My friends/neighbors’ pianos all have a heater in the piano.
Fact:
Piano maker have suggested that an ideal relative humidity is between 42% and 65%. If your piano is sitting in a room that is within the margin, why do you need a heater? Improper use of this device may cause damage to the piano in the long run. The heat inside will eventually dries up the wooden parts and organic materials such as felt, cloth and leather. Thus, wooden parts become brittle and crack and action parts become loose. In countries like Canada, they don’t need a heater because the RH is too low. For them they need a humidifier so to bring the moisture up. Some countries have dry and wet session in a year. In this case, both dehumidifier and humidifier are needed. The best way to know if your room is good for a piano to live in is to buy a hygrometer (also known as moisture meter).

Fiction:
Light touch is always better to play.
Fact:
There is no easy way to become successful without learning from the hard way. Touch is a subjective issue. Some pianists prefer light and some pianists prefer heavy. But don't think that a lighter touch is always better. In fact, most advanced musicians like to feel a touch that is anywhere from 52 to 58 grams. If a piano is too light, there's no feedback from the piano back to the player. And if the touch is too heavy, arms and fingers tire easily and sensitive control is gone.

Examination Model! Do they exist?

That’s an interesting expression “Exam Model”. I suppose this “Exam Model” is built differently from the other type of vertical pianos. Asked your piano dealer / technician to explain and show you the different between “A Good Piano” and an “Exam Model”?
A good musical standard is a piano that is in tune and well regulated for tone and touch, respectively. A piano which does not perform to good musical standards is essentially a recreation object.

Vertical pianos come in various sizes:-

A) The shortest is the “Spinet Model”, about 35" to 39" tall. Because the action (the mechanism that transmits your keystroke to the hammer) is of a different design, a spinet will usually have a lighter and less responsive touch than a larger piano. And the spinet's smaller soundboard and shorter strings produce a thinner tone.

B) “Console Model”, 40" to 44", has a “Compressed Action” This means that the action parts including the hammer length are smaller than on other pianos. This design improves the tone over the “Spinet Model” but less responsive touch due to the smaller parts.

C) Pianos that are 45" to 48" are called “Studio Model” and those 49" and above are called “Upright Model”. These larger pianos have the advantages of full-sized actions, so their touch is the most responsive of all vertical designs. With their larger soundboard and longer strings, they are capable of a richer and fuller tone. The Studio Model and Upright Model are both the choice of musician as explain above.

Does a Piano needs Tuning after it is Moved?

It depends. The piano is a complex instrument, with over 200 individual strings and thousands of moving parts. Each string must be painstakingly adjusted to put the piano in tune. Even the tiniest change in a string's tension can be heard by a practiced ear.

You might think, then, that trucking a piano down the highway or even rolling it down a hall could "knock it out of tune." However, pianos are actually quite tough. They're built to withstand up to 20 tons of string tension and decades of heavy usage, so the physical movement of a piano usually has very little effect on its tuning or other adjustments.

It's the climate change associated with the move, rather than the actual move itself, that makes pianos go out of tune. A substantial difference in humidity between its previous location and its new home will change the shape of the piano's soundboard, changing tension on the strings.

For instance, a well-tuned piano moved fifty miles from a heated, dry apartment to a cool, humid home will sound fine immediately after the move. But a week later, after adjusting to the higher humidity, the piano will sound out of tune. Even moving a piano from one room to another in the same building can affect it if heating or air-conditioning patterns are different.

An exception is the vertical piano. Because they have four legs (Grands have three), they occasionally flex enough to distort their tuning pattern immediately if moved to an uneven floor. Moving the piano back to a flat surface will return the tuning to normal. This is most noticeable with lightly built spinets and consoles, and can occur simply by moving the piano a few inches if one caster rolls off the carpeting or into a low spot on the floor.

So, do you have to tune your piano after moving it? Pianos need periodic tuning anyway, whether they are moved or not, so it's likely that a piano that has just been moved was already due for tuning before the move. If so, it's best to let the piano adjust to its new environment for a week or two, then have it tuned. On the other hand, if the piano had been recently tuned before the move, you might just hold off and see how the piano sounds after a few weeks. If the climate of the new location is similar to the old, your piano will probably sound fine until its next regular service date.

Climatizing for Destination???

In theory it sounds logical, in reality it is completely illogical, but not impossible.

Most wood products manufacturers around the world use very similar processes and equipment to cure their wood.

They air dry the wood outside from 18 months to 5 years, before putting the wood into kilns and drying it to the desired moisture content. The desired final moisture content may vary slightly between manufacturers, but the norm is around 6%. The kiln drying not only dries the wood, but it is also a necessary conditioning process.

With 6% as the norm, some manufacturers may vary 1% + or -, but no more. Some soundboard manufacturers will dry their soundboards lower from 4 to 4.5% in an attempt to reduce cracking in the field, but this will increases pressure ridges and risks the possibility of cell damage unless they have very stringent controls.

With 6% + or – 2% as the norm, glues, abrasives, tooling, finish materials, as well as the climate within the facilities, are designed to work at their optimum within this range. The 2% variance would not be considered climatizing differences. If a manufacturer were to produce products with a large deviation in moisture content, say one at 6% and one 16% they would in theory require 2 different, facilities, equipment, material, and processes, to do it.

Buying Piano on the Floor


It's actually an advantage to get the piano on the showroom floor. This isn't like buying a washing machine or a dishwasher where you get a discount for buying the "demo" !

1. You've played the actual piano that will be in your home. This reduces the number of unforeseen and unpleasant surprises.

2. Lots of other people may have also played your piano. This will reduce the "breaking in" period and will have given the dealer time to work out issues that may have arisen with that piano in the course of it being played. This saves you money on technician time in the future. i.e. more bugs will have been worked out.

3. As a GENERAL RULE, (not an absolute), a piano out of the crate is unlikely, for the above stated reasons, to be much like the one you played in the showroom. It needs to be prepped and played for some time before it matures into the instrument you fell in love with.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

PETROF in YouTube

Ema Jedlicka-Gogova (Brno) and Gert Hecher (Vienna) in PETROF Company
Ema Jedlicka-Gogova (Brno) and Gert Hecher (Vienna) I
Ema Jedlicka-Gogova (Brno) and Gert Hecher (Vienna) II
Ema Jedlicka-Gogova (Brno) and Gert Hecher (Vienna) III

Concert of J.S. Bach´s music in Brno
Concert of J.S. Bach´s music in Brno I
Concert of J.S. Bach´s music in Brno II
Concert of J.S. Bach´s music in Brno III
Concert of J.S. Bach´s music in Brno IV
Concert of J.S. Bach´s music in Brno V
Concert of J.S. Bach´s music in Brno VI

Mr Jan PETROF plays PETROF 284 Mistral Grand Piano
Mr Jan PETROF plays PETROF 284 Mistral

The Impact of Climatic Changes on the PETROF Pianos
Humidity & Piano Part I
Humidity & Piano Part II

Lenka Korbelova plays New Generation of PETROF Grand Pianos
P 284 Mistral

P 284 Mistral I
P 284 Mistral II
P 284 Mistral III

P 237 Monsoon
P 237 Monsoon I
P 237 Monsoon II
P237 Monsoon III

P 210 Pasat
P 210 Pasat I
P 210 Pasat II
P 210 Pasat III

P 194 Storm
P 194 Storm I
P 194 Storm II
P 194 Storm III

Jazz Goes to Town 2008
Misha Alperin
Erik Truffaz
Ondřej Kabrna

Piano Guy - Scott Houston
Scott Houston plays the PETROF Piano

Piano Guy - Scott Houston I
Piano Guy - Scott Houston II
Piano Guy - Scott Houston III
Piano Guy - Scott Houston IV
Piano Guy - Scott Houston V
Piano Guy - Scott Houston VI

New Generation of PETROF Grand Pianos
The New Generation of Petrof

Colleen Lee
Colleen Lee I
Colleen Lee II
Colleen Lee III
Colleen Lee IV
Colleen Lee V

Festival of Boys and Men Choirs
Festival of Boys and Men Choirs I
Festival of Boys and Men Choirs II
Festival of Boys and Men Choirs III
Festival of Boys and Men Choirs IV

DUO PETROF
DUO PETROF I
DUO PETROF II
DUO PETROF III
DUO PETROF IV

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Piano Services
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Piano Care

Piano Care
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