Technical Tuesdays - Hammer Assembly, Part 2

Today's all important question:  When is it not cool to be "Feeling Groovy" ?

Answer:  When you're a piano hammer.

Remember the pictures of the piano hammers in Part 1?  Nicely smooth, densely packed wool fibers in a pleasing oval shape; the piano hammer head is a vital contributor to the voice of each and every piano no matter if the piano is old or new.

When a piano is played,  as each key is depressed the corresponding hammer strikes the string.  The physical impact of this action begins to compact the fibers of the hammer head from Day 1, wear away the material and eventually grooves begin to form.  The pictures below show how piano hammers can change with wear:

Deeply grooved hammers, viewed from a bird's eye perspective.

Deeply grooved hammers, viewed head on. 

Because these changes happen ever so slowly over a long period of time, often folks don't even realize their piano's tone has changed.

The next time your piano is tuned, ask your technician to check the condition of your piano's hammers.  Your piano may not be giving you all the rich, beautiful tone it is capable of.

"The Disclaimer" - Technical Tuesdays are intended to give folks who are curious about pianos a bit more understanding of all those technical terms thrown about by piano technicians.  This is not intended for super in depth technical analysis, nor micro measurements; just general knowledge for those who are interested in how a piano works.

Technical Tuesday - Hammer Assembly, Part 1

This week it's all about the piano hammer assembly and it's parts 'n pieces. Let's work our way down from the hammer head to the flange:

There are 88 of these little babies on most pianos, whether you have a grand or vertical.  For our discussion here, all pictures are from a grand piano hammer assembly.  Let's take a closer look at each part and what it is:

Hammer Head:  The hammer head consists of a wooden core (can be made of different types of wood), and the dense material known as the felt.  Hammer heads are not all created equal, as there different qualities and densities of felt.  The hammer head is generally ovoid in shape, and attached to the wooden core either by adhesive and/or a very small staple.  As you can see from the pictures, some hammers have a second layer of 'underfelting' which departs an additional tonal quality to the hammer head. 

The felt material that makes up the hammer's head is vitally important, as it is a contributing factor to the voice of the piano (more on this in Part 2 next week).

Hammer Shank:  A flexible, traditionally round shaped shaft that brings the head of the hammer to the proper placing when striking the string.  Shanks can also be made of differing types of wood.  Some are even now available in a carbon fiber material (zoom, zoom!).  Shanks vary in dimension and size, depending on the manufacturer's design of the piano action as a whole.

Knuckle:  (Knuckle applies to grand pianos; the comparable component on a vertical piano is the Butt)  A small round component, the knuckle is located at the lower end of the hammer shank and is traditionally covered in buckskin.  The knuckle rests on top of the jack, which controls the velocity of the movement of the hammer from its resting point to the point where it strikes the string.  The velocity of this movement is determined by the speed and pressure applied to the piano keys by the player.

Hammer Flange:  This is an important piece of this puzzle, as it holds the entire hammer assembly in place on the action rail for correct alignment, assuring the hammer will strike the string(s) in precisely the correct place for optimum touch and tone.

So, there you have it - Piano Hammer Assembly 101.  Now that we've identified the components, we'll get a little more in depth next week in Part 2.

"The Disclaimer"  Technical Tuesdays are intended to give folks who are curious about pianos a bit more understanding of all those technical terms  thrown about by technicians.  This is not intended for super in depth micro measurements, just general knowledge for those who are interested in how a piano works. 

Technical Tuesday - Piano Lid Props

The grand piano's lid is supported by...you guessed it...the Lid Prop (also called the Lid Stick - both terms are used interchangeably as will be obvious between the text and pictures below).

The lid prop performs the important function of supporting the grand piano lid to allow the escape of all that beautiful music you are playing. And, as physics would have it, the longer the piano, the heavier the lid. The heavier the lid, the more important it is to make sure the right prop is in the right cup if you have more than one option on your grand piano.

Some grand pianos have 2 lid props, some even have 3! However many lid props your grand piano has, matching the correct prop with the correct cup on the underside of the lid can save you a real headache later.

The most important of the lid props is the LONG ONE! Let me say that just one more time, the LONG ONE! Neglecting to place the long lid prop in the correct cup creates instability in supporting the grand piano lid when it is in the full raised position, and even the smallest movement can result in the prop popping out of the cup & then you know what happens! No kidding, have you ever heard the lid of a 9 ft. concert grand slam shut? Can you imagine the force of it and goodness gracious, what if you happened to be standing there with your hand on the rim right about that same time?!? (shudder) Let's not even begin to think of the damage the lid slamming shut could potentially do to the piano.

Let's take a little tour, shall we?

Two props are very commonly seen on today's grand pianos. The shorter one typically nestles right into the body of the longer one when it is not being utilized.

The long lid prop is correctly placed in its corresponding cup (away from the edge of the lid). You can see how it supports the lid nicely.

Incorrectly placed, the long lid prop cannot provide stable support for the grand piano lid (even baby grand lids are heavy) and can easily pop out.

Here the short prop is in its correct cup (the one closest to the lid edge) to properly support the grand piano lid in its lower position closer to the body of the piano.

Here you can see this grand piano has 3 props. The medium sized prop nestles down into the body of the long prop when not in use, while the short brass prop resides alongside the long prop.

Notice how the middle and short prop cups are offset in their placement on the underside of the lid? This ensures the when you place any of the 3 props, they are in the correct cup to support the lid. Pretty nifty, don't you agree?

However, lid props aren't just for grand pianos! Vertical pianos have gotten in on the act in recent years:

Having a small lid prop on your vertical piano allows for even more enjoyment of the music as it escapes the confines of the cabinet while the piano is being played.

So, prop up those lids, Kids, and let the music sing!

Just How Good Will A Player System Make My Piano Sound?

We're asked this on a regular basis. First, you have to ask yourself a couple of questions:

"Oh! Is that a piano sitting over there in the corner?"

"How long has it been since the Piano Tuner was here?"

If you don't know the answer to either of these basic questions, we need to have a talk. In other words, if your piano is not in optimum shape as a musical instrument, the piano player system will not make it sound better or play like a new piano.

Does this mean that player system you've been considering isn't an option? Goodness, No! Read On!

In a nutshell, for the piano player system to effectively translate the musical data into beautiful melodies, your piano's action must be regulated, the hammers in good shape and last but not least, the piano needs to be in tune.

What is piano action regulation and why is it so important? Pianos are mechanical beasts and mechanical components change with wear and use. This is normal and to be expected. Action regulation brings your piano's action back to, or as close as possible, to factory specifications. Each piano's specifications are a bit different based on the geometric design of the piano's action, and how each component of the action works in relation to the action as a whole.

A piano with an action that is poorly regulated or not regulated at all will result in poor touch and tone, compromising the ability of the instrument to express musical notes expressively and dynamically, whether the piano is played by a piano player system or by human touch.

Before custom installing a player system on your piano, your certified technician will evaluate your piano's overall mechanical condition and make recommendations if any maintenance is needed.

For a more in depth understanding of piano action regulation, watch for posts on our new "Technical Tuesdays".

What Do A Piano & An iPad2 Have In Common?

The ability to seamlessly integrate beautiful music and entertain you! We recently installed Piano Disc's newest piano player system (Wow! Say that 10 times really fast!) - the iQ Air - on one of the Hämburg & Bach grands here in the Gallery.

Now, being an Apple newbie, I'm thinking to myself, "Oh, dear. One more thing for me to learn how to operate." The Piano Disc CD player systems were easy, pop in a CD & away you go. How hard is this going to be?

As it turns out, the answer is a four letter word - EASY. The iPad2 controls the entire system via a wifi connection to the Piano Disc iQ player system. If you are familiar with how to use iTunes (and even if you're not), it is super easy with a very short learning curve! No longer do you have to see any unsightly black box hanging on the front of your piano. You can be anywhere in your house & if you have the iPad2 with you, it's easy to change the music just by a couple of taps on the screen.

Music Videos? Oh, yes. We have 'em - even Bugs Bunny! Want to learn to play the piano? Educational software is available as well.

For you techies - you can integrate the player system to communicate with wifi throughout your home sound system. Turn on the piano & go jump in the pool - what a way to relax.

Apps? Oh, my goodness yes! My very favorite is "ForScore" which is available through iTunes for free. Download it with a few clicks of your computer mouse & you have an instant library of classical sheet music for piano on your iPad2. Want some of your own sheet music? Simply scan to your computer, save as a PDF document & download into ForScore. If you have your iPad2 with you in your travels, your sheet music is always with you in a nice tidy, organized way. Recording? You bet. Garage Band works beautifully.

We preload the iPad2 with music albums, videos and the ForScore app for our clients, and that's just for starters. If you have wifi at home for your computers, you can hook into Piano Disc's Streaming Radio, and enjoy beautiful music 24/7.

Now, really, why was I so worried about learning how to use the new system? The old CD player systems were easy, but all they did was play the piano. The iQ Air is a total entertainment system with the added bonus of an Apple iPad2 I can use for all sorts of things!

Would you like to come over and play? Stop by & see how easy it is...you might become an iPad lover, too! Especially since it will now play the piano!