The Art of Piano Voicing
When I was young I was slightly misguided in thinking that every piano brand had a signature sound. While there is truth in that statement, pianos can sound vastly different from model to model
Emerging Giants in the Piano Industry
There are a few manufacturers moving back towards 138cm or 55” tall pianos (Steingraeber, Bechstein, Bluthner and Heintzman to name a few) and tell of a recent
An Interview with Charles Walter Piano Company
Meet Mr. Charles Walter, CEO of the company which bears his name. I had the privilege of speaking with him
Estonia Piano Company Redefines Tone
This month I had the wonderful pleasure of skyping Dr. Indrek Laul (CEO of Estonia Piano). Although we've only met twice in person, he is a pleasure to converse with and
Mapes Piano String Company - How Piano Strings are Made
Stephen Mapes established the Mapes Piano String Company in 1912 and shortly thereafter in 1918 it was purchased by John Adam Schaff. Now 4 generations later and employing 125 people in a space of 200,000 square feet, Mapes produces piano wire
NAMM 2018 Piano Review
This year in sunny Anaheim, California, the NAMM show once again had a fantastic display of incredible pianos. From inexpensive to opulent, there are pianos for everyone to see and enjoy. Present this year (in alphabetical order of brand): Baldwin, Bluthner, Bösendorfer, Brodmann, Emerson, Fazioli, Geyer, Grotrian, Hailun, Hallet Davis, Hardman, Irmler, Kawai, Kayserburg, Knabe, Mason & Hamlin, Mendelssohn, Niendorf, Pearl River, Perzina, Ravenscroft, Ritmuller, Samick, Sauter, Schimmel, Schulze Pollmann, Schumann, Seiler, Wilh. Steinberg, Steinway, Weber, Yamaha and Young Chang.
Renner Piano Parts Manufacturing
It was a delight and privilege to sit with Clemens von Arnim and ask him about his connection to Renner. I had no idea that it was his grandfather
Weickert Felt for Hammers
But this one man’s company has single-handedly infiltrated most of the major names of pianos in the world. 200,000 pianos per year to be exact! Who is he? Jack Brand.
Researching Pianos - Piano Strings
The decisions made regarding string gauge is part of the blueprint for a piano called the piano scale (not to be confused with the 7 notes on the keyboard also called the piano scale). The blueprint mathematically is calculated as a starting point to determine what gauge of wire will best suit the piano. Before we discuss wire, however, we need to understand the concept of standing waves and how they relate to making music.
Laoureux Dampers
When your finger depresses a key on the piano, the string vibrates allowing us to hear the wonderful tone of the piano. But what happens when we lift that same key? The key returns to its upright position and the tone stops resonating. Why?
Pearl River and Schimmel Alliance
Recently I sat down with June Wang from Pearl River Piano Group and corresponded with Rob Slayman from Schimmel Piano to discuss their strategic alliance as I was curious how it had affected both companies. It was announced at NAMM 2016 that Pearl River had purchased a controlling interest in the Schimmel company.
Why do piano companies purchase other piano companies? We hear of company mergers in the news all the time. What is the impetus - the driving force for one piano company to acquire another piano company? If we paint with large brush strokes, on one side there is massive demand to be fulfilled in China. Nearly 80% of the world's piano purchases happen in China.
Hailun Piano Innovation
Working with a translator, he showed me different concepts in his pianos. What caught my eye was this silver looking gleam under the keys on one of their upright pianos. As seen in the picture
Piano Touch with David Stanwood
Today we have the privilege of speaking with David Stanwood, a piano technician who also happens to be a published author specializing in piano touch metrology. (Metrology being the science of measurement)
NAMM 2017 Review
Visit the NAMM show in Anaheim, California and see what piano companies presented this year at the annual trade show. Breaking the silence of 30 years, Steinway made a presentation with Spirio, their automated digital player system. I sat and watched legendary pianists on a display and simultaneously those same notes were being played on the Steinway grand in front of you. Digital systems were a bit of a theme this year.
Player Pianos in the 21st Century
A Voice from the Past
“Step right up… See the amazing piano that plays by itself!” I can just hear the man at a trade show in the 1920’s. “Just push the pedals and this paper roll will play songs like Swanee and The Entertainer and Bicycle Built for Two.”
This invention in the late 1800’s was quite remarkable. It functions similarly to a harmonica in reverse. Rather than blowing through holes in a harmonica, the player piano sucks air through a perforated tracker bar. The paper roll has a punch-out hole position for every note on the piano. Through the use of bellows and gears, the paper roll would mechanically slide over the tracker bar and when a hole would appear in the paper, air would get sent through a tube and pneumatically play the corresponding note.
Yamaha SX Grand Pianos with ARE
Yamaha works at a molecular level implementing ARE, Acoustic Resonance Enhancement in their new SX line of pianos. Yamaha quietly introduced something this year at the NAMM show that caught my eye. It’s not a new process. In fact, it’s been going on since the 8th century with the Vikings in their ship building. Since the 1930’s, Scandinavian countries have also been experimenting with it.
How Often Should I Tune My Piano?
You wouldn’t think it, but pianos can be in shape or out of shape. Pianos can go out of shape mechanically in the way that they play but can also get out of shape in the strings which determines intonation or pitch.
Michael Spreeman - Ravenscroft Piano Interview
This month I had the great privilege of interviewing Michael Spreeman, owner and founder of Ravenscroft pianos. They are a new addition
What's a Piano Cloud? QRS Music
This month I had the wonderful opportunity of flying to Pennsylvania to shadow Mark Baughmann from QRS who teaches the class on PNOmation installation. PNOmation in a nutshell allows you to have a piano that plays by itself and is controlled wirelessly from any smart device (iPad, tablet, android, iPhone, computer, etc). You can literally push a play button on your phone from your kitchen and your piano will start playing.
Piano Appearance
Pianos look great in showrooms don’t they? Why is it then that even the nicest pianos quite often look tired in private homes? The answer is not to play or touch the piano. Au contraire, pianos are made
Making the Perfect Piano Black
Have you ever heard someone describe an object as being “jet black”? Jet is derived from the French word “jaiet”, a process that
The Sostenuto Pedal
In 1874, William Steinway wrote in his diary (pictured above) that the sostenuto pedal was splendid. But there has never been said any words in the piano industry that are more divisive than “But does it have a middle pedal?” Why are these words divisive? Because the middle pedal on the piano is the least used and yet most focused on in the piano industry. I’ve often told the story about one of the greatest jazz pianists in my city...
Testing Pianos Like a Pro
Going back just over 20 years, I was a new upstart that just got hired by the local piano store. With 2 Classical degrees behind me I felt confident I knew my way around the keyboard. Fortunately my boss at the time
Interview with Piano Designer Del Fandrich
When you short list prominent piano designers in North America, you will always run into Del Fandrich. His career has spanned nearly 5 decades and has been a contributor in companies such as Baldwin, Charles Walter and most recently Young Chang.
Why Upgrade from a Digital Piano?
Just 2 years ago you bought this brand new 88 key weighted digital piano and now you’re being told that it will not suffice. They both have the same amount of keys and it has the same touch as a piano. Why do we need to upgrade?
Bösendorfer Vienna Concert Pianos
Kayserburg Piano - Pearl River's new Flagship
Pearl River, presently the largest piano company in the world producing more than 100,000 pianos annually has impressed the musical community with the vast improvements in their pianos yearly with contributions from
Piano Sizes ~ What Should I Buy?
What is it that is so different? That’s a bit of a loaded question because piano composition is the attention to a 1000 details
Latest Cosmetic Trends in Pianos
To prove artistry and craftsmanship in the late 1800’s, pianos were intricately and ornately carved. As the Victorian era ended and we were ushered into the 20th century, many of the older piano legs were swapped for simplistic ones to stay ‘modern’. The advent
An Interview with Pianos Bolduc
The job of the soundboard is to transform tone of the vibrating piano strings into audible waves which also color the tone.
Visiting Pearl River Factory
On this latest trip to China, I managed to catch a glimpse into the transformation of Pearl River Piano. Already the largest piano company in the world manufacturing more than 130,000 pianos annually, Pearl River Piano has its sights set on even greater advancement.
One hundred thirty thousand pianos annually equates into about 400 pianos being manufactured per day. Imagine though what it must be like to produce 400 pianos daily. With roughly 225 tuning pins...
Visiting Petrof Piano
I started the tour in the milling room where they cut wood into usable lengths and sizes. Adjacent to that is their cabinet making shop. It brings a smile to my face when I
Sauter Piano Made in Germany
Sauter is one of the few companies that are truly 100% made in Germany. What does that mean? Traditionally, Germany has the highest grades of materials in the world. Sauter's materials are locally sourced, their labour is local
Interview with Norbert Abel - Abel Hammer
Abel is world reknown specializing in hammer manufacturing. It was my pleasure to meet Norbert Abel last month and have him shed some light on the piano hammer making
Researching Pianos - The Bridge
A piano bridge is a thin section made of wood that runs perpendicular to the strings. Pianos generally have 2 bridges; the short bridge for the lower bass section and the long bridge for the tenor and treble sections. The sizes vary from maker to maker but they run the width of the piano and average about 1½” wide and are about 1” tall in the treble and 2” tall in the bass.
Musical and Mechanical Basics of the Sustain Pedal
Arthur Rubenstein describes the sustain pedal as “the soul of the piano”. We’re going to delve into a bit more of the mechanical side of the damper pedal in hopes that awareness will clarify what happens when it is being incorporated into piano playing.
Current Market Piano Trends
Have you walked into any piano store lately? It’s a sea of black and shiny? Why is that? Since the development of polyurethane resins (circa 1970), that mirror piano finish has become synonymous with ‘modern piano’
The C. Bechstein Sphinx Grand Piano
One of the teams involved in some of the more detailed aspects of carvings within the church were employed recently by Bechstein in a spectacular million dollar piano reproduction
Baldwin Piano Then And Now
If you live in North America, you'll surely be aware that Baldwin is a household name. In fact, my first job involving pianos was in the local Baldwin dealership. They have been around since 1862 and were at one point the largest piano
Casting Iron Piano Frames
Every piano has one. It is the backbone to structural integrity. It's also what gives a piano most of its weight. What is it? Commonly called the frame
Who Is Grotrian?
It was said of Grotrian “There is no effort to produce them in great numbers, but rather to create in every one, as it passes through the factory, an instrument fit for the inspiration of great artists who have long accorded to its makers the highest place.” Of their experience, “It is said that nowhere in the world are there more veteran employees than in the factory of Grotrian.”
Why Upgrade to a Professional Level Piano?
The teacher has said, "your son/daughter is advancing and you need to consider upgrading your piano to something better". This begs the question, "Why do we need to upgrade? And what's inferior about my existing piano that makes it inadequate?" These are both valid questions.
Mason & Hamlin Features High Tech Components
When speaking earlier this year with Kirk Burgett, president of Mason & Hamlin and WNG, we touched on various aspects of their pianos that have been re-designed with ‘outside the box’ thinking. One such concept is hammer shanks
Making Bösendorfer More Austrian
When queried about this, he said that areas which had been outsourced are now being made in Austria. He referred me to the man who specializes in this at production level, Simon Oss (Premium Piano Market Development Manager for both Yamaha & Bösendorfer)
Steinway Fibonacci Grand Piano
When it came time to celebrate Steinway’s 600,000th piano, the company turned to furniture/interior designer Frank Pollaro who also designed the limited edition “Rhapsody in Blue” for Steinway
Hailun Piano Factory ~ A First Glimpse
It’s simply overwhelming the stature and size of the Hailun Piano Company. They manufacture roughly 38,000 pianos per year. Now if you do the math, that’s just over 3,150 pianos per month in 4.2 MILLION square feet of factory space.
Optimizing Piano Acoustics At Home
...The soundboard actually acts as a transducer changing vibration into audible signal. Ideally, to hear the piano you would want to have full exposure to the soundboard to hear all of the tones and overtones. When people ask what the difference is between a grand and an upright, that’s a major difference...
Researching Pianos - Hammer Felt Matters
The Ins and Outs of Piano Moving
He would then quote what has become my favourite piano moving line, “Remember, fingers grow back, pianos do not”. Slightly horrified at the thought of having my fingers pinched
The Una Corda Pedal - The Soft Pedal
Cristofori, credited with the invention of the earliest pianos in the 1700’s also installed the “una corda” pedal into his pianos. Being Italian, the phrase “una corda” can be translated “one string”. How does “one string” translate into a pedal we also know as the soft pedal?
