Piano and Music Videos

Welcome to our two part series on how to measure your piano. Today we are going to cover grand pianos and next time we will cover upright pianos. This might sound like an easy thing to do yourself but finding out the exact length of a piano is a little bit trickier than you might think.

The most common question I get from people when measuring their pianos is exactly what measurement to look for. Is it the length, the width of the keys, the height, what are you supposed to be looking for?

The width of grand pianos is pretty standard. The width of the keyboard is right around 5 feet. This may differ slightly with the size of the cheek blocks on either end of the keyboard, but it is roughly the same for all pianos. If you can’t fit something at least 5 feet in width, you will not be able to fit a piano in your home unless it’s a highly unusual piano with less than 88 keys.

When talking about the measurement of pianos we are referring to the distance between the very end of the tail to the edge of the key slip in front of the keys – the total length. For a detailed example please watch the video included with this article.

To get the exact length of the piano you will want to close the lid of the piano. This is much easier with two people but if you are alone you can still measure the piano with the lid open. If you measure with the lid open, you will need to add about an inch to your measurement since the lid hangs over the edge of the rim of the piano.

To measure the length of the piano place one end of your tape measure at the longest point of the tail. Place the other end of the tape measure at the end of the key slip (the absolute longest point of the piano). You will have to make sure that you stand right above the tape measure since the angle at which you look at the tape measure will alter the perceived measurement of the piano. Try to be as exact as you can but if you’re within an inch or so you will have a good idea of the length of the piano.

Something that is interesting with Asian and European pianos is that they use the metric system for their measurements and they actually name the models based upon the length of the piano. So for example, a model 152 would be one hundred and fifty-two centimeters. You can easily calculate that into feet which is just about 5’.

This is a very common question. Many times when people want to sell a piano that has been in the family for a long time, they don’t know where to start. When we receive calls from from people in these types of situations, we always ask them the last time the piano was tuned.

The reason we ask this is because pianos need very regular maintenance. The longer they go without tuning or other work, the more problems they might incur. It’s certainly possible that if a piano sits in the right climate for a long period of time and remains untouched it could need very little work, particularly if has been tuned on a regular basis. For a piano that has been in a home where the temperature and humidity have affected it over the years and the owner neglected to tune it on a regular basis, it can sometimes put undue stress on the instrument trying to get it stable again.

Sometimes pianos can’t be tuned. No matter how many times you try and tune them they will continue to go out of tune or simply can’t be tuned at all. Many times this means the piano has to be rebuilt because there is most likely an issue with the pin block which can’t hold the tuning pins tightly. The pinblock is a multi-laminate piece of hardwood custom shaped to the plate of each piano that sits right below the plate.

In order to replace the pinblock you have to remove the strings and pins and then use a crane to lift the plate out of the piano. Then a custom pinblock must be made for the specific piano – which is a very skilled job. This involves substantial expense and not something you will want to embark upon with just any piano. Rebuilding costs thousands of dollars and is only worthwhile on worthy instruments.

So what do you do with a piano that has loose tuning pins and isn’t worth the rebuilding costs? Luckily there are a few things you can try to see if you can salvage some more life out of the piano. The simplest solution is to tap in the pins a bit further into the pinblock to get more friction. There must be some room between the coils of the strings and the pinblock to allow for tapping. This can sometimes alleviate tuning problems. Other times it can only be a temporary fix depending upon the integrity of the pinblock. This is something that can only be done by an experienced piano technician or irreparable damage can be inflicted upon the piano.

If that doesn’t work you can have the piano restrung with fatter tuning pins. Every time you restring a piano you have to put a little bit larger tuning pins into the pinblock in order to get them to stay securely in place. If the pinblock is in good shape, this can solve the problem in some instances. This is a bit more expensive than tapping the pins down but less costly than rebuilding. If the pinblock has cracks, using larger pins will just enlarge the cracks. Also, there is a limit to how large a tuning pin can be used in a piano.
As a last resort I have heard of people trying super glue in the pins! This isn’t to lock them in place, but to add friction to the tuning pins. I would not recommend this unless you have absolutely nothing to lose because the piano is not worth rebuilding.

Something to keep in mind is that if you have a piano in a humid environment that has pins that are slightly loose, moving the piano to a desert climate can make the pins looser and you may have serious tuning problems.

So depending on your situation there are a number of options for a piano that can’t be tuned. If you have a piano that is valuable like a Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Bechstein or other high-end piano, then it might be worth rebuilding if other structures of the piano are sound. With low end pianos that can’t hold tuning, you may be better off seeking out another piano.

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?

I have several videos based on the subject of where to put your piano. But now I’m going to address specifically putting a piano in a basement. The issue is about the extremes of temperature and humidity the piano may be subjected to. This is a concern with pianos going anywhere. Pianos thrive in a stable environment of around 45-50% humidity. Minimal changes of temperature or humidity are ideal. It’s best to treat the room. Basements provide special challenges. The good news is that basements can be somewhat stable in terms of temperature because of the geothermal effect.

However, many basements can be extremely moist, and if you have any issues whatsoever with basements ever becoming wet, I would not put a piano down there under any circumstances. If it’s impossible to treat the room with dehumidifiers and possibly even humidifiers, the next best thing is a Damp-Chaser system which sits under the piano or behind the piano on uprights. They provide stability by either heating up rods to take out humidity or even adding humidity from a water tank. This is a possible solution if treating the room is not practical.

To recap, the ideal environment is to put the piano in a room that is stable in regards to temperature and humidity. If you’re in a room that is not particularly stable, try to treat the room. And lastly, if you can’t do either of those, at least get a Damp-Chaser System. Once again, I hope this has been helpful and thank you for joining us! Robert Estrin at LivingPianos.com

The short answer is, yes, you do! I’m going to show you a couple of ways to possibly get around it. First of all, it depends on how big the piano is. If it’s a spinet piano and you have a pickup truck as well as some strong people plus a ramp, sure you can go for it. Be sure that you know how to properly secure a piano in a truck with straps as well as being able to wrap it in moving blankets properly. I would recommend this for pianos that are not expensive. The reality is, moving a piano is a very specialized skill. I have a video on the subject you can reference to see how it is done. https://livingpianos.com/general/how-to-move-a-piano-tips-for-moving-a-piano

When you see professional movers move a grand piano, they make it look easy because they know how to use leverage properly. There are also tools you need such as a skid board. Even with uprights, you want to put them on a flat board as well as a dolly. There are upright dollies that you can rent that strap around the piano. The thing is, pianos are extraordinarily heavy. I would not recommend for anyone who has ever had any back problems to move any piano under any circumstances, even moving a piano from one part of a room to another. You can do damage if you don’t know how to lift properly even if you have a strong back.

The secret is lifting with your knees. Never lift with your back and always lift with your legs while keeping your back straight or you can do damage almost instantly with a piano.

Even a spinet weighs several hundred pounds. It’s just not worth saving a few hundred bucks to risk destroying your back. So how can you possibly get around it? Fortunately, there is a way! If you have a move, particularly a long distance move, you can hire local movers on each end to load it onto a U-Haul or into a truck. You can avoid the expense of the mover going the entire trip, and that could save you quite a bit of money. You will need to rent or borrow the proper equipment to move a piano such as a skid board and 4 wheel, flat dolly made specifically for grand pianos. Grand pianos are moved on their flat side, and the skid board adds stability and protection for the piano.

My recommendation to you is to use a professional piano mover who specializes in moving only pianos. If you want to do it yourself with an upright, you must have strong people, a dolly and a truck with a ramp as well as the other essential supplies to protect your piano. Avoid moving a valuable piano yourself since anything can happen. For a fine piano, at least get professional piano movers to load and unload the piano on both ends. I hope this helps and thanks for joining us! Robert@LivingPianos.com

This is a very good question. Many people might not realize that there are many different things that can affect the sound of a piano in a room. Some good, some bad; but they are all things you should be aware of to determine the right size and placement of a piano in your home.

The size of the piano you choose for your home is very important. It is determined not only by the size of the room but the acoustics. Have you ever sung in the shower and noticed how much better your voice sounds? Because of all the porcelain and glass, the acoustics allow your voice to be echoed off the walls and it has a pleasing effect. The same is true when it comes to any live room.

A room with wood floors or slate; lots of windows, and high ceilings may provide an ideal environment for a piano. The sound travels all around the room and reverberates very nicely. If you have a room that is dead acoustically, the piano won’t sound nearly as pleasing. One of the biggest factors in a room is the floor; carpeting will dampen the sound of a piano. Why is this? Half of the sound of a piano comes from underneath the soundboard, so when the sound travels into the carpet or rug it will deaden the sound substantially.

Now there are occasions when you would actually want to deaden the sound of a piano. For example, if you have a room that is too live or has a bigger piano than it should, the sound of the piano can actually become overbearing. To solve this you can put a rug underneath the piano and it will dampen the sound a bit.

Other objects in a room that affect the sound of your piano are things like curtains and couches. Soft and cushy furniture will absorb sound and will actually affect the sound of your piano in the room. In fact, just having people in the room will affect the sound of a piano. When many people are in a room they will actually absorb some of the sounds, making the piano just that much quieter. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a hall before a concert and tested out the piano only to find it sounded completely different once the seats were filled for the actual performance.

The bottom line is that you want a room that will enhance the sound of the piano. You don’t want the sound to be too loud or too quiet. Obviously, this can be a challenge if you already have a piano in a certain room and it will be difficult to change anything but little modifications can help to improve the sound of your room. Some people will even put clear plexiglass under the piano if it is sitting on carpeting to help reflect the sound projecting under the piano!