Tag Archives: piano moving

What is the Farthest a Piano has been Moved?

Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store, with a really interesting question. What is the farthest a piano has ever been moved? Here at Living Pianos, we move pianos all the time. So, this question is very close to my heart.

Going across the country is around 3,000 miles from Maine to California. When you go overseas, of course, it is a much greater distance. We had the opportunity to sell a concert grand to the Royal Theater in London. That is almost five and a half thousand miles away! Interestingly, that move was a piece of cake until the last couple of miles. When you get to the inner city of London, it actually cost more for the last couple of miles than the entire rest of the move including crating the piano! This is their way of limiting traffic in the city.

How Far Have We Delivered Pianos?

We also have had opportunities to sell pianos to China. Shenzen is about 7,200 miles away. So, that is certainly far away. We’ve never moved a piano to Australia – at least not yet. If we have the opportunity, it will be over 8,100 miles away. Is that the farthest a piano can be moved? You’d think it would be since it is on the other side of the planet. Actually, no!

We’ve sold pianos to Singapore which is about 8,800 miles away.

That is the farthest we have moved pianos. But what is the theoretical limit a piano could be possibly be moved? Unless you are just taking a piano for a ride around and around the world, which could be endless, half-way around the world at the equator is the greatest distance at about 12,500 miles. So, that is the theoretical limit. Or is it? Did you know:

There is a piano on the International Space Station!

It is actually a digital keyboard. But, it is a piano nonetheless. For the sake of discussion, let’s talk about that. Once again, orbiting the Earth again and again could be many thousands of miles. But you would be just taking a piano for a ride and not actually moving it from point A to point B. The International Space Station is only about 300 miles away, straight up at the point at which it passes over you. So, the final answer is, if you are going halfway around the world at the equator, that would be the farthest you could move a piano which is 12,500 miles.

It’s interesting to wrap your head around what it takes to move pianos and how far they possibly can go. I hope this has been fun for you. Keep those questions coming in and you’ll see them in future articles and videos! Thanks again, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

How to Move a Piano – Tips for Moving a Piano

When you see professionals moving a piano, it can almost look easy. However, it’s not a simple task. If you want to ensure that your piano leaves and arrives in great condition you should take extra special care when moving it. It will always be best to hire a professional for any piano move but if you are forced to do so yourself, here are some tips:

All parts of the piano should be padded. This is to ensure that there are no parts of the piano (wood or metal) that will be hitting in the truck in case of movement.

Wrap the piano in shrink wrap. This is not necessary but it can help to ensure that the finish will not be damaged in any way. This is important with satin finish pianos because the finish is porous – meaning sweat from hands can actually damage the finish.

Use Leverage to Your Advantage. By placing pads beneath certain parts of the piano you can avoid having to constantly lift parts of the piano in order to remove the legs. The video provides a great example of this.

Use a Dolly and a Grand Board. Using a four wheel flat dolly can ensure that you won’t have to do any unnecessary lifting. Using a grand board – shown in the video – will help to cover the entire side of the piano and make sure it is securely resting on the dolly.

Remove the Legs and All Loose Parts. This will ensure that no parts of the piano are damaged by movement or other objects being transported in the truck.

Wrap the Piano in Blankets. Make sure that every part of the piano is wrapped and there are no parts that are exposed.

Secure the Piano to the Side of the Truck. Don’t let the piano slide around the truck. Secure it to the side of the truck using straps or another method that will ensure it doesn’t move.

If you want to undertake moving a piano it will definitely be a challenge. I would recommend having a good back, the proper equipment, a couple friends, and probably some pizza and beer. Better yet, hire professionals if you possibly can!

How Long Does it Take to Move a Piano Across the USA?

Moving a piano is a very complex process. It’s not as simple as boxing it up and sending it through the mail! A piano must be moved with the utmost care and consideration for the instrument. As a company that sells pianos all over the world, Living Pianos is very well versed in what it takes to get a piano moved across the country and around the world.

The biggest issue with moving a piano is hiring the right people. When it comes to moving a grand piano, you never want to hire a general purpose mover; you need to hire a professional piano mover. You might be able to have a general purpose mover take care of an upright piano, but even then, you are much better off hiring professionals who specialize in moving only pianos. When it comes to moving a grand piano, you need special equipment such as a grand board, straps, pads and the ability to attach the instrument to the side of the truck. You will also need to remove the legs and pedals. It’s much easier and safer to have a professional who knows how to take care of these things deal with it; hiring an amateur or trying to move the piano yourself could damage your piano.

The problem you will run into next is that there are a very limited amount of companies that move pianos across the USA. These companies have trucks crisscrossing the country all the time and you have to time their arrival in your area correctly in order to get the piano moved quickly. If one of their trucks is in NY and you live in CA it could take a long a time before they are back in your area. You can contact several piano movers to see who can move the piano quickest and for a reasonable price. This is why it’s extremely difficult to get a piano moved across the country on short notice – make sure you plan well ahead for a complicated move across multiple states.

In reality, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to move a piano across the country. It’s a tough task and something certainly left to professionals to handle. Plan ahead of time and never wait until the last minute to plan a piano move. If you need information or help with a piano move, you are welcome to call us here at Living Pianos.

I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions about this topic or any other please email us Info@LivingPianos.com for more information.

Does Moving a Piano Make it Go Out of Tune?

This is a very common question I get all the time. Pianos are very temperamental instruments and they need to be cared for fairly well in order to have a long life. That’s why it’s not surprising that popular wisdom has everyone thinking that as soon as you move a piano it has to be tuned. But is this really the case?

Keeping a piano in tune is a constant challenge. As I’ve stated in another video, there is actually no such thing as a perfectly tuned piano, it’s a fruitless pursuit. So does moving it really affect the tuning in a negative way?

The first thing you have to take into account is whether you are moving a piano across a room or to an entirely new location and environment. If you’re moving a piano across the room by pushing it you probably won’t need to tune it right away. We move pianos around our store every day and it doesn’t make them go out of tune. But what about if you are moving a piano with professional movers?

If you’ve never witnessed a professional piano move it’s quite a complicated process. It often requires 3 people or more, putting a piano on end on a grand board, loading it onto a truck, wrapping in blankets and securing it to the wall of the vehicle. If you have to move a piano from one location to another there is really no way of getting around it; you’ll need a professional piano mover. Risking injury to yourself or the piano is not worth saving the cost of a piano move.

But what about when the piano arrives at its new location? Will it automatically be out of tune? – not right away. The move is not what will make a piano go out of tune; it’s the new environment which will affect the instrument’s tuning. Today many piano trucks are climate controlled to help keep the stability of the instruments inside. Pianos used to be moved by horse and buggy and even this wouldn’t necessarily knock the piano out of tune. A long-term change in temperature or humidity is what will gradually make a piano go out of tune. Sometimes the piano can drop or raise in pitch and you might not even realize it. The most important thing for a piano is stability and if it drops in pitch it may take several tunings before it can become stable again.

So yes, if you are moving a piano from one location to another – no matter if it’s right down the street or across the country, it will eventually need to be tuned. However, you may not have to call your tuner right away. If there are no issues, you may let the piano sit and acclimate to its new environment for a few weeks before you get your first tuning. Tuning the piano sooner won’t harm it, but you will probably have to tune it again once the piano settles into its new location.

If you have any more questions about pianos or moving pianos please feel free to contact me. Thanks again for joining us, I’m Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729