by musicsorb | Jul 29, 2015 | Piano Knowledge, Piano talks
Bring a piano into a home and it becomes the centerpiece of a room, one of the few things that can compete for attention with the television. Even a small upright will be the size of a cabinet and take up more space, complete with seat, than the widest of wide...
by musicsorb | Jul 4, 2014 | Piano Knowledge, Piano talks
The BBC recently ran an excellent series about eighteenth century British music. Exploring the rise of opera, the popularity of Handel and the growth of music halls and concertos, “Rule Britannia: Music, Mischief and Morals in the Eighteenth Century” tells the story...
by musicsorb | Jun 26, 2014 | How pianos work, Humidity Control for Musical Instruments, Piano Knowledge, Piano talks
My piano was designed to sound like beautiful music, right? And I have learned from my technician that all the parts play a part, so to speak. So I have figured out a few things that you might want to know to protect your investment the better and the cheapest way. So...
by Taylor Mackinnon | Feb 18, 2014 | How pianos work
By Taylor Mackinnon Piano Strings Many people who play piano don’t really don’t know a lot about the structure and mechanics of the instrument. Mostly what they know is that if one pushes a key down a sound will come out. So, when I go out to service...
by Taylor Mackinnon | Feb 18, 2014 | How pianos work
By Taylor Mackinnon Piano String History One hundred and fifty years ago, in the designing of the scale of pianos, manufacturers used steel wrap instead of copper. It was one way to get a brighter sound. Moving toward the 20th century scale designers created the...
by Taylor Mackinnon | Feb 18, 2014 | How pianos work
By Taylor Mackinnon Piano Action The other important part of the piano is the action, which includes the keys, the intermediate power transfer portion of the action called the wippens, the hammers (hammer flange, hammer shank and hammer head) and the damper system...