Piano for Beginners 6th ED - 2016 UK

Reference

Get in tune

I was recently given an old piano as a gift, but

when I play it it sounds out of tune. How

would I go about tuning it? Is it something I can

do myself?

We wouldn’t recommend tuning it yourself – at

least not to begin with. To tune a piano you have

to make minute adjustments to the tensions of

the strings to properly align the intervals between

their tones so that the instrument is in tune. Unlike,

say, tuning a guitar, piano tuning is not simply a

particular fixed set of pitches. Fine tuning a piano

requires an assessment of the interaction among

notes, which is different for every piano and as such

requires slightly different pitches. Pianos are tuned

to a modified version of a system called ‘equal

temperament’, where every pitch may be derived

from its relationship to a chosen fixed pitch. It’s a

complicated process and is best carried out by a

trained technician, but you can acquire the tools

and carry out the process yourself further down the

line as you get to know your instrument more and

are au fait with the tones that it creates. Depending

on use, a piano should be retuned twice a year.

Pedal power

My keyboard only has a sustain pedal. Is this

something that will hamper my progress in

the future?

Not really, because if you’re a serious enough player

to know about the pedals and the various effects

that they afford your sound then you will probably

be ready to buy a proper acoustic piano anyway.

Pianos traditionally have three pedals, which are

(from left to right) soft pedal, the sostenuto pedal

and the sustaining pedal. The soft pedal (una corda)

creates a softer tone by shifting the mechanism to

the right so that the hammers hit one string instead

of two. The middle pedal allows pianists to sustain

selected notes, while others remain unaffected.

The name of this pedal is slightly misleading as

‘sostenuto’ is Italian for ‘sustained’ and would lead

us to think that it performs the same task as the

sustaining pedal. However, the sostenuto was

In order to play piano, you have to get to know your instrument inside and

out to know what makes it tick. Here we introduce you to the intricacies

Yo u r p i a n o

It’s best to leave cleaning

the insides to a professional

“A piano should be kept from exterior walls,

drafty windows and doors, fireplaces and air

vents; and ensure it is sat on a rug or carpet”