Tag Archives: piano strings

Why are Piano Strings Different Lengths?

This may seem like an obvious question, but it is a really interesting question in a number of ways that I’ll explain. All vibrating objects produce pitches and those pitches are lower if the object is bigger and they’re higher if the object is smaller. It’s simple physics. With pianos, you notice particularly on concert grand pianos, the very highest treble strings are very short and they get longer and longer throughout the entire scale design until you have the very long bass strings on a nine foot piano. The bass strings are able to produce those low frequencies from their sheer length like the pipes on pipe organs; the large pipes produce low frequencies and the the small pipes produce high frequencies.

It’s the same reason why women and children tend to have higher voices than men because being bigger (including the vocal cords) produces lower pitched voices. Bigger things make lower sounds. Where it gets really interesting is the fact that you can have a baby grand where the strings are pretty much the same length once you get to the middle of the keyboard on down. How do they achieve the low notes out of a smaller piano? They make the strings thicker in the bass to overcome the fact that they’re not getting as long as they need to be.

In fact, even a concert grand piano doesn’t necessarily have the difference in length of strings you would need to double the length of the strings for each octave down on the keyboard. So, you would need strings going twice the length throughout the entire piano for every octave which would produce a longer piano than nine feet depending upon the starting length of the highest treble strings if it were done by the length of the strings alone. It could be difficult to excite the soundboard with such long strings. There are other aspects of piano design and acoustical science that just don’t enable that to happen. It would be an interesting experiment in the virtual world with programs like PianoTeq to create virtual pianos that don’t exist in the real world with incredibly long strings.

I hope this has been enlightening for you. Thanks for joining me, Robert@LivingPianos.com 949-244-3729

How do Different Size Pianos Work?

Recently I received this question from a viewer:

“If baby grand and upright pianos have shorter strings than grand pianos, and the pitch of a string is determined by its length, how can the smaller pianos play the same set of low notes as grand pianos?”

This is a very good question and one that deals with the physics and scaling of pianos. Longer strings make lower sounds, so how can you replicate the same pitch on pianos with shorter and longer strings?

This is where the scaling of pianos comes into play. The scaling of a piano has several factors which affect pitch. It is the combination of the length of the string, the thickness of the string, and the tension it is under that will determine its pitch. Scaling is something that is determined when the piano is designed and built and it is as much art as science. When replacing strings on a piano you must make sure the thickness and gauge of the strings is the same as the original ones or you could end up breaking strings! Even the steel strings vary in gauge across the piano.

Although even a small piano can create the lowest pitches, they are not pure tones. You might notice that when you play smaller pianos, the lowest notes sound muddled. The fundamental pitch is quite weak and the overtones are extremely audible. The overtones are present in all pitched sounds which create the color of the sound. In very small pianos, the overtones of the lowest notes are extremely pronounced obscuring the fundamental tone.

When I was a young boy I tried an experiment by taking my tape recorder and recording the lowest note on my father’s piano. I played the tape back on my father’s tape recorded which allowed me to hear it played back 4 times faster which also raised the pitch several octaves. The results shocked me. It sounded more like a chord rather than a single note! This is due to the overtones which are so predominant in the sound of the lowest notes of a piano. The smaller the piano, the greater the overtones and the less fundamental pitch comes through on the lowest notes. Larger grand pianos have stronger fundamental pitches on the lowest notes for a richer, cleaner sound but they still contain overtones as almost all pitched sounds do.

Let’s say you have access to a baby grand and a concert grand in the same room. If you played the same low notes on both instruments you would instantly be able to tell the difference in tone between the two because of the different balance of fundamental tones and overtones between to the two.

Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-372

Can You Replace Just one Piano String?

Last week we talked about how long piano strings last, today we are going to discuss whether or not it’s possible to replace only a single string. This is something I deal with on a regular basis. I have very intense practice sessions and I regularly break strings on my Baldwin SD-10 concert grand piano.

When it comes to piano, you should always have an experienced tuner or technician replace the string for you – unless you are well versed in servicing pianos. You must install the correct gauge string properly so it matches the other strings – you will want to make sure it’s wound tightly and that the becket (the part of the string that points out from the hole) is flush, among other issues that must be addressed when replacing a string. It’s not a job for an amateur.

If you’re familiar with other string instruments, like guitar for example, you know that replacing a single string can be a bit problematic. In the case of a guitar, replacing one string will cause that string to stand out from the older ones on the instrument. It will have a brighter sound and it will go out of tune much more easily than the strings you already have on there until it stabilizes. When it comes to piano, you will find similar problems.

Replacing a single string on a piano will cause that string to go out tune quite regularly. It will need to be touched up regularly – possibly eight to ten times before it holds a tuning. What a lot of piano tuners will do is to stretch the string a little sharp and insert a small rubber wedge to avoid hearing the out of tune string. The next time they come to tune the piano the string will probably hold pitch better and they can hopefully get the piano back to normal.

What I suggest for serious players is to become somewhat competent in touching up the tuning of your piano. I own a tuning hammer and a set of wedges and I constantly touch up the tuning of my piano. This enables you to enjoy your piano without having to constantly have a technician or tuner come over to tune your new strings. It’s worth learning if you find yourself breaking strings regularly. Not only that, but you can keep your piano in tune longer by touching up the tuning between piano technician visits.

When it comes to copper wound bass strings, there is a bit more involved. These strings are very specific and it may require you to send in the string to the manufacturer and have them send you a replication. Mapes is a great string manufacturer that provides this service. If the piano is very old and the bass strings are a bit tarnished, a new bass string could be significantly brighter than the others. At this point you might consider replacing the whole set of bass strings which could really brighten up the sound giving new life to your piano.

It’s not the end of the world breaking piano strings, but it requires some work and the help of an experienced tuner to remedy the situation. If you find yourself breaking strings regularly, you should consider learning how to touch up the tuning on your piano. You may also consult with your piano technician to see if there are issues with your piano that are causing strings to break.

Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com

How Many Strings Are On a Piano?

Like most things when it comes to the piano, this question does not have a simple answer. There is no absolute standard for how many strings are on a piano but there are some general guidelines that can shed some light on this question.

Some people might assume that since there are 88 keys on a piano, there would be 88 strings; but this isn’t the case. Most keys on the piano actually strike 3 strings when depressed. They are steel strings that run from the highest treble all the way to the bass section. Once you hit the bass section of the piano, the strings become copper wound and there are less of them per note (2 and eventually 1 on the lowest notes).

Now the problem in figuring out how many strings are on a piano depends on something called scale design. Scale design is a complex topic which I’ve covered in the past:

But basically what you need to know is that all pianos have unique scale designs with different numbers of strings in each section. Each piano switches from the triple steel strings to copper strings with different numbers of dual and single copper bass strings!

So the simple answer is you can’t say how many strings are on a piano exactly, but it ranges generally from about 220 to 240 strings.

Now this really should give you a renewed respect for your piano tuner if it hasn’t already! They have to tune every single one of those strings making sure they are all in proper pitch with each other. The octaves and intervals have to sound as pure as possible; their are also overtones to deal with – the process is actually quite complex.

Thanks again for watching and reading; there is plenty more on the way. Robert Estrin: Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

How Long Do Piano Strings Last?

This is a great question but it does not have a simple answer. If you play guitar you know that the oils in your skin can degrade the strings quickly and you will need to replace them often to get a lively tone. The piano is certainly not this extreme but the strings are susceptible to the elements as well. However, there is no definitive answer when it comes to this question.

Right now we have two Steinway pianos in our inventory from the 1930s. Both of these pianos actually have the original strings and they sound incredible. The bass sounds robust and the tone is vibrant; there is simply no reason to change the strings. On the other hand, we have a Steinway piano from the 1980s that we actually replaced the strings. How can this be? How can a piano that is fifty years older than others not need to be restrung? It has everything to do with the environment the piano is in.

The strings of a piano don’t actually age on their own; they age through outside forces and elements of their surroundings. A piano that is in a very humid environment – like near the beach – is highly susceptible to the elements. I have seen pianos in homes near the beach where the lid of the piano is left open with windows left open and the strings are rusting, breaking and just completely degraded within a decade.

However, here in Southern California if you go only ten miles from the beach and not too close to the desert you have an incredibly ideal environment for your piano. Just ten miles from the humidity of the beach there is an area where you can have a piano even left open in your home and not experience rust or serious problems with your strings possibly for decades. This is where I have seen 80 year old pianos still with the original strings; and they sound great!

There is a limit however to how long strings can last. I have seen pianos 50 to 100 years old lose some of the tone in the copper wound strings – which is where you will first see string problems. There is a simple way to check for this. Play a descending chromatic scale on the piano and notice where you transition from the steel strings to the copper wound strings. If you hear an abrupt change in tone in this transition to the copper wound strings, you know that it’s time to replace at least those strings. Sometimes you can twist the bass strings and get them back to life and sometimes you can simply replace the bass strings and be just fine.

The big red flag when it comes to strings is seeing rusty and broken strings – and this can be both the copper wound and steel strings. This is a sign that more strings are bound to break and it’s a good idea to restring the whole piano.

If you have any more questions about replacing the strings of your piano or if you have a piano in particular you would like advice with, please contact me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729