Nearly every piano has a fallboard and you might assume that if it’s there it should be used. Should you close the fallboard on your piano when you’re not playing it?
There are certain instances when the fallboard can be useful to keep people from playing the instrument. If you have a piano in a restaurant or hotel that you don’t want random people playing, you can close the fallboard and the lid and lock the piano (if your piano has a lock). If you have a piano in your home that you don’t want children playing around with this can also be useful.
When it comes to institutional use, the locks on pianos do very little to protect them because they can be easily pried open. That’s why there are much more secure locks available to prevent people from getting inside pianos
The practical use of fallboards is to prevent dust from collecting on the keys of pianos. Playing a piano with dirty keys feels awful! However, dust will still collect on the fallboard and you will have to dust the fallboard. With delicate satin finishes, this can be more challenging than dusting the keys.
The biggest issue when it comes to closing the fallboard is whether or not you have ivory or plastic key tops.
When I was a child growing up, my father Morton Estrin would always leave his fallboards open on his pianos and I once asked him about this. He explained to me that the ivory keys on pianos will yellow if not exposed to sunlight on a regular basis. So, closing the fallboard will turn ivory keys yellow over time. In this case, you are better off leaving your fallboard open.
When it comes to plastic keys there are no other benefits to keeping fallboards open unless there is direct sunlight on the keys. Plastic can sometimes react to sunlight and degrade over time. If you want to prevent people from playing your piano or prevent dust from getting on the keys, than closing the fallboard is a good choice. However, it doesn’t prolonging the life of your piano or aid its stability.
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