Hi, I’m Robert Estrin and this is LivingPianos.com. Today’s question is, “Should You Lock Your Piano?” You might notice that some pianos have little keyholes on them. Oftentimes, when we sell restored vintage pianos, people ask if we have the key. I’m not talking about the 88 keys you play, but they want the key for the lock! So the question is, should you lock your piano?
Will locking your piano protect it against vandals?
You might think that there are some times when it would be really important to lock your piano. For example, let’s say you have a piano in a school or a church and you’re worried that people will abuse the instrument, so you want to lock it to prevent any damage. Well, the fact of the matter is, the locks that are built into pianos are not very robust and they’re easily jimmied open. So it doesn’t adequately protect your piano in a situation like that. What about at home?
Will children damage a piano left unlocked?
Maybe you have kids banging on your piano and you think they’re going to damage the instrument. But kids, even if they use their fists, are not going to damage a piano! When a concert pianist is playing, the energy they exert is much greater than a child is capable of even with their fists. Children are not going to damage your piano by doing that. (Just make sure they don’t approach your piano with any metal objects.) So locking your piano for that reason is pointless. Now there might be one good reason to lock your piano.
Locking your piano keeps people from playing it.
If the sound of your kids banging on your piano is driving you nuts and you can’t get them to use their fingers on the piano appropriately, then maybe there’s a good reason to lock it. Otherwise, I think pianos should be open for people to play. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is for me if I find a piano somewhere and it’s locked. I am always heartbroken. I think pianos are meant to be played!
How do all of you feel about this. Do you lock your piano? You can leave your comments and we can discuss further about this.
Thanks so much for joining me. I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. See you next time!
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