Moving a piano requires planning and effort. Pianos are extremely heavy and their finishes are very vulnerable to scratches, nicks and dents. Even a small upright piano can weigh more than 350 pounds (0.1588 metric tons). Grand pianos can easily weigh over 1,000 pounds (0.4536 metric tons), and older upright pianos tend to be top heavy, making them unstable and more difficult to move. The awkwardness of this instrument alone is difficult to maneuver let alone the weight.
Follow these steps to safely and efficiently move any kind of piano. You can read that on the internet all the time.
Serious injury is a real possibility when attempting to move a piano without the proper care and precaution being taken and adequate foreknowledge and experience of what can happen. Even a mild injury, such as an improperly pulled muscle or strained back, can leave a lasting impact, possibly even lifelong. Along with that, serious damage to home, building, property and of course to the piano itself is a frequent risk every step of the way. And on top of all that, thousands of pieces of wood are glued together to form various parts of the playing mechanism and all told a piano contains over 7500 moving parts all finely tuned, adjusted and tempered to make it possible to produce the most beautiful of music. There are loads of info websites on moving your own piano, please beware and careful, for the fact it is way too difficult to do without the proper knowledge and experience. If you love your instrument, whether it be a keyboard or grand piano, it needs special attention and that’s what specialized keyboard/piano movers do, they are the pro’s.
Storage is also very important. When your keyboard/piano is in transit and for whatever reason it needs to be stored, the proper conditions need to be met. The Humidity level is vital to the maintenance of the instrument.
Without the proper humidity these are just some things that could occur:
Your piano may go out of tune sooner.
The wool cloth in the piano action may deteriorate.
Hard woods of your piano may warp.
Your piano’s finish might diminish.
And humidity can cause damage on an electrical instrument also.
Reminder:
Hire piano moving professionals with proper background checks and insurance, that provide the best storage possible if needed.
Now for some fun information:
Were you ever curious why a piano has 88 keys? Unlike xylophones, which have up to 40 keys, or most woodwind instruments, which have a limited number of keys, pianos have a whopping 88 keys. Each key represents a different note, giving the piano a wide range of sounds. But why not 44? Or 212? Why 88? The answer, as it turns out, has both historical and practical aspects.
The piano got its start as a modification of the harpsichord, which had 60 keys. The first pianos, therefore, usually had 60 keys. 60 keys represented five octaves, since there are 12 notes in an octave.
As more and more pianos were made, composers began to write more music for the piano. It wasn’t long before their compositions took them beyond the five octaves available on pianos at that time. Composers began to work with piano makers to create pianos with more keys, so that they could write new music with a wider range.
Nearing the turn into the 20th century, popular piano manufacturer Steinway created the 88-key piano that is the standard today. Other manufacturers followed Steinway’s lead and 88 keys has been the standard ever since.
The 88-key piano features a full seven octaves, plus a few other notes. Why stop at 88 keys? Most composers don’t write music that includes notes beyond those available on the 88-key piano. Plus, notes lower or higher than those on the 88-key piano aren’t easy for the human ear to hear as distinct notes beyond those that already exist.
Today the modern piano has 52 white keys and 36 black keys. The white keys represent the musical tones A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The black keys differ from the white keys in that they represent half-step intervals, known as sharps and flats, between various notes. A group of seven white keys and five black keys together make up the 12 notes we call an octave.