How to Test a Piano for a Concert

This is a unique challenge that pianists face. Unlike pretty much every other musician who can bring their instrument with them, typically the pianist will have to perform on whatever piano is in the venue. Sometimes you will have very limited time to prepare yourself and try out the piano so it’s great to have a quick routine ready to check the piano.

There will be times that the first note you will ever get to play on a certain piano is at your performance. This type of instant adjustment is very difficult and if you can avoid this you should. Assuming you have some time to try the instrument you will want to make sure you check certain critical aspects of the piano.

The first thing I always like to check is the pedals, even before the action or anything else. This is because pedals can be drastically different from piano to piano. When I was growing up my father had a number of pianos around the house and the difference between the pedals on the Steinway baby grand and Baldwin grand were immense. On the Steinway if you even leaned your foot on the pedal the notes would begin sustaining and on the Baldwin you had nearly half an inch of play before anything would happen. It’s incredibly important to know how the pedals respond because it can drastically alter your performance.

Another thing to check with the pedals is whether or not they make any noise. For example, if the pedal thumps when you press it down with force you will want to depress it gently avoiding noise. One great test is to play a chord and, hold the pedal down and then slowly lift up to observe the point at which the pedal disengages.

When it comes to the una corda pedal (or soft pedal) the results can be dramatically different from piano to piano. On some instruments it’s like throwing a blanket over the piano and on others it is barely noticeable. This can have dramatic consequences on your performance so getting an idea of how the pedal works on a particular piano can be very important. Sometimes a piano will be voiced very bright and you might want to use the soft pedal quite a bit to give a warmer tone. Other times it might be a very dramatic effect and you will want to use it sparingly.

If your music contains sostenuto pedal (the middle pedal) you should check to see if the pedal is even functioning properly. The middle pedal is used rarely and sometimes the pedal doesn’t operate properly! If your music calls for it you really need to test to see if it is functioning properly.

The next thing I like to do is check the tone life of the piano. I do this by playing something with a high melody like a Chopin Nocturne. Getting an idea of the degree of sustain and how long the melody lasts will greatly impact how you perform on specific pianos. You will also want to check to see how quietly you can play on a piano and still control the notes. A nice slow and soft melody will help to determine this.

On the other hand, you will need to test the piano with something big. Sometimes you will play on a piano and if you go above a certain level of volume the sound will become degraded and ugly; in extreme cases you might even experience vibrations and extraneous noises. There could be issues with the damper rail guides or the felt being worn out; these are things you should test before playing a performance on a certain instrument. I will typically play a big chord section from something of Chopin or Liszt. Don’t be afraid to really settle into something and play it like you would during the performance so you discover the limits of the instrument ahead of time.

Knowing the capabilities of a piano before you perform on it can be absolutely crucial. If you have time to perform your entire program or even half your program on your performance piano you should absolutely do it. Understanding the qualities of the instrument will aid you immensely.

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