Piano News
3/30/18 Torger Baland Registered Piano Technician
2018 has been a hard year on pianos.
in fact, there is a national trend going on right now
affecting piano owners in the northern states
Recent tunings are literally erased off their pianos
The continual sub zero temps cause the furnaces to work overtime
And this drys out the piano’s soundboard and pinblock
The soundboard changes shape and collapses in a matter of days.
Pinblocks on older instruments release the tuning pins causing clunkers left and right
Many owners may even wonder if their piano has received a sub par tuning and blame the last technician as prior tuning seemed to have lasted longer.
THIS IS A WRONG ASSUMPTION. They haven't, this is physics of humidity effects on wood.
The pianos sounded great in September, October, November and early December
Then the cold snap hit and the soundboards collapsed
And recent tunings are lost to the extremely dry conditions
The effect is experienced most in the bass to midrange of the keyboard
Play an A Octave
Play a C octave
Play a G Octave
Play a Bb Octave
Cringing? this is where the extremes of weather shifts are noticed the most.
No piano is designed to hold a tuning well at 0% or 10% humidity. They are designed for 40-50% humidity.
Most structural issues such as loose tuning pins or a soundboard cracking become apparent in the dry condition.
I just had a client with a 7 year old upright piano develop a cracked soundboard. And they take regular care of their instrument. Humidity extremes are real and cause damage.
You need to help your piano
Here is how
There are a couple types of situations
I live in a 1940s Saint Paul house without a humidifier on the furnace
Here is what i do (and I haven’t tuned my own piano in about a year.)
When it is 20 degrees outside i run an external humidifier on low to boost the basic humidity level in the house
When it is 0 or less outside, i run the same humidifier on high to maintain the humidity level in the house.
I also have a Dampp Chaser humidifier system on my Kawai Upright that humidifies in winter and de-humidifies in summer. It is controlled by a humidistat ( like a thermostat but it operates on humidity, it automatically selects humidify or dehumidify) In winter i fill the internal humidifier system with water through an external hose)
At 20 degrees the external humidifier will go through 3-5 gallons of water a day
At 0 and subzero the external humidifier will go through 10-12 gallons of water a day.
Typically i’m able to get the house to 25-30% humidity without condensation on the windows and guess what at 30% most pianos will make it through the dry spells reasonably well.
Below 30% many pianos have tuning pins that lose their grip and send the piano way out of tune.
One winter (prior to also running the external humidifier) my wife unplugged the internal system to clean behind the piano and forgot to plug it back it.
The tuning was lost in two days as the moisture content and shape of the soundboard changed.
I sat down to play and said “Hey, its not supposed to sound like that.” I plugged the system back in and the soundboard moisture content was restored back to where it should be. 90% of the tuning came back with the corrected soundboard shape after 3 days...
One client had a nice grand that has always held its tuning very well
Their whole house humidifier system failed and the piano dropped its tuning like it never has before. The piano was the symptom.
Another fun story a client had a house that had a humidifier on the furnace for two years their piano was stable year round. Then they replaced the furnace and the new furnace did not have a humidifier on it. Now they have 1/2 step swings in pitch. All they need is the correct humidity level.
IF you just have a Dampp chaser humidity control system and are not maintaining it by adding water when it is calling for water you are going to lose your tuning.
This is why i recommend a external humidifier unit to provide a base line of humidity for the house and the Internal Humidity system for the piano to maintain a micro environment.
That way if the internal system is calling for humidity and has run out of water, the external system provides the additional layer of protection you need.
Consistency in humidity levels is the key to keeping your piano in tune.
I hope this helps you understand exactly what is going on with your piano.
Humidity control isn’t a sales pitch, it is physics and a real recommendation to help you enjoy your piano more.
If you ignore the physics and decide to tune without addressing the low humidity levels, the soundboard and intervals will expand and you’ll be due for service again in the summer.
2018 has been a hard year on pianos.
in fact, there is a national trend going on right now
affecting piano owners in the northern states
Recent tunings are literally erased off their pianos
The continual sub zero temps cause the furnaces to work overtime
And this drys out the piano’s soundboard and pinblock
The soundboard changes shape and collapses in a matter of days.
Pinblocks on older instruments release the tuning pins causing clunkers left and right
Many owners may even wonder if their piano has received a sub par tuning and blame the last technician as prior tuning seemed to have lasted longer.
THIS IS A WRONG ASSUMPTION. They haven't, this is physics of humidity effects on wood.
The pianos sounded great in September, October, November and early December
Then the cold snap hit and the soundboards collapsed
And recent tunings are lost to the extremely dry conditions
The effect is experienced most in the bass to midrange of the keyboard
Play an A Octave
Play a C octave
Play a G Octave
Play a Bb Octave
Cringing? this is where the extremes of weather shifts are noticed the most.
No piano is designed to hold a tuning well at 0% or 10% humidity. They are designed for 40-50% humidity.
Most structural issues such as loose tuning pins or a soundboard cracking become apparent in the dry condition.
I just had a client with a 7 year old upright piano develop a cracked soundboard. And they take regular care of their instrument. Humidity extremes are real and cause damage.
You need to help your piano
Here is how
There are a couple types of situations
- Those who have a humidifier on their furnace fair much better during these sub zero temps
- Those that do not have the humidity system on their furnace but try to add humidity to the air through a small portable humidifier (they generally do better but are seldom able to get the humidity levels high enough to actually help the piano)
- Those who use an larger external humidifier and have a humidity control system on their piano.
- Do nothing and just give up
I live in a 1940s Saint Paul house without a humidifier on the furnace
Here is what i do (and I haven’t tuned my own piano in about a year.)
When it is 20 degrees outside i run an external humidifier on low to boost the basic humidity level in the house
When it is 0 or less outside, i run the same humidifier on high to maintain the humidity level in the house.
I also have a Dampp Chaser humidifier system on my Kawai Upright that humidifies in winter and de-humidifies in summer. It is controlled by a humidistat ( like a thermostat but it operates on humidity, it automatically selects humidify or dehumidify) In winter i fill the internal humidifier system with water through an external hose)
At 20 degrees the external humidifier will go through 3-5 gallons of water a day
At 0 and subzero the external humidifier will go through 10-12 gallons of water a day.
Typically i’m able to get the house to 25-30% humidity without condensation on the windows and guess what at 30% most pianos will make it through the dry spells reasonably well.
Below 30% many pianos have tuning pins that lose their grip and send the piano way out of tune.
One winter (prior to also running the external humidifier) my wife unplugged the internal system to clean behind the piano and forgot to plug it back it.
The tuning was lost in two days as the moisture content and shape of the soundboard changed.
I sat down to play and said “Hey, its not supposed to sound like that.” I plugged the system back in and the soundboard moisture content was restored back to where it should be. 90% of the tuning came back with the corrected soundboard shape after 3 days...
One client had a nice grand that has always held its tuning very well
Their whole house humidifier system failed and the piano dropped its tuning like it never has before. The piano was the symptom.
Another fun story a client had a house that had a humidifier on the furnace for two years their piano was stable year round. Then they replaced the furnace and the new furnace did not have a humidifier on it. Now they have 1/2 step swings in pitch. All they need is the correct humidity level.
IF you just have a Dampp chaser humidity control system and are not maintaining it by adding water when it is calling for water you are going to lose your tuning.
This is why i recommend a external humidifier unit to provide a base line of humidity for the house and the Internal Humidity system for the piano to maintain a micro environment.
That way if the internal system is calling for humidity and has run out of water, the external system provides the additional layer of protection you need.
Consistency in humidity levels is the key to keeping your piano in tune.
I hope this helps you understand exactly what is going on with your piano.
Humidity control isn’t a sales pitch, it is physics and a real recommendation to help you enjoy your piano more.
If you ignore the physics and decide to tune without addressing the low humidity levels, the soundboard and intervals will expand and you’ll be due for service again in the summer.
About Us
Copyright 2018
this information is provided as a response to the recent weather patterns and cold snap that has thrown pianos out of tune.
Torger Baland is a full time Registered Piano Technician
If you have found this information helpful please share it,
this information is provided as a response to the recent weather patterns and cold snap that has thrown pianos out of tune.
Torger Baland is a full time Registered Piano Technician
If you have found this information helpful please share it,