"Sound Advice", by Lucien Hut

This month's question:
Why should I have a grand piano instead of an upright?

Answer:
There are seven reasons why a grand is more desireable than a veritcal piano:

1. Better sound development. The soundboard is the large, thin piece of wood that serves as the amplifier. A grand piano has all of the air space below and above (if you choose to open the lid) the soundboard for the sound waves to develop. A vertical piano is boxed in with the case and is usually placed up against a wall.

2. Better damper system. The optimal place to dampen (stop) the string vibration is the same place where it is initiated. On a grand this is possible because the hammers strike the strings from below and the damper drops down from above at the same place. On an upright it is not possible because the hammers and the dampers are on the same side of the strings.

3. Better key and damper action. The keys, dampers and action movements are aided by gravity because of the horizontal position of the action. A vertical piano action has to rely on a complicated system of springs and straps to keep it working. As a result, a properly regulated grand action is much more sensitive and responsive to the pianist's touch than a vertical action.

4. The pedal system is better. The damper (right) pedal on both styles functions essentially alike. The middle pedal on a grand is usually a sostenuto. It holds selected dampers up while allowing others to return. This is a very useful feature in some 19th and 20th century music. The middle pedal on a vertical is often only a mute pedal for very quiet playing. The una corda (left) pedal on a grand shifts the action so that the hammers strike only two of the three strings to produce a different, quieter tone color. The left pedal on a vertical piano moves the hammers closer to the strings to achieve a quieter tone, BUT it throws off the action regulation and is very uncomfortable to play for the pianist.

5. The soundboard is acoustically contoured. The soundboard on a grand has a small, stiff area for projection of higher frequencies (like the speaker cones in a tweeter) and a larger thinner area for projection of the lower fundamental frequencies (like the woofers in a speaker system). The area known for excessive inharmonicity is cut out all together which is why it has that interesting curved shape. The soundboard on an upright is rectangular and not nearly so conducive to amplifying the desired frequencies.

6. The curved rim acts as a reflector of energy. The rim on a grand is a hard wood bent so that it is under tension and acts as a reflector of energy from the soundboard. The case on a vertical is only a box and serves no acoustic function.

7. Music lives in space. The psychological and esthetic advantage to the design is not to be underestimated. A pianist at a grand shares in the space of the room where a pianist at an upright usually sits facing a wall with their back to the room.

Questions to Lucien may be submitted through our e-mail: pianosint@blackfoot.net or snail-mail: 112 McLeod Ave, Missoula, MT 59801 or phone: 406-543-5059