Piano Tuning

"You should look after your piano like you look after your own body." Vladimir Horowitz

 

Thanks Vlad. Inside your piano is a hidden world of levers. A  finely tuned mechanism that is designed to deliver not only a massive amount of power and velocity, but also featherweight delicacy. So although you are just pushing down the keys it is actually the hammers that hit the strings. And in between a whole mechanical dance needs happen. Key pushes capstan, capstan pushes whippen, whippen lifts jack etc etc... It's the good old  knee bone's connected to the leg bone and the leg bone's connected to...

 

And just like our own system of levers, our bodies, need maintenance every once in a while so does your piano!

 

It's called entropy! The first law of thermodynamics. Everything eventually wears out! And the longer you leave it the quicker the wearing. So don't be surprised when your piano keys start going down alright, but just won't come up again with the same zeal for another go. And this is usually the last chance saloon before you reache out to the piano tuner to  stick his head in there and give you the low down

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The more things change, unfortunately, the more things go on changing...wood twists and splits, wool felt looses it's vitality, leather goes hard and  cracks, lead picks up corrosion from moisture and swells up, steel rusts, brass tarnishes, ivories go yellow and pitch drops.

 

Pianos not only come under attack by the elements of environment, but from the creatures who inhabit this environment. Take humans for example:   Yes, the lid of your piano may seem like a good place to put a flower pot. But it is not a good place to water a flower pot. Or there may be a youngster (not yours of course) who has taken to the beautiful ivory keys with his Luke Skywalker green-sword. Or an elderly jazz pianist you invited to your housewarming who has left his cheroot balancing on Bottom C while he accompanies the Diva who simply must have her glass of red within easy reach right there on the music desk.

 

Other wild life pianos contend with: Fish Moth...these come in winged and wriggling varieties and they gorge themselves on every bit of high- quality imported wool felt they can find in your piano. They start with the softest and work their way up grades of density until until your piano sounds liken unto a harpsichord or as Maestro Sir Thomas Beecham so eloquently put it ...like two cats copulating on a tin roof!

 

And then there are the rats...yes, call them mice if you will. Doesn't matter where you live or how much your rates and utilities bill is. If you have a piano you may very well be visited by these anarchic critters who decimate pianos in every department. Taking massive bites out of not only your hammers but even chewing chunks out of your wooden keyboard!  Sneaking into your piano via the little holes under the pedals. Marking it's new abode with  a few droppings. Home sweet home...next thing you know they have a wife and kids and are living it up in the cavity beneath the keys using your mechanism as a playground, the copper strings as a urinal and being of a frugal mind Hunca Munca is using that fine soft expensive felt as bolsters in her boudoir!

 

So...this is why getting the piano tuner in for a cup of tea and a paino tuning once a year is so important. Piano guy comes and opens up the piano to tune and see's a moth pupa hanging off the hammer rail he can raise the alarm and deal with this pesty problem. Get the piano tuner out once every 5 years and your're inviting problemos!