The second studio grand gets a tune-up

With dizzying cable wires swimming in all directions, connected to a horizontal mounted overhead web cam, partnered with a side-mounted one, the spotlight is on my vintage Steinway grand. A second piano to its right goes unnoticed. But once a LIVE lesson begins, the Baldwin Hamilton 1929 takes center stage, requiring at least a pitch…

The final word on piano buzzes from Israel Stein, master piano technician

Israel Stein is one of a kind. An award winning, Registered Piano Technician, he's been recognized nationally by the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) and continues to tune, voice, regulate, re-build and consult on pianos that prospective buyers are considering. He's also a creme de la creme PIANO EXAMINER at the Guild and gives classes at…

An informative chat with a whimsical piano technician (REGISTERED, of course)

I had a delightful exchange with John Peters, RPT, about pianos, restorations, repairs, machine vs. aural tunings, and all that sprung from his wild imagination. For instance, John communicates an intense passion for tuning.. "I get paid to "meditate," he insists. Then he quickly veers off with a one-liner about fixing squeaky pedals. "I pour…

Piano Maintenance– About hammers: all or partial replacement? (Video)

When my Baldwin Hamilton 1929 grand underwent exploratory surgery in the capable hands of Mark Schecter, RPT, I had some pointed questions. Given that the piano had a glassy-sounding upper treble due to worn down hammers, would installing a partial set of new ones be a reasonable route to take? Mark didn't think so, and…

Windex on ivory keys: Did it remove the gray spots?

There was definitely an improvement after Mark scrubbed the whites and even the black key OFFENDERS with Windex. I don't believe, however, that the gray will ever be totally removed because it had become ingrained into the keys by its introduction through supposedly "shoe-dyed" ebonies. (See https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/piano-maintenance-teaser-graying-ivories-and-a-squeaky-note/) Here are photos that I took 24-hours post…

Piano Maintenance: The elements of Regulation (Videos)

Mark Schecter, RPT, demonstrated a phase of the Regulation process as it pertained to smoothing out the note-to-note feel of my Baldwin Hamilton 1929 grand. In the course of a thorough assessment, the instrument was found to have worn out hammers, (though refiled) and problems related to their balance and alignment (as revealed in prior…

Piano Maintenance Teaser: Graying ivories and a squeaky note

This is a video preview of what will follow later today when several uploads related to my Baldwin piano's weekend "regulation" are lined up on You Tube. As a start, one of the problems plaguing my recently acquired Hamilton grand 1929, a.k.a "blind date piano," was a grayish discoloration on every ivory key. In my…

The original article in the Piano Quarterly that inspired an examination of the piano tuner/technician landscape

RELATED: https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/treading-on-hallowed-ground-the-challenge-of-maintaining-fine-pianos-after-a-personal-tragedy/ https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/the-voices-of-piano-technicians-around-the-country/

The voices of piano technicians around the country

I had the invaluable opportunity to interview various Registered Piano Technicians around the country about various aspects of their profession. First, to become a RPT, the candidate takes an exam that's administered through the Piano Technician's Guild (PTG) which has branches in cities all over the country. Since piano tuning is not a licensed profession,…

Treading on hallowed ground: the challenge of maintaining fine pianos after a personal tragedy

I kept this controversial blog topic in my back pocket for safe keeping until a close friend fired off an e-mail with a link to a recent movie review of Pianomania: From IMDB: "Pianomania follows Stefan Knüpfer, a piano tuner from Steinway and his famous clients Lang Lang, Brendel, Buchbinder and Pierre-Laurent Aimard as they…