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Does it hurt my piano when
kids pound on it?
Because it's so annoying, the racket of keys struck at
random may rattle your nerves, but it won't damage the piano. Most pianos are built
to withstand very heavy use. The next time you see a serious pianist perform a flamboyant
classical piece, notice how forcefully he or she attacks the keyboard. Or listen to
how hard your tuner pounds each key when tuning your piano. In comparison, a child's
small hands couldn't possibly play that hard. The real danger of children
playing with, as opposed to playing, a piano is that they often can't resist dropping
small toys inside, slipping coins into the slots between the keys, or running toys across
the finish.
But remember that music exists to give pleasure.
Encourage your child to have fun with the piano, not to be afraid of it.
Don't worry if young children play haphazardly and loudly. If you teach respect for
the instrument and they discover how enjoyable playing can be, they'll treat it
properly. And if your children learn that playing the piano is fun, you won't have
to plead with them to practice when they're older. |
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Pianos are among the most durable of personal possessions. Admired for their fine
cabinetry and treasured for their beautiful sound, pianos are often thought of as
permanent family fixtures, passed down to children and grandchildren. Their large size and
weight give them the illusion of being able to last forever.
While pianos do last a long time, remember they're
really just large machines made of wood, felt, and metal. Over the years, seasonal changes
take their toll, stressing the wooden parts and straining glue joints. Felt hammers are
pounded flat after thousands of collisions with the piano's strings, and metal parts
corrode and weaken. Years of friction wear out the one thousand felt bushings in the
action. How long a piano will last varies greatly, depending upon maintenance and repair,
usage, climate, and quality of manufacture. |
Here's a
sketch of the life cycle of a typical home piano: |
First Year
The pitch of a new piano drops
considerably, as the new strings stretch and the structure settles. If the piano receives
the manufacturer's recommended three to four tunings during this time, it will stay at the
correct pitch, allowing strings and structure to reach a stable equilibrium. Without these
important first tunings, any later tuning will involve a large pitch raise, leaving the
piano unstable. |
Two to Ten Years
The pitch stabilizes, assuming
regular tunings (and additional climate control devices if needed). The mechanical parts
of the piano's action wear and settle too. This causes two changes: first, the touch of
the piano becomes less responsive as the parts go out of adjustment. Secondly, the tone
changes as the hammers flatten and grooves develop from repeated collisions with the
strings. Periodic regulation and voicing, important parts of a complete maintenance
program, correct these changes. |
Ten to Thirty Years
Wear of action parts continues, the
extent depending upon how hard and how often the piano is played. Normal regulation and
voicing will maintain good tone and touch if usage is moderate. If the piano suffers
wide temperature and humidity swings, it will begin to show permanent deterioration during
this time: loose tuning pins, rusty strings, soundboard cracks, and aging of the finish. |
Thirty to Fifty Years
After years of playing, the hammers
and other action parts will be quite worn. Years of seasonal changes cause bass strings to
sound dull and treble tone to lose clarity. Eventually, adjustment alone will not correct
these problems, and some parts will need replacing to restore the original tone and touch. |
Over Fifty Years
A few geographic areas with mild climates have older
pianos still in good condition. Well-built, well-designed pianos can still be playable at
this advanced age if they've had good care and moderate use. |
| However, at some point in a
piano's life, an important decision must be made: |
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Should the piano be replaced? Is its life
over?
Should it be reconditioned or rebuilt (made functionally new again)?
Should it continue to limp along with an ever worsening tone and touch? |
The needs of the pianist are the real variable in judging a piano's useful life.
Good performance requires a piano in good condition.
Older, high-quality instruments can often be rebuilt
to like-new condition for less than the cost of a new piano. Even economy grade
instruments can often be dramatically improved by judicious reconditioning. Your piano
technician can help you make this decision.
Eventually, it becomes less and less practical to
continue maintaining a very old piano. The end of a piano's life comes when the repair
cost exceeds the value of the repaired instrument. Medium-quality old uprights reach this
point sooner than do high-quality large grands. Rare and historically important
instruments may never reach this point unless totally
damaged in a fire or other disaster.
Happily, almost any piano that has received
reasonable care will have served the art of music for decades by the time its days are over. |
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