3 common piano problems (and how to fix them!)

A piano combines the advantages of a piece of furniture and a musical instrument. It can play a sonata while your framed photos sit on its lid. 

Unfortunately, it also combines the challenges of furniture and instruments. 

Like furniture, a piano is prone to water damage from wet drinking glasses, chipped veneer from apathetic moving companies, and warping from changes in humidity and temperature or from fire and/or water damage. 

Like an instrument, it requires regular maintenance and may suffer from a loose bridge, deteriorated strings, and sticky keys.

There are some things you can do yourself to maintain your piano and take care of minor issues. However, when it comes to extensive or internal problems, you should reach out for expert help. 

What kind of challenges should you expect your piano to have? 

What can you do to prevent these issues? 

And how do you know it’s time to consult a professional for your piano repair? 

Read on!

3 Regular Maintenance Tips for Your Piano

The best way to protect your piano is by taking small, regular steps to maintain it.

As a bonus, many of these steps give you an opportunity to look over your piano and examine it for small issues. 

Get ahead of these problems now or they will grow into large, expensive problems later!

1. Location
   • Place your piano in a room and area where the humidity is between 40-50% and the temperature is steady. 
   • Avoid placing it in direct sunlight or near vents or radiators. These can cause temperature fluctuations that may eventually damage your piano’s strings and mechanical elements.
2. Cleaning
   • Wipe the exterior of your piano with a soft damp cloth and immediately dry it with a clean, dry cloth.
   • If you want to give your piano some extra sheen, you can use pure lemon oil.
   • Avoid using furniture polish that contains silicone or wax–most commercially available polishes unfortunately do contain these 2 materials
3. Tuning by an Expert
   • About once a year, have an expert come in for a piano tuning. 
   • The tuner will look over the internal elements to make sure that the strings and soundboard are in good condition.
   • If you live farther away from town, you might think “I’ll never find a piano tuner near me.” You’d be surprised! Many piano tuners and technicians travel to schools, churches, music venues, and the homes of musicians as well as hobby piano players. Ask around! No matter how far out you live, there is probably a piano tuner and repair specialist in the area!
   • FYI: if you are within 60 miles of Mumford Restoration’s Raleigh, NC office, we can provide tuning services.

Expert Maintenance

Pianos’ internal issues can range from relatively straightforward fixes to more involved repairs that involve getting a technician involved. Again, preventative maintenance is key! Catching a small issue on the soundboard can prevent it from turning into a large split! 

If you aren’t sure how to tackle piano tuning and repair, do not attempt it yourself. A piano’s mechanical issues should be left to an expert. The internal elements are just too delicate and complicated to experiment on!

Pianos experience a variety of issues, but piano repair specialists have a list of usual suspects. 

If you have a specific issue, it may point to one of several common malfunctions.

Here are piano owners’ 3 most common complaints:

 1. Your piano will not stay in tune for more than 3 or 4 weeks, 

even after being professionally tuned.

The tuning pins may be slipping in the pin block. The tuning pins are fixed in the pinblock and the piano strings are attached to these pins. You will not be able to see whether the pinblock is damaged or loose, as it is behind the plate (for uprights) or under it (grand pianos). A professional piano restorer will have to disassemble the internal elements of the piano by removing the strings. Unfortunately, there is no other way to examine the pinblock and either reattach it or replace it. 

Your soundboard may be damaged. The soundboard is made of sprucewood and has a bowed shape. It resonates to amplify the sound that the piano’s strings produce. In an upright piano, the soundboard forms the vertical “back” of the piano. In a grand piano, it is laid horizontally under the strings. If the soundboard develops a crack and detaches from the wooden ribs that support it from below, it may develop a buzzing sound. A piano technician will be able to repair the soundboard for you.

High-quality strings should last 75-85 years with careful maintenance. Strings sometimes do stretch, oxidize, and rust earlier than expected, however.

There are several factors that may shorten a piano string’s life. 

Is your home on the beach or in an area that experiences high humidity? The damp air can damage the strings over time, especially if the lid is often left open. 

Do you turn the air or heat off in your house for periods of time and then “crank it up?” Dramatic temperature swings change the tension on piano strings and can damage them. 

Did you know that touching the string with your bare hands can compromise the strings? The oil from our skin compromises the metal and shortens its life. Once a string begins to rust, it has to be replaced.

2. The keys or pedals don’t move easily or tend to stick at times. 

There are two pins under each piano key. A piece of thin felt surrounds the holes that these pins go into. If this felt swells due to humidity, it could cause the keys to stick. A piano repair expert can compress the felt so that the pin moves smoothly and does not bind the key.

The keyslip, the small, horizontal piece of wood that sits at the end of the keys, might be warped. If the keyslip is warped inward, the keys might be rubbing against it and failing to spring back up. The piano repair person can find the area(s) of friction and make adjustments. 

If your keys feel “spongy” and some keys sit lower than others, your piano may need key levelling on either the balance rail or front rail. Some piano owners can order “punchings,” which are thin circular disks that can be stacked to raise the key. This is a temporary fix, as these punchings will wear down. A piano technician will be able to offer a more permanent solution. They can take precise measurements with specialized piano tuning tools and use more durable materials to level the keys. 

The sustain pedal relies on a series of mechanisms to control the piano’s sound. If part of this series is misaligned or worn, it can affect the pedal’s mobility. A repair specialist will be able to examine the damper pedal’s attached mechanisms and locate the issue.

3. When you press a key, it doesn’t make a sound

The hammer is the part of the piano that strikes the string and makes a noise. If it has become misaligned, whether by humidity or mishandling, it will fail to strike the string.

If the hammer is out of place, a piano repair specialist can realign it. If it is physically damaged, the specialist can install a new hammer. 

If the string is at the end of its life, it will fail to vibrate and will need replacement. 

If the string has simply lost tension, the specialist can correct it with a bit of tuning. This is where preventative, annual maintenance prevents issues!

The List Goes On...

While the  complaints above are the most common, they aren’t the only problems that pianos can develop. 

Like any instrument, it just needs a little help sometimes! A good technician has likely seen the problem before and knows exactly what to do. 

Before you know it you’ll be playing again, as if nothing at all ever happened!

We’re Always Here

Mumford Restoration has been repairing pianos as long as we’ve been repairing furniture: since 1982. 

We service modern as well as antique pianos in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area (and nearby). 

Whether your piano needs a simple tuning, a cabinet refinish, or technical work, we can handle it!

Our team of technicians has seen it all and enjoys helping North Carolina’s music lovers! 

Call our consultants today for an evaluation or fill out our online form to send photos and an inquiry.