Zen and the Art of Piano Maintenance

Mindful and Focused Piano Cleaning

When most people think of Piano Maintenance, they might think like this mom, that dusting off the keys is all that’s needed.

However, just like the exterior of the piano, dust builds up in the interior over time. Unfortunately, an accumulation of dust around your instrument’s lubricated parts is a recipe for a stodgy, less efficient and dull sounding piano. Strings will begin to corrode, pedals will start to squeak, and felts, bushings, and other components will wear down.

The inside of your piano needs some loving care from time to time but opening it up and swirling around your Swiffer duster will do more harm than good. That’s where your Piano Tuner and Technician comes into the picture.

An Introduction to the Art of Piano Maintenance

These days most people have never heard of Piano Maintenance or even considered hiring a Technician. That’s because the piano’s place in our culture has changed. At one point in history, the family piano was a beloved member of the household, sometimes with its own dedicated space for entertaining family, friends, and guests to the home.

Want to know how prevalent pianos were in the olden days? Ever seen a “piano window” in an older Victorian or Craftsman home? In the 19^th and early 20^th century, builders actually incorporated these short, wide windows into the living room or parlor placing them above the height of a piece of furniture — specifically, an upright piano. At that time, pianos were also a true status symbol of wealth, affluence, and class.

Today the piano is mainly seen as an educational tool and a nostalgic relic from once upon a time when we took lessons as children. Modern day residential pianos are not played as often or as heavily as they were 75 to 100 years ago when there was no television, radio, or recorded music to rely on for home entertainment.

Unless your own piano is a high-end professional instrument, an artist’s piano that tours with its own tech, or is part of a music conservatory’s fleet (which are serviced in rotation every 3-5-10 years), the typical residential piano might only experience maintenance once in its lifetime, if ever at all.

Piano Maintenance: More Than Dusting

Professional Piano Maintenance is not just a thorough cleaning, but also a tidying up of parts that begin to wear down due to the mechanics of the piano. This includes easing of keys, reshaping of hammer heads, and addressing loose screws. When performed correctly, the piano’s sound and performance are greatly improved.

In our personal experience, we have observed that post maintenance the touch and feel of our piano is much smoother with a sound that is less tinny. (In case you’re wondering, that tinny sound can be attributed to compacted, uneven hammer heads.)

Your Piano Technician’s Typical Maintenance Procedure Checklist:

1. Vacuum cabinet
2. Remove action and reshape hammers
3. Number and remove keys and vacuum keyframe
4. Polish and lubricate key pins
5. Polish pedals
6. Clean keys
7. Ease keys
8. Tighten binding screws on action and in piano
9. Lubricate action center pins
10. Polish strings
11. Lubricate string termination points
12. Lubricate pedals
13. Clean soundboard (grand) blow and vacuum debris
14. Vacuum cabinet — brush debris with paintbrush

From start to finish this process can take anywhere from three to five hours depending on the condition of the piano and the experience of the Technician.

To prepare for your appointment, make sure the area around the piano is free of clutter or other items. Remove any pictures and knickknacks from the piano itself and push back any furniture to allow for a 4’ to 6’ banquet table to be set up in your space. The Piano Technician will use this table surface when removing the piano action from the cabinet.

Be aware, the process of Piano Maintenance does create a little mess, but professional Technicians have ways of minimizing the impact to your home and tidying up when the job is done. After completing maintenance, you may notice an odor from the lubricants and polishes that the Technician has used. These will evaporate and dissipate within a day or so.

Time to Call the Tech?

Does your piano need Piano Maintenance? Maybe, but maybe not.

Your Piano Tuner considers multiple factors when evaluating your instrument:

• What condition is the piano in?
• How frequently is your piano played?
• What is the overall value of your piano monetarily, sentimentally, and historically?
• Is it worth the cost of Piano Maintenance? (Depending on the instrument — upright versus grand piano, for example — Piano Maintenance can cost several hundred dollars to as much as a grand or more.)

A Piano Technician’s job is to inform you of the state of the interior of your piano and what services are appropriate recommendations for your needs and goals.

There are certain situations that would call for immediate consideration of Piano Maintenance. These might include:

• Weather damage to your home that affected the inside of the space where the piano resides, like a tree falling into your living room.
• Evidence of rodent infestation.
• A piano that has been in storage for a prolonged period of time.
• A piano that has traveled long distances or multiple times between homes.
• Any pianos that have had the misfortune of a food or liquid spill inside the piano. (These might include a piano in a bar, or just an accident at home.)

All of these situations should also be addressed as soon as possible to prevent unnecessary corrosion or spoilage of the strings and wood.

A well-maintained piano is easier to play, sounds better, and can greatly improve the chances of an extended life. If you are interested in learning more about how this might apply to your piano, call and schedule your regular tuning with us.