General Questions

1. Why do keys sometimes stick?
There are many reasons, usually due to excessive humidity, broken or rubbing action parts. It will require an examination by your tuner. Often minor problems can be corrected along with the tuning.

2. Is an outside wall bad for pianos?
If the outside wall is outside the house, definitely. In climates with many changes and homes without much insulation, it's better not to put your piano on an outside wall. In mild climates with reasonable insulation, no problem.

3. Can I put my piano over a
hot-air vent?
Only if you want to ruin it. The drying action of the hot air will eventually crack the soundboard, dry out the pinblock, and cause the action parts to become loose.

4. Can kids banging on my piano cause any damage?
If they just use their fingers and fists it's almost impossible to harm a piano; only your ears. A metal, plastic, or wooden toy can quickly harm a piano.

5. Do pianos ever get thrown away?
Yes, they do, but rarely. Many old uprights are 100 years old now and, for the most part, are not worth rebuilding if they are falling apart with rust or drying glue and wood. However, the majority of these old uprights can be made very playable with a little work.

6. Why are there so many blind piano tuners?
Part of the reason is that after WWII, many of our returning veterans had been blinded. The US government set up 3 training centers around the US in order to teach these men and women a trade that didn't require the use of eyes. There are many highly respected sight-impaired tuners today. Frankly, I am in awe of the dexterity and abilities of some blind tuners not just to tune but to repair small parts assemblies that are quite small.

7. When were pianos invented?
The person generally credited with the concept of the first piano was Bartholommeo Cristofori, from Florence, Italy in 1709. He was the first to come up with a way to vary the volume of a struck string by using only the force of the key being depressed.

8. What's the difference between a piano and a harpsichord?
A harpsichord produces sound by means of a plectrum plucking the string as it goes by it. The piano strikes the string and rebounds from the string. The harpsichord can only increase volume by linking up other plectri to other strings. It doesn't matter how hard you press the key of the harpsichord; it will produce the same volume. The piano will produce more volume the harder you strike the key.

9. What is "concert pitch?"
Concert pitch presently is 440 cycle per second for the A above middle C. This has been true for about 70 years. Prior to that it was at 435 cps. 200 years ago it was whatever anybody wanted it to be for their instrument. This made tuning up with orchestras very difficult. Orchestra conductors today like to have everything tuned at 442 or 444 cps in order to obtain a more brilliant sound.

10. Why are there three pedals on some pianos?
Around the turn of the century there were only 2 pedals, normally. Then the sostenuto pedal was invented, primarily for the grand piano. It's very expensive and rarely seen in upright pianos. When you play a key (or keys) and depress the sostenuto pedal, those notes only will continue to sound and all other keys can be played staccato.

Americans being what we are, we saw those new pianos with 3 pedals and asked why we only had 2 on our pianos at home. At first the manufacturers responded with a "practice" pedal, attached to a spring that went up and down! Worthless. Now there are 2 main uses for the middle pedal: The pedal is attached to the bass dampers only. When depressed, the played keys of the bass section will continue to sound and the treble keys will cease their sound in a normal fashion. No one has ever been seen using it for this purpose.
The pedal is connected to an apartment muffler rail. This drops down between the hammers and the strings and produces a VERY quiet sound without affecting the touch. The best idea, I think.

Maintenance Questions

1. How do I clean my piano?
Use a slightly damp cloth on the case. If it's really greasy use a tiny bit of lemon oil, sold in supermarkets, and a soft cloth. The keys can be cleaned with a slightly damp cloth, a little mild soap, and lots of elbow grease. A vacuum cleaner can be used inside with little danger of harming anything. However, no dripping cloths should be used anywhere on the piano.

2. How do I take care of the outside case of my piano?
Manufacturers usually recommend a slightly damp soft cloth. If there is much grease, use a little lemon oil on the cloth.

3. What happens if I break a string?
Don't panic. Replacement strings are readily available. There is a break-in period with new strings, since they go out of tune frequently due to their elasticity.

4. Why should I be worried about mice and moths in my piano?
Mice and moths love pianos. They provide a source of food and nesting material. In many parts of the US moths can eat the felts in your hammers and under the keys in one season. Moth balls are a cheap preventative. Mice tend to live in unused pianos. They will use the under-key felt for nests, chew up your wooden keys, and pee on the strings, instantly killing the bass strings. Mouse traps will save you a lot money.

5. Is the piano ruined if the soundboard is cracked?
Not usually. Wood tends to dry out and crack. The large expanse of the soundboard, under a lot of pressure all the time, eventually will develop some cracks. If the crack is along the bridge line, this creates serious problems, since the downward pressure of the strings forces the crack to widen, eliminating the necessary arc. Usually the cracks are not in those areas and at most will cause buzzes which can be eliminated. If the piano is ever restrung, the cracks can be repaired properly.

6. If water gets spilled in my piano, can it be saved?
It helps if you can immediately dry the affected area. If water sits for a time it can cause the glue joints to dry out, resulting in wooden parts coming apart and felt swelling up and coming unglued. Usually this can be fixed without too much problem. If much of the piano sits in water, e.g. in a flood area, this can result in converting the piano to another piece of furniture.

additional questions