Taking Care of Your Soul Mate: Useful Piano Care Tips
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Misty Davis
Jul 10, 2009, 3:47:38 PM7/10/09
to Toy Piano Time
Your piano is your soul mate. Once you start playing it, you two are
hopelessly entwined, enjoying a world of your own, mindless of what
goes on outside your world. It is therefore absolutely important that
you take care of your piano properly.
Taking care of your piano does not only entail having it tuned up
every two to five years. It would also appreciate a daily maintenance
from the owner himself. What good would it do to a piano if it would
just be left at one corner of the house, untouched for sometime?
Absolutely nothing, and it would just gather dust and rust.
One of the best ways to maintain its good condition is to play it
often. Just like a human being, this piece of entertainment equipment
needs exercise so as not to expire soon. Through regular playing, you
are not only practicing to become a better pianist, you can also play
and check if your piano is still in perfect tune.
It feels great to let your fingers glide over smooth and shiny ivory
keyboards. It can't be helped though, especially when you have little
kids at home, to have little sticky hands pounding on the keys from
time to time, unless you have strict off-limits rule on your piano.
So, to keep your keyboard clean, shiny and non-sticky, try wiping a
lemon or lemon-salt paste over the keys and then rinse with clean, wet
cloth then polish with dry cloth.
Check out some of the things you must do in cleaning and taking care
of your piano:
The Keys:
It is recommended to clean the keys with a light soap solution
preferably that of Ivory brand
The Cabinet:
Some pianos, especially those with high-gloss finish should be handled
with utmost care. Use a new soft cloth to wipe the cabinet. Do not use
old towel converted into rags as the rough fabric can scratch the
finishing. And the small particles, even dust can leave permanent
graze over the glossy cover. To clean, wipe a damp rag over a small
portion and then immediately wipe the area with dry cloth. The wet
portion must not be left wet for more than a minute. Repeat process
until the entire cabinet is cleaned.
To polish the cabinet, it is best to use piano polish. Furniture paste
wax will do as well. An old upright piano with an old wood finish may
be cleaned with one of those new orange spray cleaner/polisher. Do not
use the usual aerosol cleaner on a piano as it contains alcohol that
will react with the finishing or tarnish the varnish or lacquer paint
on your piano surface. You can buy specially designed piano polisher
and polishing cloth as well in most piano stores.
The piano should be positioned by the wall of the home and not along a
concrete block or floor as they can cause unstable temperature due to
dampness. Constant changing of temperature can cause your piano to go
out of tune. But the foremost cause of the change in tune is the
change in humidity.
Having a piano at home is achieving a lot of goals. Other than it
being an attraction, most of the time, visitors tend to assume that
when a homeowner has a piano in his home he is not only musically
inclined but also knows how to belong in the elite society. It is
because a piano is still seen as a classical and very important
musical instrument.
Learning to Play the Piano: http://pianoyh.blogspot.com/#
hopelessly entwined, enjoying a world of your own, mindless of what
goes on outside your world. It is therefore absolutely important that
you take care of your piano properly.
Taking care of your piano does not only entail having it tuned up
every two to five years. It would also appreciate a daily maintenance
from the owner himself. What good would it do to a piano if it would
just be left at one corner of the house, untouched for sometime?
Absolutely nothing, and it would just gather dust and rust.
One of the best ways to maintain its good condition is to play it
often. Just like a human being, this piece of entertainment equipment
needs exercise so as not to expire soon. Through regular playing, you
are not only practicing to become a better pianist, you can also play
and check if your piano is still in perfect tune.
It feels great to let your fingers glide over smooth and shiny ivory
keyboards. It can't be helped though, especially when you have little
kids at home, to have little sticky hands pounding on the keys from
time to time, unless you have strict off-limits rule on your piano.
So, to keep your keyboard clean, shiny and non-sticky, try wiping a
lemon or lemon-salt paste over the keys and then rinse with clean, wet
cloth then polish with dry cloth.
Check out some of the things you must do in cleaning and taking care
of your piano:
The Keys:
It is recommended to clean the keys with a light soap solution
preferably that of Ivory brand
The Cabinet:
Some pianos, especially those with high-gloss finish should be handled
with utmost care. Use a new soft cloth to wipe the cabinet. Do not use
old towel converted into rags as the rough fabric can scratch the
finishing. And the small particles, even dust can leave permanent
graze over the glossy cover. To clean, wipe a damp rag over a small
portion and then immediately wipe the area with dry cloth. The wet
portion must not be left wet for more than a minute. Repeat process
until the entire cabinet is cleaned.
To polish the cabinet, it is best to use piano polish. Furniture paste
wax will do as well. An old upright piano with an old wood finish may
be cleaned with one of those new orange spray cleaner/polisher. Do not
use the usual aerosol cleaner on a piano as it contains alcohol that
will react with the finishing or tarnish the varnish or lacquer paint
on your piano surface. You can buy specially designed piano polisher
and polishing cloth as well in most piano stores.
The piano should be positioned by the wall of the home and not along a
concrete block or floor as they can cause unstable temperature due to
dampness. Constant changing of temperature can cause your piano to go
out of tune. But the foremost cause of the change in tune is the
change in humidity.
Having a piano at home is achieving a lot of goals. Other than it
being an attraction, most of the time, visitors tend to assume that
when a homeowner has a piano in his home he is not only musically
inclined but also knows how to belong in the elite society. It is
because a piano is still seen as a classical and very important
musical instrument.
Learning to Play the Piano: http://pianoyh.blogspot.com/#
JeanDavid
Jul 10, 2009, 4:04:48 PM7/10/09
to Toy Piano Time
On Jul 10, 3:47 pm, Misty Davis <nghfytwrq...@hotmail.com> wrote (in
part):
> Having a piano at home is achieving a lot of goals. Other than it
> being an attraction, most of the time, visitors tend to assume that
> when a homeowner has a piano in his home he is not only musically
> inclined but also knows how to belong in the elite society. It is
> because a piano is still seen as a classical and very important
> musical instrument.
>
I imagine my having a toy piano at home sends a rather different
message.
My (adult) piano teacher thinks it rather beautiful. I think she is
referring to the looks, not the sound, since I have not tuned the
couple of notes that are too flat. I started filing the worst note
sharper, and I am about half way to where it should be. An A and an A#
both sounded at A. Then I will do the G that is also flat, though not
as badly. I am not aiming for perfection, but it should not be
downright bad.
Some friends find it just confirms their view of me as somewhat
eccentric.
part):
> Having a piano at home is achieving a lot of goals. Other than it
> being an attraction, most of the time, visitors tend to assume that
> when a homeowner has a piano in his home he is not only musically
> inclined but also knows how to belong in the elite society. It is
> because a piano is still seen as a classical and very important
> musical instrument.
>
message.
My (adult) piano teacher thinks it rather beautiful. I think she is
referring to the looks, not the sound, since I have not tuned the
couple of notes that are too flat. I started filing the worst note
sharper, and I am about half way to where it should be. An A and an A#
both sounded at A. Then I will do the G that is also flat, though not
as badly. I am not aiming for perfection, but it should not be
downright bad.
Some friends find it just confirms their view of me as somewhat
eccentric.
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