Frequently Asked Questions
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How do I clean the keys and the cabinet?
To clean the keys, use any type of soft, clean cloth. Dampen the cloth slightly with water or with a mild white soapy water solution. Don‚t let the water run down the sides of the keys. Dry the keys with another soft clean cloth. If your piano is older and has ivory keys, be sure to dry them right after washing as water left standing on ivory keys will cause them to curl and loosen. Most piano manufacturers do not recommend the use of furniture polish on the cabinet. The best way to clean dust and finger marks off the piano is with a soft clean cloth dampened with water and wrung out. If your piano has a satin wood-grain finish you may add a small amount of ŒMurph‚s Oil Soap‚ to the water. Use only water on your cloth for high gloss finishes. Rub in the direction of the grain of wood, using long straight strokes, then repeat with a dry cloth to remove any remaining water droplets. Some piano supply companies sell polish especially made for piano finishes, available from your technician.
Can I place my piano against an outside wall?
In most cases the answer is yes. In the past, older homes used poor quality insulation and the walls would become quite cold to the touch in the winter. However, with the advent of better insulation, this is rarely a problem anymore. Place your piano about six inches from an outside wall to provide an insulating air space. If in doubt about the conditions is your home, try putting a sheet of Styrofoam insulation behind the piano. It is much more critical that you do not place the piano over top of a hot air vent, against a radiator, or right near a fireplace.
Does my piano have to be tuned every time I move it?
Generally it is not the physical movement of the piano that puts it out of tune - it is the change in humidity and atmospheric conditions from one location to another. It takes a few weeks for these changes to show their effects. For this reason, you should wait to tune your piano approximately four weeks after moving it from one part of the country to another, from one home to another and sometimes even from one level of your house to another.
If a piano is moved from one location to another in the same room of your house, there can easily be a change in the atmospheric conditions (drafts from doors, direct sunlight from windows, position of heat registers etc.) You will have to be the judge of these things. If you want to move the piano away from the wall to vacuum the carpet, clean the walls etc. and will then place the piano back in the same spot, tuning should not be required.
How often should I tune my piano?
How often you have your piano tuned will depend not only on your piano and the consistency of humidity levels in your house, but also on your ear ( how much „out-of-tune-ness‰ you notice and can tolerate) and on your budget. One tuning a year is the minimum, and should be enough to keep the strings at the proper tension and not allow the sound board and bridges to sag. Less than once a year is not recommended, even if the piano is not played, as temperature and humidity changes throughout the year cause the tuning to shift regardless of amount of use. Most manufacturers recommend tuning twice a year.
What is the best brand of piano?
There are many different brands of pianos available and it is impossible to state one is the "best" or one is the "worst". In fact many companies and brands offer different lines of pianos with varying qualities and prices. Most people have individual tastes and ideas on how the perfect piano should look and sound, consequently there are many different pianos to meet these varying criteria. When looking at used pianos, it is far more critical to assess the condition of the piano both structurally and with regard to the maintenance and care rather than to rely on any particular brand name. Make sure as you shop that you try the pianos out for yourself to see if you like the look, sound, and touch. You may get some advice from teachers, friends and technicians as to the reputation of different brands. Most importantly, be sure to purchase from a reputable dealer with whom you feel comfortable and confident.
What do the pedals do?
As you sit at the piano, the pedal on the left is called the una corda pedal or soft pedal.
On a grand piano, pressing this pedal causes the entire keyboard to physically shift so that the hammers will hit fewer strings, creating a softer sound.
On an upright piano, pressing the left pedal causes the hammers to be moved closer to the strings, allowing the hammer to move a shorter distance to contact the strings with less momentum, thus creating a softer sound.
The pedal on the right is called the sustain pedal or damper pedal and the function is the same on both a grand piano and an upright. The dampers are the mechanism that stops the strings from vibrating. Depressing the damper pedal causes all the dampers to lift off the strings thus sustaining the sound and allowing the sounds to blend together.
The middle pedal has various functions. The true use of the middle pedal is almost always found on the grand piano. It is called the sostenuto pedal. By pressing the pedal after a note or chord is played, the dampers of these notes only are lifted causing these notes to remain sustained but not any others. Any notes played thereafter will not be sustained while the sostenuto pedal is depressed.
In an upright piano, the middle pedal may be a bass sustain pedal. When depressed, it will lift the dampers only in the bass section. On some uprights the middle pedal has what is called a practice strip or mute rail. Depressing this pedal causes a strip of felt to move between the hammers and the strings causing a muted effect. Many upright pianos have a middle pedal that does absolutely nothing.
Very few upright pianos have the actual sostenuto function of the grand pianos. Little music calls for the use of a sostenuto pedal and since most uprights don't have this function anyways, the middle pedal is not a necessity and is rarely used.
I have heard that changes in the seasons and humidity make my piano go out of tune. How does that happen?
Changes in the seasons and humidity result in different levels of moisture in the air. These changes in moisture levels cause the wood in the piano to swell or contract which changes the tension of the strings. Changes in string tension cause the piano to go out of tune. Failing to control extremes of change in temperature and humidity overtime can cause warping or sagging of the wooden components such as sound board, ribs etc. The more constant you can keep the temperature and humidity in your home the more stable your piano will be.
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