Piano Playing Tips

Atmospheric conditions

Humidity plays a big role in how much maintenance your piano requires. Keys sticking or losing their ‘bounce’ is often a cause of high humidity, as is the rusting of the strings and tuning pins inside the piano. Low humidity can effect the sound of the string by loosening the string or making the soundboard inside the piano prone to cracks. The ideal humidity for a piano is a 20% leverage between 35 – 55%. To help ensure that your piano isn’t subject to high or low humidity, it is worth considering where it is placed, ie not near a radiator or kitchen.

Cleaning

Many years ago, ivory was the preferred choice in keys, along with ebony. Nowadays, many manufacturers, including the most expensive ones such as Yamaha, Steinway and Fazioli, often use a special type of plastic for the keys. Therefore, the cleaning of the keys is perfectly suited to a damp cloth. Never use chemicals or any chemical that contains alcohol as many will dry out oils found in the keys. If you wish, you can purchase special cleaning agents from registered piano dealers, however, it shouldn’t be necessary. The general rule of thumb when cleaning the keys is to clean the areas you can see that are either black or white. Please stay away from cleaning the sides of the keys as this can cause moisture to remain in the piano keys which is detrimental.

When cleaning the outside of the piano, most pianos are made from wood. Dusters and some polishes are OK to use, however it is recommended that you should consult with the piano dealer first to ensure that the type of wood your piano is made from won’t be effected by polish. If in doubt, don’t use it.

Finally, the soundboard or the inside of the piano. This is often the most tricky area of the piano to clean as it often means that you are required to remove some of the pianos casing. Again if in doubt, you can obtain advice from a piano dealer. However, the best way to clean the soundboard is with a vacuum cleaner as this is often the are where small items fall into the piano, effecting the sound and tone it creates when played. Remember to try and not touch the strings as you could de-tune them. Any problems in addition to using the vacuum cleaner in the soundboard area, then I would recommend consulting your piano dealer, tuner or a piano technician.