Humidity Control for your Piano | Historical Keyboards

Many people are not aware that humidity can have a profound effect on the tuning and performance of your piano. Humidity is a measure of how much water vapor is in the air, relative to the maximum amount of water vapor it can hold (that’s why it’s called relative humidity!).  Your piano is subject to wide swings in humidity. This is particularly true in the Hudson Valley, where the majority of our clients live. In the summer, humidity levels can go as high as 100%, while in the winter, your heating system can drop the relative humidity in your home into the single digits.

What does this mean for your piano? When the humidity is high, the soundboard and bridges absorb moisture and swell, increasing the tension of the strings and forcing the piano sharp. When the humidity is low, the opposite happens - the soundboard and bridges release moisture and shrink, reducing the downward pressure of the strings and forcing the piano flat. This is why almost all piano manufacturers - and your piano technician - recommend that your piano is tuned twice a year. In addition to forcing your piano out of tune, increased humidity affects the action parts, swelling the wood and increasing friction, which can make your action respond sluggishly (a major cause of “sticking” keys).

How can you mitigate the effects of humidity on your piano? There are several options. The absolute best solution is to have your whole house humidity controlled. This involves either attaching a humidifier to your HVAC system or installing a separate humidifier/dehumidifier system in your home. While this is the best solution, it can be very expensive to install and maintain, and is usually cost prohibitive. 

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Rebuilding vs. Restoration

Every week, I speak with at least a couple of people who are interested in not giving up on their older piano, but rather bringing it back to a playable condition. There are two ways to do this: Rebuilding and Restoration. Both attempt to restore the piano to its former glory, but the philosophy behind them differs.

Rebuilding can involve anything from an action overhaul to replacement of soundboard, strings, and pin block. Where possible, new parts are used. I say where possible because while the industry became standardized around the 1920s, pianos prior to that often have parts for which it is impossible to find replacements.

For example, we are doing a rebuild right now for a client in Albany, a piano from 1909. The hammer butts and hammer assemblies are able to be replaced, but the whippens (the mechanism which transfers the energy from the key to the hammer assembly) are non-standard and must be reconditioned by cleaning and by replacing leather and felt where possible. 

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Piano Regulation And Voicing

Regulation is the adjustment of the mechanical aspects of the pianos to compensate for the effects of wear, the compacting and settling of cloth, felt, and buckskin, as well as dimensional changes in wood and wool parts due to changes in humidity. 

Do all pianos need to be regulated?

All upright and grand pianos need periodic regulation to perform their best. The frequency of regulation is dependent upon the amount of use, exposure to climatic changes, and the instrument's quality, age, and condition. New pianos may require regulation in their first year because settling and compacting of parts sometimes necessitates adjustment.

What are the signs that my piano needs regulation?

There are several possible signs that your piano is a candidate for regulation. These include: 

Lack of sensitivity

Decreased dynamic range

Keys out of level

Inability to play softly with control

Uneven touch

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Why Tune My Piano?

It may surprise you to learn this, but most of the time you can’t tell if your piano is in tune or not! While most people can hear the gross inharmony of a badly out unison, the piano usually goes out of tune in a more subtle way. 

Pianos fluctuate in pitch with changes in humidity (and extreme changes in temperature). This is why all piano manufacturers recommend that your piano be tuned AT LEAST twice a year. It is normal for your piano to go out of tune with these seasonal changes. Here is a brief description of what happens:

In winter, the air is drier, and this is compounded by indoor heat, which further dries out the air. This causes the wood in the piano - and there is a LOT of wood - to release its moisture and shrink. This causes the piano to go flat, sometimes to a surprising degree. The reverse happens in the warmer months: the soundboard, ribs, and wooden action parts all swell with the increased humidity, which (among other things) increases the pressure of the bridge on the strings, forcing the piano sharp.

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Service your action today!

One of the most often performed and most necessary things one can do to a piano is to have the action serviced. The benefits, compared to the cost, result in great value and a noticeable improvement in the performance of your piano.

Action Servicing involves three procedures: Cleaning the action, tightening all screws, and lubricating action centers. The procedure takes about an hour. 

Cleaning is the first step. The action is removed from the piano, dust and debris are blown out with compressed air (outside of course), and the action is wiped down with cleaning solution and a microfiber cloth.

Next, we tighten all the screws. In an upright piano action, that’s well over 200 screws! We tighten hammer butt screws, whippen screws, action frame screws, and damper screws. In a grand action there are fewer screws: Action frame screws, Hammer flange screws, and whippen screws.

Finally, we lubricate the moving parts. Most pivot points in piano actions are comprised of pins that ride inside cloth bushings. The lubricant that we use clears out dust and debris, lubricates the pivot point, and protects it from future damage. In an upright piano, we lubricate hammer butt flanges, damper flanges, whippen flanges and jack flanges, as well as balance rail pins. In a grand piano we lubricate hammer flanges, whippen flanges, jack flanges, and balance rail pins.

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Why It’s Important to Tune Your Piano

There are around 230 strings on the average piano. Each string on the piano has a unique pitch and frequency that must be tuned to the other strings. The sound quality of your piano is determined by these strings, so they must be maintained properly. Due to stress, these strings can stretch over time, causing the piano to become out of tune. Seasonal Changes in humidity also cause the piano to become out of tune.

When pianos are tuned regularly, they are easier to tune, stay in good condition, and maintain their value. Piano tuning regularly also avoids damage caused by overstretched strings. It will be more expensive and time-consuming to get a piano back into tune if it hasn't been tuned in a long time.

If a piano hasn't been tuned in a long time, a piano tuner may attempt to correct the problem by raising the piano's pitch. This involves pulling all of the strings, resulting in a sharp pitch. When the strings naturally stretch over time, causing the pitch to go flat, this overcompensation should keep the piano in tune.

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Free Pianos Aren’t Free - Al Tervenski | Piano Restoration

Many of us have been in this situation before. A friend, family member, or acquaintance has a free piano. Free piano! All you have to do is move it, they say. Or maybe you’ve recently moved into a new home that “includes” a piano. If these situations seem too good to be true, it’s because they often are. 

Pianos are like anything else in the marketplace. Some are worth thousands upon thousands of dollars, and some are absolutely worthless. If you moved into a house with a piano sitting sadly in the living room, the previous owners figured it wasn’t worth the $400 to move it. Why should you be stuck with it? Free pianos are often not worth taking. After moving it for $300-$400, and then pitch-raising and tuning it ($300), you’re in for $700 already! Now factor in regulation and repairs, and you’re well over $1000 invested into a piano that won’t last and won’t sound good. A piano your son or daughter won’t want to play, and

one that will just sit and collect dust.

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