Each piano owner sometimes needs to move the instrument inside the apartment. For this seemingly simple operation, certain tips would be essential. I will explain how to move the piano. Grand piano rolls on 3 legs within the same room. With a piano, the situation is more complicated if it needs to be moved from one room to another. To do this, it is better to invite the tuner, because, in this case, it is necessary to remove the pedal lyre and all legs. The tuner knows the optimal sequence of these actions.
In all cases, the piano is only recommended to be carried, not rolled, because its weight can leave a visible and undesirable mark. Transferring is easier with four people. Two people take the piano from one side, namely one by the handle on the back of the piano, the other by the bottom of the it (the protruding part where the keyboard is) and two people should take the instrument in the same way from the other side. The piano is simultaneously lifted, carried to the required place and at the same time gently lowered to the floor (or to pre-prepared stands)
The piano can also be moved by two people. One on the bass side and one on the treble side. At the same time, everyone should take the bottom under the piano keyboard from their side of the piano with one hand (as if at the bottom of the keyboard), and with the other hand the round handle behind the instrument. Raising and lowering the piano to the floor by both carriers must also be done simultaneously.
Is it possible to move the piano without lifting it?
- Yes, it's possible.
Pianos without casters (and with casters) can be moved on a flat floor using rugs or mats. To do this, under one side of the piano, slightly raising this edge, put a rug. In the same way, put the rug under the other side of the piano. The end of the mat is released outward by 2-3 feet. After that, one must take hold of the mat and pull in the direction of the instrument's movement, and the other must push the piano from behind, at the same time keeping it from falling.
The dimensions of ordinary doorways allow you to freely transport a piano from one room to another. In narrow places and when turning, you should be very careful. Touching the corners, jambs, etc. with the body, keyboard, consoles and piano legs is unacceptable. This leads to scratches, damage to the polish, and sometimes breakage of body parts.
Recently, a friend asked me how to move the piano to another room, when the passage is so narrow that the piano cannot pass standing upright?
There is a way out of this situation.
The point is that the piano can be tilted and turned over as you like, so long as not to spoil the polish of the instrument. Nothing will happen to the keyboard mechanism unless the piano is hit hard. (Piano and grand piano are a completely autonomous structure.) If the turn from the corridor to the room is very steep and narrow, then the piano can be very carefully placed on the side wall, after placing a rug or some kind of cover under this wall. The main thing is that this cover should be under the entire plane of the side wall, so that it does not touch the floor and polishing does not suffer. Leave the end of this blanket (about 1 meter) free to be able to pull on this free end. One person very carefully pulls the free end of the cover in the desired direction, and the other holds the piano in a vertical position on the side wall and helps push the instrument in the same direction. We passed through an uncomfortable narrow passage in this way, put it on its legs again and continued carrying the piano to its place. That's all! Just make sure that there are no objects inside the piano, such as empty water cans. These cans, if tilted inside the instrument, may break.
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How to move the piano from room to another room, so that it does not get unset.
I explain.
Pianos and grand pianos are autonomous, independent constructions. Inside the instrument itself, the tension of the strings is distributed and settled. And when you are carrying the piano, or moving it from place to place, pianos and grand pianos do not get unset, because the rearrangements and movements are provided by the designers. Remember when a piano is moved from place to place at a concert on stage, because it is not being tuned at that moment! The same applies to the piano. So feel free to move your piano from room to room knowing your piano won't get out of tune.
Read about: The Technical History Of The Piano
However, there is one feature - the piano must be free of defects. The wooden frame, where all massive metal knots are attached, must be strong and without cracks. The metal knots are the cast iron frame and steel strings. Strings create a huge tension in the entire structure of pianos and grand pianos. This is a huge stress (15-20 tons) and sometimes breaks a wooden frame (futor). It is this wooden frame that must be strong and without cracks. And only a piano tuner who understands and knows how to repair a piano can determine this defect. With such a defect, it is impossible to move and transfer the instrument, because piano with such defect may require a piano tuning after.
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Is it possible to move the piano alone?
Answer: Yes, you can.
There are two important requirements for this.
First, it's only within the same room.
And the second, a prerequisite, should be extremely spacious in this room.
At the same time, the technology of carrying by one person is very similar to the technology of carrying by two people. (Read above) The only difference is that one person alternately transfers first one side of the piano, and then moving to the other side of the instrument does the same in the right direction. And so step by step, rearranging first one side, then the other, you can rearrange the piano anywhere far from the place where it was before. There are often thresholds in the doors, through which it is impossible for one person to move the piano. Therefore, plan your actions with this fact in mind.
Take care of your instrument!
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