5 March 2015 What’s New With Today’s Pianos

What’s New With Today’s Pianos

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If you are ready to give your child the gift of music, many look no further than to the traditional piano. It’s an instrument you can learn to play on your own, taking in both roles of harmony and melody, fully creating the sounds you desire most.

When you think of the sound and playability of a traditional piano – an acoustic piano – little has changed from the peak of their What’s New With Today’s Pianospopularity a century ago. When you sit down to play, running your fingers over the keys on a keyboard, you can easily create the sounds that have been created generation after generation.

Where have the technological advances to pianos been made over the last few years? In digital technology.

To the casual consumer, the concept of a digital piano may equate to the thought of inexpensive toy keyboards that can be purchased at big box stores or electronic stores. You’ll find several options being pushed hard around the holidays.

Comparing these toy keyboards with today’s digital pianos is similar to comparing a toy car you would purchase for your three year old, to the luxury sedan you have parked in your garage.

Today’s top digital pianos are capable of producing sophisticated sounds. Digital pianos are software driven, electronically created, and designed to produce amazing sounds. Depending on the make and model, some digital pianos have been created by sampling some of the top, most sophisticated pianos in the world, which means your resulting sounds will be rich and vibrant. What’s more, they step beyond the sounds of a piano, often incorporating hundreds of other instrument voices into their memory, giving you the ability to create any sound, any mood you desire.

From the beginning, digital pianos offer a wide array of technology tools to help the beginner. For a brand new player that has never played before, choosing a piano with light up features that can “light” the way to playing a song can be exciting. And motivating to keep going.

As your abilities increase, on screen displays can provide you with pointers and tips for increasing your playing skills. Its easier to hear the song, touch the keys, and see the notes, putting all of your new skill set into play.

Digital pianos bring the power of an entire orchestra conveniently into your home environment. If you have a budding musician, going digital can expand the possibilities tenfold. Not only will he have the ability to create entire symphonies with a few strokes of the keys, he can also tap into the Internet and be able to collaborate with may tools that exist all over the world. He can share his attempts at originality, download and store new music, even connect with peers and mentors that can quickly help his level of music sophistication grow.

And the more sophisticated a musician gets, the more tools become available. Digital pianos can come with preset features, providing sounds not possible with a more traditional instrument. How about layering effects? Blending sounds to create unique musical movements. The possibilities are only as limited as a player’s imagination.

If you’ve never looked at what a digital piano can do for the creativity of your child, maybe its time. Stop by, we would be happy to share with you all of the wonders that make today’s digital pianos true works of art.

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28 February 2015 Repairing A Broken Piano String

Repairing A Broken Piano String

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Pianos are built to last. As long as you provide your piano regular maintenance, and don’t expose it to extreme conditions, you will almost never have a string on your piano breaking. Piano wire is extremely elastic, and can take quite a bit of abuse before it moves to the point of breaking.

On older pianos, strings can become brittle with age, especially if exposed to harsher conditions and not mainRepairing A Broken Piano Stringtained on a regular basis. While piano strings rarely break with non-use, they can snap when a tuner is attempting to tune the piano, especially if they are attempting an extreme pitch raise.

If a piano string does break, never remove and throw away the piano string. In all cases, a piano repair technician will attempt to reuse the wire whenever possible.

With a broken bass string, which is core wire with other wire wrapped around it, often called a wound string, its best to splice the old string back into place if possible. If not, keep in mind that each bass string on each and every make and model of piano is different. The broken string will have to be ordered to expectations to ensure a perfect fit. Even if the broken string cannot be repaired, by having it as a guide, it can be sent in to be duplicated, to ensure a proper fit for a proper sound.

If more than a few strings are broken, it is usually an indication of a deeper problem within the structure of the piano. The strings are extremely brittle, meaning even minor tuning could continue snapping more of the piano wires.

If this is the case, the only solution may be to restring the entire piano, and restore it to its original condition. Depending on the piano, the sentimental value, and the overall quality of the piano, this could be an expensive proposition. With a full evaluation, it can be determined how extensive the damage is, what it would take to recondition it back to playing condition. Which allows you to make an educated decision on the direction to take.

If you have further questions about the condition of your piano, don’t hesitate to call. With over 50 years in the piano business, we have the experience and the know-how to help you with all of your piano needs.

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25 February 2015 Can You Repair A Piano With Water Damage?

Can You Repair A Piano With Water Damage?

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It doesn’t take a natural disaster to fill your home with water. A broken pipe, a busted water heater, or even a leaky roof can open up the potential damage to any room in your home.

And if your piano happens to sit in that room, it could face extensive water damage too.

Once a piano has been subjected to water, can it be saved? Can you repair a piano with water damage?Can You Repair A Piano With Water Damage?

Exposure to water of any kind can be damaging to a piano. Even extreme temperature changes, or a sudden increase/decrease in humidity can create an unstable environment for a piano, requiring extensive regulation of the action and numerous tunings to bring it back to proper performance levels.

If a piano has been sitting in water that has risen to the level of the case or higher, it will most likely be too damaged to be restored or replaced. When the case, soundboard, strings and action are exposed to water, it can cause glue failure, an integral part of the structure of the piano.

The rim and the keybed are the most critical elements to a functioning piano. Once exposed to water, the glue begins disintegrating and cannot effectively be repaired. The strings in a piano have a combined tension of several tons of pressure. Once the water begins penetrating this force, it severely compromises its playability.

Keep in mind that water damage isn’t always an obvious, immediate act. In some cases it is possible to dry out a piano and assume its working fine. The effects may not be truly noticeable until six or nine months down the road.

For a piano that has been sitting in a few inches of water, but the water level has not reached the level of the case, the piano may not be ruined beyond repair. However, moisture will have caused damage, and will have exposed the piano to further damage from things like expansion, contraction, rust and warping. Once moisture makes contact with a piano, restoration is the only way to ensure that it moves back to its working condition.

  • Humidity can cause rust to form on any of the metal parts in a piano, including the strings, tuning pins, action, hardware, or plates that support the tension of the strings.
  • The glue joints and wood grain of the soundboard can be impacted, allowing it to expand and contract to the point of cracking the wood.
  • Mold and bacteria can form in different places throughout the casing.
  • The finish can be damaged, with cracking, checking and other finish defects impacting its look.

In all cases, early action can put restoration potential on your side. As soon as possible, contact your insurance agent to begin the process of reimbursement, and connect with us to begin evaluating the possibilities of restoring your piano. The only way to determine if its possible is to look at its potential. Timing is everything; the quicker you can begin, the better your chance of saving your piano.

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21 February 2015 Forgetting Your Piano Can Turn Moving Day Into A Horror Story

Forgetting Your Piano Can Turn Moving Day Into A Horror Story

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Its moving day. You’ve packed boxes, purchased padding for your dishes. You have friends and family coming to help. You’ve planned the day from beginning to end.

Did you remember the piano?

Most upright and grand pianos weigh between 500 and 1,000 pounds. A standard upright has a width of 5 feet and depth of 2 to 2 ½ feet. A standard grand will be 4 ½ to 6 feet long. Its probably the heaviest, bulkiest, most expensive thing you own.

Forgetting Your Piano Can Turn Moving Day Into A Horror StoryMany people have thought little about the process until it comes time to move. As they grab it by the edges, pull and tug, it quickly becomes apparent that this will not be an easy thing to move. Getting it from living space to truck will be a monumental task. Squeezing it out doors, through hallways and down staircases will be next to impossible.

Unless you’re trained in moving a piano, have experience in moving all types, and have the necessary tools to make it a safe experience, chances are moving a piano won’t be a success. Scratches may occur. Damage may be extensive. And injuries may transpire depending on how you move.

But there is a better way. Hire a professional piano moving company instead.

Measure

In order to provide the proper tools for moving your piano, the professional piano moving company you choose will need to know the dimensions of your piano. Measure the height, width and depth of your piano, and provide this to the movers when you book.

Remove loose parts

Don’t leave your piano until the last minute. Remove any added parts and pack them away in a box labeled piano. Lyres, detachable music stands, lights – anything that sits on top of your piano that wasn’t originally attached should be removed and stowed away.

Don’t forget the piano bench

The lid on a piano bench can easily flip up at the most inopportune times. Pack away sheet music, metronomes and anything else you regularly stow away.

Clean and assess

If your piano has been a apart of your life for awhile, you may not have given it a thorough look over in quite a while. Spend some time familiarizing yourself with the different pieces. Are the keys in good shape? Pedals functioning? Wheels intact? By assessing the condition before you move, you’ll have a better idea of repairs that need to be made once its in its final resting place.

Prepare the path

Moving day can be hectic. It will be even worse if the piano movers show up and find the path to the doorway strewn with boxes. Make sure you are aware of when the movers will be there, and create a clear path for them to do their job. Be flexible for changes that may occur during the process. Likewise, make sure you have a clear path at your final destination, and know exactly where the final resting spot will be.

Schedule a tuning

After you are settled in and life gets back to normal, schedule a piano tuning to make sure your piano is in top shape.

Moving soon? Give us a call today. We’ve been helping families just like yours move and keep their pianos safe and secure for over 50 years, and we’re looking forward to helping you too.

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14 February 2015 What Is The Difference Between High-End and Low-End Digital Pianos

What Is The Difference Between High-End and Low-End Digital Pianos

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Thinking of purchasing a new digital piano? In today’s world, a digital piano can be the perfect choice for a budding musician. They can be very practical if you are short on space and don’t have the room for a traditional piano; they are easy to transport, which can be a big benefit if a budding musician starts up his own band; and they are easy to maintain, which means no regular tuning sessions to keep it in top form.

If you have already started the hunt for a good digital piano, you’ve probably already noticed there can be a big difference in pricing. There is a reason for that.What Is The Difference Between High-End and Low-End Digital Pianos

So the first question to have answered about a digital piano is – where does it get its sound? When each piano manufacturer sets out to create a digital piano, it must record each individual sound of each individual key. This process is called modeling. They record it at different volumes and different ranges, so that when you press a key on the digital piano, it will create a rich sound that mimics playing an acoustic piano.

Modeling is what distinguishes a high end piano from a low end piano. Higher priced digital pianos will have more complexity in their tonal quality. Lower priced digital pianos can have very simple mechanisms, and in some cases be quite tinny in sound quality.

While sound quality is a major difference between high end and low end digital pianos, it isn’t the only difference. For some piano players, there is something equal in importance to sound … it’s the feel.

When an acoustic piano is played, the notes have a “feel” when they are touched and played. By putting different amounts of pressure on the keys, you can change the sound that is produced.

With lower end digital pianos, it’s a one touch one sound process. With higher end pianos, they incorporate that “feel” into the piano, giving digital piano players the same capabilities of creating sound by depressing keys at the desired level.

In addition to the importance of sound and feel, a digital piano can have many other characteristics that separate the two.

  • Speakers
  • Output quality
  • Recording device
  • Additional sounds and features
  • Casing and cabinet material

Many differences occur between the high end and low end offerings, and also between the different manufacturers. In some cases, there is very little pricing variance to move into more features and more practical comfort. It all depends on the desire of the musician, and the desire of the sound being produced.

If you’ve never seen a variety of digital pianos in action, stop by and let us show you the differences. The education you’ll receive just by looking can quickly show you where the differences really lie, and help you be more comfortable with your final selection.

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21 January 2015 Why Does A Piano’s Pitch Change?

Why Does A Piano’s Pitch Change?

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Imagine you’re at a concert, enjoying the music. The violins, the cellos, the flutes and the clarinets are all carrying the tune. The piano fills in the melody. And then it happens. One loud note comes out of nowhere, and its completely out of tune. Ouch.

Its like fingernails on a chalkboard. You just cringe a little, hoping it will go away.Why Does A Piano’s Pitch Change?

Standard pitch is a universal frequency or note that all instruments are set to that allows musicians to play their instruments together in harmony. This standard pitch has been around ever since two individuals decided to play instruments or sing together. Without it, the results would be anything but pleasing.

Your piano is designed to play at a standard pitch of A-440, which means the A above the middle C vibrates at 440 cycles per second. At this pitch, the power and the tonal range are optimum, and your piano will blend nicely with the pitch of any instrument it chooses to play with.

When your piano varies from A-440, pitch adjustments are required to bring it back to the standard. By helping your piano maintain its standard pitch, you are ensuring that it maintains its tonal quality for the long term. The strings and structure maintain its equilibrium. And as a student of music, you will ensure your voice maintains the proper key to learn from and to grow from as you continue to play.

A piano’s pitch changes in two ways.

When your piano is new, the initial stretching and setting of the strings to the soundboard settle over time. The conditions change from the manufacturer to your home, and the pitch can quickly drop from these changes. It is very important to maintain pitch during this process, so the string tension and the piano structure can settle and reach a stable equilibrium. Most manufacturers recommend three or four tunings in the first year, and at least two per year after that.

As your piano ages and begins to settle, pitch changes due to climate variations. Your piano sits in a room that may have dry heat from blowing heat in the winter, humid conditions on and off all year through, and cool airflow in the summer. All of these temperature and climate changes can have a heavy impact on the voice of your piano. As humidity goes up, the soundboard swells, increasing its rounded shape, and stretching the strings to a higher pitch. When the conditions dry out, the soundboard flattens, lowering the tension on the strings, causing the pitch to drop. If you tune your piano after these changes, your piano will continue to hold its pitch. If you don’t, it will continue to drop in pitch for each year the piano is left unserviced.

How long has it been since your piano has been tuned? If you have any questions about the piano tuning process, give us a call. With decades of experience in the piano industry, we can provide you with the experience and the know-how to help you with all of your piano needs.

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17 January 2015 Why Are Grand Pianos Better Than Uprights?

Why Are Grand Pianos Better Than Uprights?

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If you’re new to the music world, and have just started looking at pianos, you’ve probably made an automatic assumption that grand pianos are better than uprights. And with good reason.

If you’ve ever attended the symphony, or watched one of the latest reality shows where music is involved, chances are the person creating the music is playing a grand piano, not an upright.

But why? What makes a grand piano “better”?Why Are Grand Pianos Better Than Uprights?

The biggest reason is the sound. A grand piano can produce a fuller, richer sound because it has the soundboard to do so. Grand pianos can range anywhere from 4 to 10 feet in length, versus an upright piano that ranges from 3 to 5 feet in height. Because of this, the strings connected to the soundboard in a grand piano can be longer in length, and reach both the lower and higher frequencies with far more capability.

The grand piano is shaped the way it is to provide optimum acoustic properties for the full range of notes. It also allows the lid to be lifted to deflect the sound into the audience, which of course is impossible with an upright.

The grand piano also has a major advantage with the orientation of the action – the mechanism that converts a player’s actions of striking a key, to the hammers inside the piano actually hitting the strings. In a grand piano, the hammers hit straight up against the strings, and gravity allows the hammer to fall back into its home position. In an upright, a mechanism is in place that pulls back the hammer, keeping them from damping against the strings and creating a more diluted sound. Thus the action of the grand is much more sensitive than that of an upright, providing a clearer, crisper approach to music.

Does that make a grand piano “better” than an upright? It truly is in the eye of the beholder. A high quality upright can produce a fuller, richer sound than some bottom end grand pianos. And depending on the type of music you are trying to create, an upright may produce a better sound than a grand (most honky tonk bands use an upright, not a grand).

If you are choosing a piano for your home, it also comes down to price and size. Does your home truly have the space for a grand piano? If not, an upright may be the perfect choice for your needs. As long as you focus on quality of sound, and purchase the best quality for your budget, you’ll receive the perfect piano for your needs.

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14 January 2015 What’s Better, Tuning Your Piano By Ear or With A Machine?

What’s Better, Tuning Your Piano By Ear or With A Machine?

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When you hear a song played by one of the top pianists in the world, what makes it special?

Obviously the first half of the answer is the talent of the musician. When a pianist can command the notes, sounds and depth of the instrument to produce the exact music he wants to share, the results can be breathtaking.What’s Better, Tuning Your Piano By Ear or With A Machine?

The second half of the answer lies in the instrument itself. No matter how well a pianist plays the piano, if the instrument is out of tune and has anything but perfect pitch, it will show in the quality of the sound produced.

Because a piano is a moving, always changing instrument, it can not play at optimum performance year after year without proper care and maintenance. That’s where tuning comes into play. Every piano needs proper tuning, how often depends upon the interment itself. A new instrument may require several tunings a year as it adjusts from production; a piano recently moved may require more frequent tunings as it adjusts to its new surroundings; a piano in a home for years may require one or two adjustments per year simply to maintain sound quality.

When its time for hiring a tuner, which type of tuner is best: by ear or with a machine?

There are two different thoughts on this subject; one may never agree with the other on true capabilities.

If a tuner has been taught the trade aurally, the tuner picks up the nuances of what makes a sound “perfect”. When a sound is off, he not only knows how to adjust the strings, he can also determine if there are further problems with the mechanical parts of the piano. It comes with the trade and with “knowing” when something is off.

When a tuner uses the mechanical way of tuning, he uses a special software program that can “listen” to the harmonics of the piano, and calculate how the piano should be tuned based on what it hears. When a piano is flat or sharp, the software compensates for the difference and allows the piano to be adjusted to bring it back in tune. It can also be helpful when there is background noise that may deter a tuner from tuning properly.

In many cases, a professional tuner will use the software program as an aid. The program can help adjust the piano and provide a stable tuning, but if the tuner isn’t proficient in “hearing” the piano, he may miss some of the distinctions that will keep a piano in tune for extended periods of time.

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10 January 2015 Restoring The Pinblock

Restoring The Pinblock

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What’s one of the most important parts to any piano? Arguably, many people would point towards the pinblock.

The pinblock is designed to hold the tuning pins tightly in place so the piano does not go out of tune. Pinblocks are usually made of hard maple or beech wood, and are usually laminated so that the end grain of the wood presses up against the tuning pin from multiple directions.Restoring The Pinblock

Tuning pins are about 2 ½ inches long and are made of steel. They are embedded into the pinblock about an inch in depth, with the remaining inch being visible above the wood.

In most cases, tuning pins become loose for one of two reasons.

First, the pinblock may simply be worn out. After years of tuning the pins and moving them back and forth, they simply cause the hole in the wood to be larger than the pin itself. Its similar to a wood screw that has been stripped.

Second, the more serious of the two problems can be a cracked pinblock. Cracks can form in the pinblock between two or more of the tuning pins. The crack causes the holes to open up and the pins become so loose they will not stay in place. Cracks can be caused by a number of things, including an excessively dry environment, or by an inexperienced technician who pounds the pins in without the proper support from behind.

Is the pinblock worth replacing? That all depends on the piano and the pinblock. If a pinblock is cracked in an inexpensive upright, its often not worth the cost of fixing it. If a name brand grand piano is suffering from a worn out pinblock, a trained technician may be able to restring the piano using oversized tuning pins, and give your piano several more decades of life.

The only way to know for sure is to have a trained technician inspect your piano. Give us a call today.

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31 December 2014 How To Break Your Piano Practice Bad Habits

How To Break Your Piano Practice Bad Habits

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We all have them with everything we do. We start out with the best of intentions. But something gets in the way. And soon, our bad habits stand in the way of us achieving the kind of results we’ve always desired.

Yes, I could be talking about anything. After all, how many of us really want to stick with that diet we started when fresh baked chocolate chip cookies are put in front of us?How To Break Your Piano Practice Bad Habits

When it comes to playing the piano, we all start out with the best of intentions. After all, the goal is to play beautiful music with one of the most versatile instruments around.

But like all great intentions, things can go array. And before long you may be finding yourself dreading practice, questioning why you ever wanted to play the piano in the first place.

Problems with practicing the piano usually fall into one of several categories:

  • Timing issues
  • Playing issues
  • Goals

Timing

Playing the piano means practice. If you don’t set up a routine to practice on a consistent basis, you will never improve your skills. One of the most common bad habits is not incorporating practice into your weekly routine. Its easy to “get busy” and have something else take its place. But if the piano is truly important in your life, the only way to make it happen is to practice on a regular basis. While it doesn’t have to be every day at a certain time, you should be able to carve out time every week. Once you find a routine that works for you, stick with it and make it a priority. When you see the results, you’ll be more likely to keep the pattern.

Playing

Many people try and learn piano on their own. They watch a few videos, read a book or two, or refer back to lessons they’ve had in the past. The problem with doing things on your own is you may not be doing things the right way. If your posture is wrong, it may be causing problems with your arm or hand movement. If you don’t understand the music, you may be playing with the wrong tonal quality. With every task you do, every new hobby you try, the only way to perfect it is through practice and critique. A piano teacher’s job is to give critique; to help you through the bad habits and turn them into good. If you’ve been stuck for a while, it may be a simple “a-ha” moment that can help you make a few leaps.

Goals

When it comes to playing the piano, is it simply to play a piece of music, or enjoy playing a piece of music? If your goal is to simply play it, the enjoyment may be lost. You practice to get the notes right, playing it through again and again to make it from beginning to end.

Music should never be approached in this manner. It doesn’t matter the difficulty of the piece of music, how many songs you can learn in a period of time, or how quickly you advance into difficult pieces. Instead, its about letting the music flow through you. When you “feel” the music, it accomplishes a lot. It gives you enjoyment, it takes away stress, it fills you with a sense of accomplishment. Take a look at your true goals; are they on target to enjoy the music you make? Do you have the things necessary to make this a reality?

Whether its trying a new song, or creating a new music room that will allow you to play to your full potential, without the right goal in mind, you may just be setting yourself up for failure.

Filed Under: Buying a Piano, Owning a Piano, Piano Music Tagged With: ,
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