Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

There is really no ONE part of a piano that is more important than all of the others; however, there are TWO pieces of a piano that are absolutely fundamental to the health of the instrument.

The first piece is the cast iron plate. Structurally, the plate needs to be solid for the health of the instrument. There are over 20 tons of string tension exerted onto the plate – its integrity is essential for the proper function of a piano.

Can piano plates crack? The answer is yes. It is very rare to find a cracked plate, however, there are certain models and designs with thin sections of the plate which are prone to cracking. Also, a piano that has been dropped may suffer cracks in the plate.

If you are looking to buy a piano that has a cracked plate, it can be a deal breaker. It can be like buying a house with a crack in the foundation. It’s usually fatal unless the crack is on the perimeter of the plate and is self-contained.

Hi Robert,
I have an old piano that has been performing beautifully but recently a few strings have been causing trouble. It is 60 years old, a Challen, British made and upright. The Piano tuner has taken a string away and will replace it. I have heard however that a piano that needs a new string is a sign of other problems, perhaps even a need to buy a new piano which we do not want to do. The piano I own is a family friend and has traveled the world with us.
Any advice?
Michael

Sorry you’re having trouble with your piano. A broken string is not necessarily a big problem. However, if there is significant rust or corrosion and you start breaking strings on a regular basis, this could indicate that you need restringing which is expensive. However, one or two broken strings over a period of time are no big deal. Hopefully you can enjoy your piano for years to come without major work.

Robert,
I have a Chickering that folds down into a table. I found it while cleaning out of a storage unit.
It sounds great and looks good. Was wondering if you knew what year it was made or where I could find out?? thanks for any help

Larry

These pianos are a relic from the past – kind of a detour in the development of the piano. They are terrible instruments and parts are hard to come by. If you know the brand name that could help determine its value. The age could possibly be from the 1860’s. If you can locate a serial number on the unit somewhere, that along with the brand name is all you would need to figure out the date of manufacturer. These are strictly furniture pieces unsuitable for serious playing.

Thanks for contacting me. Please feel free to let me know any other information I can help you with.

Hi Robert,

Two questions, please:

If a large grand piano was delivered to a house, would it have to fit through a door fully assembled or could the legs be removed and the body be tilted vertically?

Also, installing a MIDI system (regardless of the brand), could that be installed by a technician at the house or would it have to be installed at a “workshop” before it gets delivered?

Thanks Robert!

Brian

Thanks for the great questions! All grand pianos are moved on their side with the pedals and legs removed. They are put on what is called a grand board and rolled in on a 4 wheel flat dolly. Professional movers make it look easy because they know exactly what they are doing.

Player installation is an involved process. So, it must be done in a workshop and preferably by a piano technician since it involves some surgery that must be performed correctly to avoid any compromise to the piano. My installers are 1st rate piano technicians who specialize in player installs.

I may be able to include the cost of delivery in the purchase of the piano since I have so many pianos crisscrossing the country. Please feel free to fire away any other questions that occur to you.

This is an excellent question. Sometimes bigger is not always better when it comes to putting a piano in your home. There are occasions when too big of a piano can cause too much volume yet having a piano that is undersized for the space can create too many demands for the instrument. This video and article will explain how to tell what size piano is right for you and your home.

There are two things involved in selecting the size of your piano: the volume of air in the room and the acoustic properties (or the number of reflective surfaces you have).

The general rule when it comes to pianos is that all things being equal, bigger is better. It’s especially crucial for experienced players to have a large grand to practice on because you will most likely be performing on 7 or 9-foot pianos in performance and it’s always easier to transition to a smaller piano.

In my loft, I practice on a 9-foot concert grand (Baldwin SD-10). There is a lot of volume to the room – the ceilings are very high, and there is a lot of open space – and the acoustics lend very well to a larger piano. However, I used to live in a house and would practice on the same piano – it was in an enormous room and had vaulted ceilings – but when I practiced I would need to wear a pair of earplugs at times because the sound was just too much to handle.

Now on the other side, you can have a piano that is too small for a room. As a result, most players will only play harder to get more sound out of it. Playing too hard on the piano will cause the piano to age prematurely – I have seen this many times before in schools and churches where the piano is undersized for the space.

If you have a small room with very high ceilings – let’s say 20 feet tall – you can have a much larger piano because you have a tremendous amount of air in the room. On the other hand, if you have a larger room with low ceilings, you might need to get a smaller piano.

If you have a room with carpet, drapes, and soft furniture, that will tend to absorb a lot of the sound of the piano. If you have hardwood floors and not much in the room you will have a lot more reflective noise generated.

The best thing to do is stand in the room you plan to put your piano in and clap your hands. See how much sound you get. Sing a little bit – does it seem like your voice is enhanced (like singing in the shower)? If you tend to get more sound by clapping, talking, or singing in your room you have a loud room; you will probably be able to get by with a smaller piano.

Now if you want to have a larger piano and you have a loud room, there are ways to fix this. You can put a rug under your piano and cut down on the sound quite a bit. You will certainly tell the difference in the amount of noise coming out of the instrument. Remember, half the sound of the piano is generated underneath the piano from the soundboard.

Thanks again for watching and reading. Hope you enjoyed this information and please, keep those questions coming!

Robert,
What do reshaped hammers mean? I have seen this in some of the pianos you have on your site and am wondering as to what this means.
Sonja-

Good question! When hammers impact the strings, over time they develop deep grooves which are compacted felt. It creates a brittle tone. Hammers that are really worn can even flatten a bit. So, you can bring new life to hammers by reshaping them to the egg-shape which produces the best tone. Better than that, you get down to virgin felt which has a warmer sound. You can only reshape hammers so many times until you get to the wood – then you have to replace the hammers. These hammers have plenty of good felt to work with, so years down the line they can be reshaped again a number of times.

I may use this question and answer in my next video newsletter!

Robert,
Why isn’t the pin block made of metal? It does not need to transfer sound and metal would not have to be replaced.
– Kenneth

You ask a very good question. In fact, before the turn of the 20th century, Mason & Hamlin did indeed produce a limited number of upright and grand pianos that had metal, threaded pinblocks – not wood! These were referred to as “sidewinders” because the pins were parallel to the strings, not at right angles like in traditional pianos. They abandoned the design in a few short years and I am not aware of any other piano manufacturer utilizing metal pinblocks.

There are several benefits to wood pinblocks. First, the pins are threaded very finely. This allows for precise tuning. It is difficult to have metal machine screws with the geometry and strength to allow for the extreme fine tuning necessary in a piano. The fact is, there are over 20 tons of combined string tension in a piano. With a traditional pinblock when you restring the piano, you can use slightly larger pins and get excellent tuning stability. With a metal pinblock, the machine screws don’t allow for that possibility. Worse yet, if the metal breaks, it can be very difficult repairing. In traditional pianos with a wood pinblock, you can even replace the pinblock if necessary.

So, there are good reasons why nearly all pianos have had wood pinblocks for hundreds of years.

This question is simple to answer; yet very complicated when explored.

The quick answer is that a composition is a piece of music written for a specific instrument or group of instruments.

An arrangement is a piece of music originally written for one instrument or group of instruments and then re-written for a different instrument or group of instruments.

Why is this important?

When approaching a composition or an arrangement, there is a big difference in how you learn and play the music.

Generally speaking, when it comes to compositions you will probably want to learn what’s written and play the piece exactly as written; because every note matters.

When it comes to an arrangement, the approach is much different. Many times there are going to be multiple different arrangements of the same piece of music. One is not necessarily better than another, but there could be significant differences between them.

Usually, when it comes to arrangements, you are free to experiment a bit with the music. Now that’s not to say that you will want to alter what’s written drastically, but there are many times where an arrangement is written and is pretty much impossible to play. Especially when it comes to the piano, many times pieces of music created on other instruments and arranged for piano will include too many notes making it next to impossible to perform as written. In cases like this, it is up to you play what notes you feel represent the piece best.

When it comes to an arrangement, I believe you have a certain level of freedom to simplify it or even embellish it. There isn’t one way to adapt a piece of music – especially a whole symphony. I like to think of arrangements as more of a guide or a starting point.

Now some arrangements are intended to be played exactly as written – they are called transcriptions.

This question pops up all the time when it comes to performing. I’ve been asked many times if I could play Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. I kindly respond by telling them that it’s a piece of music written for an entire orchestra and proceed to play Beethoven’s 5th Symphony by ear! Liszt wrote four hand arrangements of all the Beethoven Symphonies.

For beginning students I find it’s much better to have them practice compositions – there are even compositions from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann that are great for a beginning level. It’s much more beneficial to have them learning and playing something as written rather than playing a watered down version of an entire orchestral work.

Hi Robert,

I just watched one of your videos, which I enjoyed very much, and would like to ask a question if that’s ok.

I’m considering purchasing a used upright Steinway from 1969. It looks beautiful and sounds great, and the dealer (it seems to be a reputable store) assures me that it is in excellent condition. The parts are all original. I’m just concerned that a piano that old will fall apart on me in the next few years – and it isn’t cheap.

Do you have any thoughts on this? I suppose I should have a technician look at the piano.

Thanks!

Evie

You have probably heard about a pinblock and you might have wondered what it is. The pinblock is a fundamentally important part of the instrument. In fact, without a solid pinblock, you simply can’t tune your piano!

The big problem with the pinblock is that if it’s in bad condition and needs to be replaced you have only one option; rebuild the piano. You can learn about the process of rebuilding a piano in my video:

What’s the Difference between Rebuilding and Reconditioning a Piano?

I live in the mountains of Big Bear Lake, California where the relative humidity is often in the single digit to no more than 20% or 30%. What are the risks of keeping a piano in this type of climate? Do you have any suggestions to help with any potential damage caused by the climate?
– Kyle

You bring up an excellent point. Extreme dryness can also present major problems for pianos. The high desert in California, as well as parts of Arizona, can experience single digit humidity! The real danger is in drying out the soundboard. Cracks can develop, or hairline cracks which present no problem in most parts of the country can open up and cause buzzing. Other wood joints can also potentially suffer particularly if the piano was previously in a humid environment and gets moved to an extremely dry environment. So, a moderate humidity level is important for the longevity of pianos. You can mitigate the effects of weather in a number of ways which I described in my humidity video except in reverse.

– Buy and install a humidifier and make sure that you keep all the windows closed.

– Put a large, shallow pan of water underneath your piano.

– Install a Dampp-Chaser humidification system.

Be sure there are no heating vents blowing up at the soundboard of your piano (or behind an upright piano) no matter where you live. The key to providing the right environment for your piano is, if you would be comfortable sitting in the room where the piano is day and night, then your piano will probably be O.K. However, you may check the humidity level of your home and make adjustments if necessary with the previously described techniques.

I’m wondering if you have ever done a video on the performance practice of JS Bach ornaments. I know the specific ornaments like mordent and trill, etc but was wondering if you’ve weighed in on where and when to use them. My understanding is performers could add ornaments like spice, whenever they wished. It’s considered a type of improvisation in a sense. Please advise if you’ve made a video or have a link to someone else that has covered this online.

Thanks,
Dana

Ornamentation is a great subject for a video! It is also extremely challenging. The fact is, ideas about what is authentic Baroque ornamentation goes in and out of style through the ages. What was considered authentic practice today is different from what was considered appropriate 30 years ago, and different again earlier in the century. On top of that, there are varying ideas today. In my opinion, it’s impossible to really know for sure what the performance practices were hundreds of years ago. However, there are accepted norms in performance and deviating from them in a significant way raises attention to the ornamentation to a high degree. I still believe that there is a wide range of creative license in ornamentation, and you are right that it can be a form of improvisation.

Much Baroque music was improvised beyond just ornamentation. The trio sonata was often written in figured bass, a lead sheet type of form where the keyboard and continuo parts were realized by the performers, not scored note for note. So, there is a good reason to support the idea of freedom with ornamentation. The bottom line is to do what works and sounds musical. Different performers have unique ideas as to what that may be, but when the ornamentation supports the music, that is what is ultimately important. As for historical accuracy, we may never know for sure.

Here is a question about huge bass from a 158 Sauter.. Why and how can a super large high tension Base produce a better base than many 9 foot? It has more clarity and more vibrations and it is not duplex (per Ulrich Sauter)

One theory is that the low end has so much power that you bring into the tone short vibrations from the very heavy wires despite being padded.

What I found was an interesting tonal quality not found on my Mason and Hamlin upright. As you stated before sometimes the piano gets better as it gets older. I also recall your love of the grand. The piano has worked very well for our small and very hard working Chamber Music group..

Best Regards,
Bruce

There are many mysteries to pianos. One really interesting fact is that even the same make and model of piano, new or from the same vintage can have dramatically different qualities. It’s important to remember that pianos produce their sound from wood and no two trees are alike! Add in the variance of human labor and those factors alone are a big deal. Now, take scale design. You would think that a 9-foot piano would have a bigger bass than a smaller piano. But as you can attest, that isn’t always the case. Think of some small speaker systems that utilize creative technologies for getting huge bass out of a relatively small package. There are so many variables in design as well as in the preparation of a piano. Ultimately, your ears tell the whole story.