There are places — like near doorways, windows, and air ducts — that fluctuate in humidity, no matter how powerful a house-wide climate control system is. In fact, areas near AC ventilation tend to dry out the wood inside your piano, even if it is during the hottest, most humid part of the year. So, what is the solution? A humidity control system designed specifically for the piano. These systems will regulate any changes in humidity with a built-in humidifier and dehumidifier, keeping the humidity level constant.
Thus, there is virtually no swelling or shrinking of the wood, no pressing and receding against metal tuning pins, and no bending and cracking of the soundboard. And they greatly reduce issues with the action — like stuck keys, which are a result of the wooden parts swelling with humidity. For a small upfront cost , a humidity control system can actually save you a lot of money in the long run and make your playing experience much more enjoyable.
Please talk to us today about having one of these systems installed on either your upright or grand acoustic piano! Out of all musical instruments, the piano is unique in that it also serves as a furniture piece for the room in which it sits. It is more than just a fine musical instrument.
Stop by our store today to pick up pre-approved polish specifically designed for pianos both polyester high-gloss and lacquer wood finishes. Polyester is the most recent material to be used on pianos.
It is a product of modern chemical technology that provides the highest degree of beauty and protection available. Polyester is a very stable product and weather changes have no effect on its size. Therefore, applying a stable finish to a constantly changing surface invites trouble.
When the wood changes in response to humidity, the polyester can crack or lose adhesion with the wood. Yamaha utilizes a special resin and wood pulp formula to create a sheet of material that provides a stable surface for the polyester application.
This resin sheet is applied directly to the wood and makes the wood under the finish virtually impervious to atmospheric changes. The integrity of the polyester finish is not subjected to changes that could otherwise take place in the wood beneath the finish. It is about ten times thicker and up to seven times harder than lacquer. The extra thickness and strength of polyester not only beautifies and protects the wood from scratches but also seals the wood to protect it from humidity fluctuation.
It is often difficult for the average piano owner to determine what type of wood finish was originally applied to his or her own piano. Setting up definitive rules in cleaning and polishing of all types pianos would be difficult. However, there are some helpful ideas, suggestions, and warnings about the care of your pianos finish that we can suggest:.
First, avoid anything that contains silicone. Silicone will be absorbed by the finish and can cause the wood to become saturated and difficult to repair or refinish in the future. Second, when cleaning modern high polish and high gloss piano finishes using a damp cloth followed by a dry cloth is acceptable. There are also polishes made especially for these polyester finishes available from most piano technicians and piano stores.
It will cause the finish to deteriorate; fade and will eventually damage the wood. Direct sunlight can also affect tunings, moving action parts, the pianos pin block and the piano soundboard causing tuning stability issues, cracking, warping and pulling loose from the ribs or case.
Once you do this to one key then you have to do it to the other 87 keys and make them all feel and respond the same. The process is very labor intensive. This will be especially true if your piano receives a lot of use. This occurs for a variety of reasons , such as normal wear and tear to the action, excessive expansion and contraction of the wooden parts, loss of strength in the steel springs, normal felt compression, damage from moths or other bugs with an appetite for felt, or just general neglect.
Even a tolerance loss of a few thousandths of an inch can cause the regulation in an action to operate differently. These changes will eventually become evident in the way the keys feel and how the piano plays. Because these parts within your action will inevitably change, it is important to have your piano regulated occasionally to return the piano back to its best playable condition. A prudent piano owner will have their piano serviced regularly.
During routine tunings, a quality technician can check for issues within the action and can even make spot regulation adjustments. A complete action regulation involves the adjustment and timing of thousands of parts that make up the action mechanism within all acoustic pianos, and this needs to be scheduled separately from a tuning, as it is a pretty time-intensive process.
Occasionally having this done will keep the piano from developing response issues in the future , and keep your piano playing as you want it to. This kind of preventive care lengthens the life of the piano and allows for the continued enjoyment of the instrument.
Having your piano regulated occasionally will make playing your piano a more pleasurable experience. There are also many types of glue used in adhesion. These glues can be unpredictable when used with chemical cleaners.
It is best to stay clear of using any type of chemical cleaner to clean piano keys. To be safe use a damp white cloth followed by a dry cloth. Pay special attention to not allow moisture to penetrate into the wood. If necessary, use a gentle soap added to the water solution. Another safe product for cleaning piano keys is Cory Key-Brite which cleans, brightens, and preserves all plastic, ivory, ivorite, and wood instrument keys.
Spray onto a clean cloth and then gently rub onto the key top surface. The inside of your piano and underneath the strings are areas that should be cleaned occasionally. Vacuum the action cavity and internal areas of the piano to get rid of unwanted dust and to keep the piano free of foreign objects. There are inexpensive specialty tools available for the cleaning of the soundboard underneath the strings and a couple that we recommend are pictured below.
The felt hammers of the piano tend to harden over time, as the felt becomes compressed by repeated impact. They also form grooves at the points of contact with the strings. Harder hammers produce a brighter tone quality, which may ultimately become harsh and undesirable. This is achieved by using needles to make the felt more pliable or tense depending on the desired result. Studies show that playing the piano improves mental health. People who play the piano tend to experience less anxiety and depression than their nonmusical counterparts.
Playing for a few minutes a day can improve self-esteem, make you feel more positive, and can lower your blood pressure. Split concentration, also called divided attention, is an integral part of playing the piano, which helps sharpen your concentration skills. Once you become adept at using split concentration at the piano, you will find your multitasking skills in the outside world also greatly improve. Unlike other instruments, the piano is easy to play.
There is no physical pain involved with learning to play the piano. When new to the guitar, one must build up calluses on the fingers, and when learning to play a brass or woodwind instrument, one must learn how to use your facial muscles and lips to produce sound.
Both are often painful and can dissuade otherwise enthusiastic students from continuing to learn. To play the piano, all you have to do is sit, and press down a key.
Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience or following injury. In simpler terms, neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change form and function specifically when stimulated by physical activity.
Playing the piano changes the brain in a positive way! Studies show that music stimulates the brain in a way no other activity does. While playing a piece on the piano, you are adding new neural connections, which primes your brain for other forms of communication. So while you think you are just working on a particularly tough piano piece, you are also improving your memory, attention, speech, language, spatial and math skills, and even the ability to vocally convey emotions.
Grade school students who take piano lessons have better general and spatial cognitive development than students who do not take lessons. Middle and high school students scored much higher on standardized tests than if they were involved in instrumental music. Took music lessons as a child? Good news! Hence, even if the piano is not played, the strings will gradually stretch with the passage of time and the piano will fall out of tune.
Pianos need regular tuning at least once a year to keep them up to pitch and playing the correct notes. In particular, piano strings stretch a great deal during the first year after purchase, and the piano should be tuned twice during this one-year period. In addition, tuning is a way to check the piano's condition, which is important.
The word "tuning" normally refers to all of the technical maintenance tasks required for a piano. These jobs are divided into the following three broad classifications.
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