Pianos Inside Out- Comprehensive Guide to Piano Tuning, Repairing and Rebuilding

Description

Pianos Inside Out - A Comprehensive Guide to Piano Tuning, Repairing and Rebuilding
In Tune Press, LLC, a publisher focused on music education and technology, is pleased to announce
Pianos Inside Out
, a new book by Mario Igrec, an award-winning pianist, piano technician, and rebuilder. Igrec takes an in-depth look at the history, design, and maintenance of the piano, and provides practical guidance to anyone who wants to learn how to tune, repair, regulate, voice, rebuild, or improve the action performance of pianos. The reader will discover how to evaluate the piano, assess what is needed, and develop a rebuilding plan. He or she will learn how to restore a keyboard and action, select and install new hammers, rebuild dampers, restring the piano, replace its pinblock, repair the soundboard, regild the plate, and refinish the case.
Covering a wide range of concepts, from introductory to advanced,
Pianos Inside Out
puts between two covers all the advancements and understanding gained by the piano industry over the last 30 years. It provides a coherent, in-depth view of that much-needed information, including such topics as:
- Wave impedance and soundboard performance
- Coincident partial tuning
- Interval inharmonicity
- Touchweight analysis
- String leveling
- Modern lubricants
Pianos Inside Out
is written for hobbyists, students, and piano technicians, but it will also help pianists and owners of pianos to better understand their instruments and to communicate more effectively with their technicians. The book is full of clear, concise, step-by-step instructions, and more than 700 illustrations and diagrams. Featuring “Myth/Truth” boxes, and enhanced by multiple sidebars, tables, worksheets, and troubleshooters, the book is “very articulate, yet has a casual readability and isn’t off-puttingly wordy or overly complicated or presumptuously definitive” (Allen Wright, RPT, consulting technician and restorer for Steinway & Sons London, John Broadwood & Sons, and Period Piano Company).
Many books in this genre present a simplistic view of piano work, encouraging a casual and sometimes careless do-it-yourself attitude.
Pianos Inside Out
presents more accurate descriptions of—and warnings about—the complexities and pitfalls one is likely to encounter in this work, providing an “introduction to the profession and the scope of work involved that might encourage some people to become techs and others to forget about it” (Laurence Libin, Editor-in-Chief,
Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments
).
Pianos Inside Out
isn’t merely a book of recipes that regurgitates instructions from service manuals—rather, it shows how to create one’s own recipes. In addition to suggesting methods and specifications, Igrec discusses the reasons for and the dependencies among various aspects of design, regulation, tuning, and voicing, thus enabling the reader to draw his or her own conclusions while gaining a deep understanding of this complex subject.
About the Author
Mario Igrec, a native of Croatia, taught piano technology and served as piano technician during his eight-year tenure at Louisiana State University. As an independent concert technician and master rebuilder, he has serviced and rebuilt many pianos in southern Louisiana, and has worked for Richard Goode, Jon Kimura Parker, Garrick Ohlsson, and other renowned pianists. Himself an award-winning pianist, with a Master of Music degree from SUNY Stony Brook, Igrec brings to the field a unique perspective that bridges piano technology and pianism.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
ix
About the Author
xiii
Introduction
xv
How to Use This Book  xvi
Online Resources  xvi
Patent Search  xvi
Precautions  xvi
Materials and Products  xvii
Terminology  xvii
Conventions  xviii
Chapter 1:
History
1
The Early Piano  1
Rising Popularity 1760–1800  8
Advances in Technology 1800–1850  11
Almost Modern 1850–1900  13
Steinway since 1880  16
Market Trends  16
Chapter 2:
Construction and Design
19
Overview of Construction  19
Structure  24
Generating Sound  33
Strings  33
Bridges  36
Soundboard  43
Plate  50
The Piano Mechanism  57
Keyboard  58
Piano Action  63
Piano Hammers  70
Dampers, Backaction, and Pedals  74
How the Piano Mechanism Works  76
Chapter 3:
Maintenance
83
Environment  83
Preventing Damage by Insects and Rodents  88
Preventing Corrosion  89
Periodic Maintenance  89
Institutional Maintenance  90
Chapter 4:
Tuning
93
Theory  94
Inharmonicity  101
Stretch  103
Tuning Technique   107
Choosing a Tuning Hammer  109
Learning to Tune  111
Electronic Tuning  124
Special Tuning Techniques  128
Factors that Affect Tuning  129
Chapter 5:
Regulating
135
Protection  135
Gaining Access  136
Cleaning the Interior of the Piano  141
Work in the Piano or on the Bench?  141
Guide Notes  142
Friction  142
Grand Action and Keyboard: Evaluating and Preparing for Regulation  148
Regulating Keyboard (Grands and Verticals)  158
Regulating Action  166
Regulating Grand Action  166
Regulating Pedals in Grands  179
Regulating Grand Damper System  180
Regulating Vertical Action, Pedals, and Dampers  189
Chapter 6:
Voicing
199
Sanding Hammers  200
Strings: Seating and Leveling  202
Mating Hammers to Strings  207
Functioning of the Piano Hammer  208
Preparing for Voicing  208
Voicing Down Dense Hammers  209
Voicing Up the Hammers  216
Chapter 7:
Repairs
221
Tool Kit  221
Broken String  223
Removing a Piece of Broken Metal  233
Repairing Keys  234
Repairing Action  240
Repairing Dampers  248
Repairing Grand Pedals and Lyre  249
Repairing Vertical Pedals  252
Repairing Cracked Plate  253
Repairing Pinblock  254
Repairing Bridges  256
Repairing Rattling Soundboard  261
Extracting a Broken Agraffe  262
Touching up and Repairing Finish  263
Chapter 8:
Moving a Grand Piano
267
Music Rack, Fallboard, Key Slip  267
Grand Lids  268
Putting Piano on Skid Board  268
Reassembling the Piano  270
Grand Lyre  271
Chapter 9:
Touch, Geometry, Playability
273
How to Proceed  274
Force or Weight?  274
Interrelated Aspects of Action and Keyboard  275
Static Touchweight (TW)  276
Action Leverage  279
Hammer Weight  283
Other Weights and Weight Ratios  287
Leads: Measuring and Calculating  295
Inertia  298
Backaction  300
Keeping It All in Perspective  301
Diagnosing Playability Problems  303
Improving Playability  306
Chapter 10:
Rebuilding
317
Evaluating a Piano  321
Developing a Plan  323
Shop Requirements  327
Equipment and Tools  329
Materials  334
Replacing Felts and Leathers  340
Rebuilding the Keyboard  342
Restoring Key Frame  344
Replacing Key Bushings  347
Replacing Key End Felts  353
Replacing White Key Tops  354
Replacing Sharps  365
Rebuilding Grand Backchecks  368
Rebuilding Grand Action  373
Replacing Wippens and Let off Buttons in Grands  379
Replacing Grand Hammer Shanks  380
Replacing Hammers in Grand Pianos  383
Rough-Regulating a Grand Action  394
Adjusting Touchweight  396
Rebuilding Grand Damper System  400
Rebuilding Vertical Action  408
Measuring String Downbearing  416
Restringing  418
Restringing a Grand Piano  423
Restringing a Vertical Piano  430
Removing the Plate  433
Agraffes: Reconditioning and Replacing  436
Regilding the Plate  439
Replacing Grand Pinblock  440
Rebuilding the Soundboard  457
Rebuilding Bridges  472
Introduction to Refinishing  479
Appendix A:
Troubleshooting
489
Buzzes and Rattles  489
Echo  490
Action Noises  490
Pedal Noises in Grands  492
Pedal Noises in Verticals  493
Missing Notes  494
Appendix B:
Glossary
495
Appendix C:
Selected Bibliography
509
Books, Articles, Videos, Online Resources  509
Journals  516
Online Groups and Forums  516
Appendix D:
Resources
517
Appendix E:
Technicians’ Organizations
523
Appendix F:
Measurement Conversions
525
Index
527
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How to Become A Piano Tuner/Technician - First Steps
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