Piano Blog, Play Piano Techniques, Piano Tips

If you own an acoustic piano (i.e., not an electronic one), you know that it was an expensive purchase of at least several thousand dollars.

Some high-end pianos (even for home use) can approach the purchase price of a new car. Would you drive your new car without checking — or changing — the oil? No! You realize an investment at this level requires on-going maintenance and proper use. If you try to penny-pinch on these necessary maintenance expenses, you risk damage that will waste your initial investment.

The same is true of your acoustic piano.

Here are some tips that will help you take proper care of your piano:

1. Put some thought into where you will place your piano. Ideal conditions for the piano are at about 72 degrees F and 40% humidity.

You’ll want to avoid direct sunlight, close proximity to any heating or cooling vents, and direct placement against an exterior wall. If you must place your piano near an exterior wall, try to move it out about 2 feet away from the wall. This is important because the piano’s wood is sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity. In fact, changes in humidity that are too severe or abrupt can cause warping and cracking of the wood. Less damaging changes in temperature and humidity can cause the instrument to go out of tune. Direct sunlight can also damage the finish.

If your environment’s temperature and humidity are too difficult to control, consider installing a climate control device within the instrument itself.

2. Your piano tuner is your friend. Get your piano tuned at least once or twice a year.

Ideally, the piano should be tuned every 4 – 6 months, after a major change in the weather. For example, once you begin turning on your air conditioning in the spring or summer, wait a few weeks for the piano to adjust, and then schedule a tuning. Do the same again in the fall after you’ve turned on your heat.

If you try to wait too long between tunings, it will take the tuner (technician) longer to bring your piano up to pitch and to make any necessary minor repairs or adjustments. This will make the tuner’s visit more costly. In some cases, pianos that are severely out of tune will need to be brought up to pitch in several steps, since a change that is too drastic is bad for the strings. This will, of course, require several visits from the tuner, raising the cost.

3. Avoid trying to repair any part of the piano yourself.

Remember, the wooden parts of your piano were selected, shaped and placed with great care to contribute to the sound quality of your instrument. Also, your piano’s strings are under enormous tension, and the cast-iron frame contains those forces. Unless you are a qualified piano technician, an attempt to fix anything yourself could cause more damage that will cost more to repair in the long run — and could even be dangerous to you.

4. Never, ever, ever place liquids on top of the piano! In fact, try not to allow liquids anywhere near it.

If liquid spills on the keyboard, quickly mop up any excess, trying not to press any keys down while doing so. Liquid that gets between the keys requires a call to a qualified technician (tuner) for proper cleaning. Do not attempt to remove keys yourself to clean between them (see #3 above).

5. To keep your keyboard in good shape, consider washing your hands (or asking others to do so) before playing. Also, consider removing any rings before playing.

This is especially important if you know children will be playing your piano regularly. You don’t want to get sticky food residue or dirt from outside play on your keyboard. And for you adults, rings could scratch the finish on your keys, especially rings with stones in them.

6. If you are moving to a different home, or wish to move the piano to another room of your current home, hire expert piano movers to do the heavy lifting.

Trained, experienced, and insured, piano movers know what they are doing and can move your instrument with minimal chance of damaging it — or anything else. This is especially important if you have a grand or baby grand piano, as the process of moving these instruments is more complicated than moving an upright. Moving a grand piano requires the removal of one leg and the pedal lyre, then tipping the instrument on its side. This is not a do-it-yourself project.

7. And finally — play your piano. It doesn’t want to sit there, just a pretty piece of furniture. Regular use will help avoid dust build-up.

Help your investment to last. With proper care, your piano’s lifetime can be measured in decades.