You have reached me at the School of Music at the University of Maryland. I work for the School of Music as the Head Piano Technician since 1990. I am responsible for tuning, voicing, regulation and repairing pianos for concerts as well as teaching studios and classrooms at the School. I am a Registered Piano Technician(RPT) of the Piano Technician's Guild. I've been a piano technician for 20 years.
If you have any questions about piano service or purchasing
pianos, please cantact me:
Phone: (301) 523-0377, (301) 405-5559
Email: lm80@umail.umd.edu
.
Website: www.wam.umd.edu/~fuali
The following are frequently asked questions.
How
should I care for my piano's wood finish?
What
is the piano's action and why does it need maintenance?
How
does humidity affect my piano?
What
is voicing?
How
often should I have my piano fully serviced?
How
do I find a qualfied person to service my piano?
A piano brings a lifetime of enjoyment to you and your family. As you might expect with any investment of this size, a piano requires periodic servicing to provide outstanding performance year after year. But to understand what maintenance is required, it's important to understand the nature of the piano.
The beautiful, natural sound of a piano is due to the remarkable blending of such materials as wood, metal, buckskin, and wool. Together they create a uniquely timeless sound that no other instrument in the world can duplicate. While electronic synthesizers may approximate the sound of an acoustic piano, they cannot approach the true beauty of the real thing.
The complex system which causes a hammer to strike a string when you press a key is called the piano's action. It is a marvel of engineering composed largely of wood and wool felt. This mechanism needs to be responsive to every nuance of the pianist's touch -- from loud, thunderous chords to soft, delicate passages. We have technical drawings available for both vertical and grand piano actions.
When a piano leaves the factory, each of its parts is adjusted to a tolerance of a few thousandths of an inch. This process is called action regulation. Because the wood and felt parts of the action may change dimension due to humidity and wear, the action must be serviced occasionally to maintain its responsive qualities.
Using an air conditioner in humid summer months and adding a humidifier to your central heating system will reduce the extremes of high and low humidity. Room humidifiers and dehumidifiers, as well as systems designed to be installed inside of pianos will control humidity-related disorders still further. The PTG technical bulletin on humidity control discusses this topic in further detail.
An out-of-tune piano or an unresponsive touch can discourage even novice musicians. Regular maintenance also can prevent expensive repair in the future.
Most manufacturers recommend servicing at least two to four times a year to keep the piano sounding good and working properly each time you sit down to play. This is especially important the first year of your piano's life. Some tuning instability should be anticipated during the first year because of the elasticity of the piano wire, combined with the piano's normal adjustment to the humidity changes in your home. A piano which has gone a long time without tuning may require extra work in pitch raising. But most importantly, be sure the regular servicing of your piano is performed by a qualified piano technician.
Keep your piano in tune.
It was specifically designed to be tuned to the international pitch standard
of A-440 cycles per second. Your piano will sound its best and give you
and your family the most pleasure when it is tuned regularly and kept in
proper playing condition.Keep your piano clean.
Keep the keyboard covered when not in use to prevent dust from accumulating
(although ivory keys need some exposure to light to prevent yellowing).
Clean keys by occasionally wiping them with a damp cloth and drying them
immediately. If accumulated debris can't be removed with a damp cloth,
try wiping the cloth on a bar of mild soap or moisten with dishwashing
detergent before wiping. Do not use chemicals or solvents to clean piano
keys. Call a qualified piano technician to remove anything from the keys
you can't wipe away.To maintain the piano's
finish, you may wipe the case with a damp cotton cloth to remove fingerprints,
or polish with a reliable emulsion-type, water-based solution following
the manufacturer's instructions. Avoid aerosol spray polishes that contain
silicone. Your technician may suggest a specific brand name.The maintenance of the
inner working of the piano and regulation
should be left to a qualified piano technician. Resist dusting the inside
of your piano, oiling the moving parts, or using moth or insect repellents.
Your piano technician will take care of all internal problems.Try to maintain a fairly
consistent temperature and humidity
control in the room where your piano is placed. It's important to keep
your piano away from a heating register in winter, an air conditioning
vent in the summer, a fireplace, a frequently opened window or outside
door, and direct sunlight.Play your piano regularly.
You'll get the most enjoyment from it and also reach your potential much
faster. A disadvantage to idle pianos, assuming they also suffer a service
lapse, is that a detrimental condition or environment can't be identified,
and an escalating problem can result in damage that might not have occurred
with regular service. Tuning a piano after years of not having been tuned
often requires a pitch
raise. As a piano ages, it may begin to develop more major problems
which your technician can help you assess. You may look into rebuilding
or reconditioning the piano.Keep all drinks and standing
liquid containers off the piano. Should spilled water reach the action,
notify you piano technician immediately. In many case, once liquids are
spilled, the damage is irreversible which is why prevention is the safest
rule to follow.Select a piano technician
with care. It's not only important that the service person be competent
to perform tuning, regulation and repairs, but also that the person be
someone you feel comfortable calling with questions concerning your piano's
performance. Hiring a Registered
Piano Technician who is committed to comprehensive service for your
piano, and not just an occasional tuning, is your best assurance.Do not perform repairs
yourself. Though a problem may appear easy to solve (such as replacing
a loose key ivory), a qualified technician will have the proper tools and
parts to make repairs quickly and correctly. It's important to remember
that unsuccessful amateur repairs are usually much more expensive to fix
than the initial problem and may decrease the value of your instrument.Use only a professional
piano mover to move your piano. You will avoid injury to yourself, your
instrument, and your home.
The preceding article is a reprint of a brochure published by the Piano
Technicians Guild, Inc. It is provided on the Internet as a service to
piano owners. The Piano Technicians Guild is an international organization
of piano technicians. Registered Piano Technicians (RPTs) are those members
of PTG who have passed a series of examinations on the maintenance, repair,
and tuning of pianos. For a copy of this or other PTG Bulletins and Pamphlets,
or a list of RPT members in your area, contact: Piano Technicians Guild,
Inc., 3930 Washington, Kansas City, MO, 64111-2963
