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Which Type Of Piano Is For You?

Upright Pianos

• The Spinet piano was first produced in 1935. Its low cost and reduced height, between 35" and 39" (89-100cm), made it a popular choice after World War II.
• Console pianos are 40" to 43" (102-110 cm) tall. This means longer strings and a larger soundboard that improves the tone. Generally, the larger the piano, the better the tone.
  
• Studio pianos from 45" to 48"(114-122 cm ) tall are often found in schools, studios and, increasingly, living rooms. The string lengths and soundboard size are comparable to those of small grands.
• Professional upright pianos are those ranging in height from 49" to 52" (124-132 cm) and offer the most power and tone in a vertical piano.

Grand Pianos

Grand pianos designed for home use have enjoyed an increase in popularity in recent years. They start at under five feet (152 cm). If space is a major consideration, use a paper pattern on the floor to measure - you may be pleasantly surprised to find you have room for a larger piano! The curved shape of the grand piano helps with the flow of a room and often means that the instrument is easy to accommodate in the room layout. Five and a half foot grands (1.68 cm) have a richer tone. Six foot grands (183 cm) are a popular choice for piano teachers and serious amateurs. The largest grands in the seven to nine foot category (213 - 274 cm) are used primarily for public performance, and are found in concert halls, churches and auditoriums.



The Piano Inside And Out
A piano is a marvel of engineering and depends on top-quality materials, impeccable craftsmanship and unflagging care to produce good music. The piano has profited greatly in tone and performance as a result of technological improvements, and modern pianos are far superior in many ways to their predecessors.

Piano strings are made of high grade steel drawn to exact sizes. The bass strings are wound with copper or copper-clad wire to add mass for lower tones. The plate is made of cast iron and bolted to the frame. It anchors most of the 20 tons of pull exerted by the taut strings. At the top of the plate, the strings are wound through and around tuning pins. These are set into the pin block, constructed of layers of carefully seasoned hard wood which grips the pins in place for better tuning stability.

The soundboard amplifies the vibrations of the strings. It is made of fine, straight grain spruce (grow in cold or mountainous regions) in top-quality instruments. The hard maple treble and bass bridges transfer the vibrations of the strings to the soundboard. These assembled components are called the strung back.

The playing mechanism of the piano is called the action:

As many as 9,000 parts play a role in sending the hammers against the strings when the keys are struck. Grand pianos have horizontal actions, and upright pianos have vertical actions. Grand pianos have a so-called "double repetition" action, made possible by the intricate design of the wippen:



Piano hammers are made from sheets of felt molded around a wooden hammer under tremendous pressure. A 12-pound hammer refers to the weight of a sheet of felt used to make the hammer, not the weight of the hammer itself. The shape of the hammer and the density of the felt have a crucial impact on the quality of the tone. Older hammers may need re-shaping, and the tone of both older and new pianos can nearly always be improved by "voicing" in the hands of a skilled technician.

Today, piano keys are almost never made from ivory. Instead, piano manufacturers use a fine molded resin that won't crack or turn yellow. The keys are generally white, but some manufacturers add more natural looking off-white colour or even imitation ivory grain. The black keys used to be made of the now rare ebony wood, but are these days made of a synthetic material - sometimes lightly textured to prevent fingers slipping. Each key is balanced by a center pin and "bushed" with fine wool for proper clearance and quiet operation.

Pianos may have two or three pedals . The sustaining, or damper pedal on the far right lifts the dampers away from the strings so that the notes will continue to sound after the keys are released. The pedal on the left is the "soft" pedal and reduces the tone by shortening the distance the hammers travel in uprights. In grands this pedal is called the "una corda" and causes the action to shift slightly so fewer strings are struck. Most grand pianos and some uprights have a third pedal called the "sostenuto". It sustains selected notes at the pianist's discretion, allowing for more subtle damping techniques. On upright pianos the third pedal is generally used for for activating a practice mute.