Music has always peaked my interest, not so much recreationally, but intellectually. I was never one of those people who needed to have music constantly in my ears. I enjoyed the familiar sounds that came with many of my daily activities. At the very least I enjoyed they way it grounded my mind to the present world.
When I listened to music, I often would find myself trying to relate the mood of the music with the changes in the melody and supporting chords. Much in the same way I would rather play sports than watch them on television, I also found myself wanting to take part in the music I heard. This feeling would eventually lead me to my keyboard, or in most cases, the camps old upright piano; which happens to be the subject of my writing. (Click here to see all pictures of our Main Lodge)
Pianos currently occupy many households across the United States and all over the world. Not long ago, they were a thing only the very wealthy could hope to own. Despite their high cost, they were little to behold; little more than a harps turned on their sides being struck rather than plucked like a harpsichord, by crude lever operated hammers. They generated weak, tinny sounds that could barely be modulated for volume or duration. These pianos of history have rapidly gone through a great many transformations to become what we now view as a modern day piano. Mass production has greatly reduced the cost of building; and the incorporation of scientific principals and revolutionary new ideas have vastly improved the tone, volume, and touch of the pianos we now use. (Click here for more interesting facts about pianos.)
Every instrument is crafted to produce a sound; but few so elegantly, precisely and efficiently as the piano. There are 88 keys on a standard piano and there are at least 56 different parts that make up the masochism that ultimately drives a single hammer to its respective string or strings to produce a note. The piano embodies both the science and art of its conception with the unmistakable quality of the sounds it produces.
Unfortunately, our sad piano had been regretfully neglected. It sat near the door for years, receiving constant drafts. In the winter when our lodge was unoccupied, it sat in the cold dry air, and if it was occupied it received heat from a vent only 2 feet from its base. In the summer it sat in the hot wet air only to be cooled rapidly by the same vent when the AC was cranked up. To top it off all the notes required to play “Heart and Sole” had been grievously overused.
When I sat to play, I could here our piano calling for help with it’s out of tune unisons, broken strings and poor regulation. The love and toiling care once given to our piano in its creation was still evident in all the intricacies of its moving parts, but time and use has taken its toll, and our poor piano was again in much need of some TLC. As the pianos primary user, I felt somewhat obligated to care for our piano, however I was fiscally unprepared to higher a professional for such an endeavor. This left me with only one option: I needed to attempt to repair the piano myself.
The first tool I needed for the job was knowledge. I had never even looked carefully at the inner workings of a piano. I assumed that attempting to tune and regulate it without research would end poorly. I started my quest for knowledge with the Internet. (Click here to see what comes up on a google search for “How to tune a piano”) I found so much information that I decided to buy a $15 book to save my eyes. After reading through much of the book I was confident that I could proceed with the tuning of the piano; leaving the vastly more technical regulation and voicing work for later. Of course, for the tuning I would need more tools; and off to eBay I went. I purchased a tuning kit that included: mutes, felt, hammer and tuning fork for $45. Lest my ears betrayed me, I also ordered a chromatic electronic tuner for $75. Having wanted to save money, I mistakenly ordered the tuning kit from Hong Kong and paid the price with a lengthy wait for its delivery.
Upon returning from a visit to my hometown, I found that my package was ready for pickup at the post office. After retuning and opening the package and finding the contents to my satisfaction, I took care in removing the stuffed deer head, candles, and other trinkets from above or on top of the piano so that I could access the tuning pins.
I took out my electronic tuner and struck middle C to find that it in reality was almost a B flat. Seeing as I was planning to tune the whole piano it seemed to me that middle C was a perfect place to begin. Muting two of the three stings of middle C I began raising the pitch of the left most string until it rested to my satisfaction, close enough to middle C. I continued by raising the other two to meet it and continued onto the next note. When tuning, I found it necessary to hit the keys firmly to equalize the tension among the various lengths of the strings, otherwise the string would eventually slip on its own and become flat or sharp. The process was long and tedious. Throughout the session, my electronic tuner refused to work with the din of the TV in the background, nor would it work for the very high or low notes. I called it a day after I had tuned 2 octaves below middle C and all but the highest octave on the register. It was an improvement for sure, but I felt like I had a long way to go before I would be satisfied.
Please feel free to email me with any questions or helpful facts that I learned throughout this process. If anyone is interested in coming up to visit and play our piano, we can always use some company.
Stay tuned! ;)
