barefootskater said:Everyone: "Moving pianos makes them go out of tune."
Enter stage: Harp player.
Moving harps makes them go out of tune too.
A full sized pedal harp has 47 strings. A piano has between 220- 240.
There’s a lot more stress on a piano sound board than in a harp.
Can someone please explain to me how exactly the sound board of a piano is subject to great stress? I have spent some time around pianos. I've moved them a time or three. There is one in my house right now.
It is my understanding that the "harp" or "frame" is a healthy chunk of cast iron that supports the tension in the strings. This is mounted in close proximity to the soundboard, which resonates with the strings. Yes, the soundboard is fragile, and certainly its integrity is vital to the instrument, but it is erroneous to think that it supports the massive tension of 230 strings and the approximate 18 tons of associated force.
You are right. I’ve been short-cutting terminology (and so have others)
The strings are attached to the plate (frame, harp) entirely on one side, and are under tension.
The plate is attached to the sound board. Together, they counter the stress.
A cracked sound board is worthless acoustically. And occasionally they crack in ways that also compromises the plate.
The plate is extremely strong in the same plain as the strings, but the wood structure it is attached to helps it’s lateral strength.
When all the strings are pulling on the plate from the same side, it wants to bend out of the plain of the strings. The wood structure helps this.
The plate can break, but I’ve never seen one explode. Cast iron doesn’t like to bend.
Moving a piano across a room will not effect the tune. Changes in humidity, hauling in a truck, long periods of time between tunes, all can.
Frenchy has a $20 piano and a tin ear. I don’t think he needs to do much other than enjoy his piano and make some music.
In reply to SVreX :
Thank you for clarifying! I am totally in agreement with your observations regarding Frenchy and his piano, although I am still quite curious to know the make of this ancient behemoth.
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