WHAT MAKES A PIANO SOUND GREAT?

It’s a combination three factors:

• Quality of the Piano
• Tuning and Regulation of the Piano
• Ability of the Piano Player

Two of the three factors that make a piano sound great are in your control – the quality of the piano you own or select, and your relative ability to play the piano. A different pair of   factors is in the control of your piano technician -  the preparation of the piano through tuning and regulation, and the creation of the  ability for your piano to play by  itself with the retrofit of a modern player piano mechanism.

So, whether you supply or buy the talent, it’s a joint effort to get the maximum enjoyment from your piano!

Quality of the Piano

There’s certainly no shortage of opinions about who makes the best pianos.  What is important is that there are lots of great pianos being manufactured today.  Advancements in piano design and manufacturing processes are creating wonderful instruments from all over the world.

In terms of sound quality, the bigger the piano – the better.  In general, the larger the sounding board and accompanying longer string length, especially in the bass and tenor areas, makes for a better sounding piano. Another huge effect on sound quality is the material used for the sound board. Solid spruce with a close grain pattern is the best.

The type of piano matters. There are 2 types of pianos – verticals and grands. The largest modern vertical pianos today have a similar soundboard area and bass string length equal to that of a  medium sized 5’ grand piano.  This is where the similarities end. The piano’s mechanism, which are the mechanical linkages that transfer force from the visible piano key to the felt hammers hitting the strings, are entirely different.  For the advanced pianist, the grand piano is the best choice because of its more responsive mechanism.

Pianos will last for a very long time. Under normal home use a piano will go through several generations, as long as it is properly maintained. It is no secret that the better the quality of piano, the better it will perform, and the longer it will last.

Tuning and Regulation of the Piano

Preparation of the piano involves periodic tuning of the 225+ strings and less frequent adjustments, or regulation, of the mechanical parts, also known as the action.

Tuning. When your piano is new, it will need to be tuned more frequently because each new steel string  is still stretching from an average tension of 150 pounds per string. That’s about 4000 pounds (2 tons) of overall tension! The good new is if you will tune your piano 2 to 4 times a year for the first few years, the strings will develop a “memory” for the correct pitch and will stay in tune for much longer periods. Thereafter, tuning a minimum of once a year should keep your piano in good shape.

The process of tuning involves establishing  the 88  different pitches for each of the notes on the piano. All of the tenor and treble notes have 3 strings each, and the bass notes generally have one or two strings each.  The strings are inserted and coiled around a 2.5” x 0.25” steel tuning pin, half of which is imbedded in a wooden block made of multi-laminate hard rock maple.  The tips of the tuning pins are square and are turned with a piano technician’s tuning lever that fits on to each tuning pin. This is how pitch is adjusted for each string.

There are 2 schools of thought on how to tune, or establish the proper pitch for each of the 88 keys.

• One method involves the use of a computer that has software to calculate  a frequency for each of the 88 keys on that particular piano. The actual pitch of the key is then compared to the calculated pitch, and visual light cues from the device advise to raise or lower the actual pitch of the note being tuned.
• The other method is aural tuning, relying entirely on the ear. Aural tuning has been the standard method of tuning a piano since the mid 1800’s. With aural tuning, the first pitch tuned on the piano is matched to a tuning fork, then every interval is derived from its relationship to the starting pitch.

The modern piano is tuned in equal temperament – a harmonic convention for pianos  dating back to the 1800’s. Prior to equal temperament, music was written for a particular key, and the harpsichords and early pianos of the day were tuned specifically for the music in that particular key.  The instrument would then have to be retuned to play music in a different key. Music written in one key and played on an instrument tuned in a different key would sound horrible. Compare the keys of C major and G major for example. The B’s in each key would be tuned differently – higher in C major because it is the 7th and leading tone. Very few of the common notes would have the same tuning.

The primary advantage to equal temperament is that music in any key can be played without having to retune the piano to a different key. The disadvantage is that all of the intervals are slightly compromised. For example, the fifths are narrowed to 0.5 beats per second, the fourths are widened to 1 beat per second, and the thirds and sixths have smooth chromatic beat rates in the 8 to 10 beats per second range.

Another contributing issue to tuning the modern piano is inharmonicity. Like the compromises of equal temperament, inharmonicity is inherently present in the piano and is created by physical issues, such as wire stiffness, friction across bearing points, and the movement of sound waves through the piano’s bridges and soundboard.

This technician uses the aural tuning method and incorporates  the following steps:

• Transfer the A440 tuning fork pitch to the A above middle C.
• Go down 12  notes (one octave)and tune the lower A an octave lower  to the higher A just tuned.
• Tune the temperament octave, which is a  series of intervals (4ths and 5ths) that will end up dividing the 12 notes of the chromatic scale  into 12 equally spaced intervals.
• Transfer these 12 pitches to the remaining 66 keys by tuning octaves going up the keyboard and then by tuning octaves going down the keyboard.

Regardless of the tuning method, electronic or aural, care must be taken to make sure the tuning pins are actually turned and not temporarily twisted, only to later “relax” and leave the piano out of tune.

Regulation.

With either the vertical or grand piano action, there are more than a dozen adjustments for each of the 88 keys.   The process of making these adjustments is called regulation.  During the manufacturing process, the action is assembled and the mechanism is regulated to factory specifications.

When a new piano arrives at the piano dealer for sale, the piano is tuned again and the regulation checked to make sure it is within the correct tolerances for maximum playability. The hardest mechanical feat for a piano mechanism is to be simultaneously played very fast at very soft dynamic levels.

After the piano has been tuned and mechanically regulated, the piano tone is regulated through a process called voicing. The hammers that strike the strings are made of densely compressed felt. If the tone is too harsh, the felt can be “relaxed” by sticking sharp needles into the shoulders and the striking point of the hammers. If the tone is too soft, the hammers can be “hardened” with the judicious use of a  synthetic material dissolved in acetone or lacquer thinner.  The overall objective in voicing is to identify pleasing tone qualities and then matching the neighboring keys to the same standard.