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.… Read More

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. … Read More

Researching Pianos – Hammer Felt Matters

I’ve heard this statement many times before: “I’m just doing my research on what piano to buy”. But what does this actually mean? What do people research when they say that they’re examining a piano? Isn’t a piano just a piano? They’re shiny, they have 88 keys with 3 pedals, right? While that is a… Read More

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…… Read More

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.… Read More

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…… Read More

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.… Read More

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.” … Read More

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? … Read More

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. … Read More