This cast iron plate or frame results in pianos weighing so much. To keep the piano from buckling under such strain, cast iron was introduced into the piano over 150 years ago. Last month’s blog we looked at string tension and that there are roughly 19 tons (conservatively) of string pressure on any piano. Want to move your own piano? Before you weigh out this decision (literally and figuratively), let me offer a few facts about moving to help think this through.ġ. What did he mean by that? You need to be able to feel the balance and work carefully to tilt, lift and roll these massive instruments. Seeing me try and muscle pianos he would stop me and simply say “Let the piano do the work”.
“You’ll learn quicker this way.”Īlthough I only worked with him a short while, he was the most deliberate, cautious and yet efficient piano mover I’ve ever had the opportunity to work alongside with. Slightly horrified at the thought of having my fingers pinched between the wall and a piano, I would look up to see him give one of the few chuckles at my expense knowing I was a piano player. He would then quote what has become my favourite piano moving line, “Remember, fingers grow back, pianos do not”. When moving pianos, you always place your hands on the outside edges so you can feel if you come close to a wall rather than scraping the piano. Most of the time we rode happily in silence. If we were delivering to a small town three hours outside the big city, that meant 6 hours driving there and back. I mean, why bother trying to learn someone’s real name? He would always say it with a smirk pretending as if he didn’t know. Cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth, tanned and etched lines in his face, I always found it amusing that he called any young guy “George”.
When things at the local piano store were slow, they would send me as a swamper, a helping hand to move pianos. I was 22 at the time and this seasoned piano mover was a man of few words.
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