How do I set up the piano myself?

Have you ever thought about how much space in a person's life is devoted to music? Most solemn moments, both joyful and sad, pass under harmonious sounds. People listen to music all the time: at home, on the road, at work and resting, when it's bad on the soul or vice versa. And one of the wonderful sources of sound for many centuries is considered a piano. But what is this instrument, and how to set up the piano?

Historical reference

At the end of the XVII century, great composers and musicians began to search for a new keyboard instrument that, by the tenderness of sound and the breadth of emotions, would not be inferior to the violin and organ. I wanted to have a deep sound, the bark could smoothly flow from thunderous fortissimo into a light pianissimo.

The first name of the piano was literally translated as "a keyboard instrument playing gently and loudly." He called the instrument Bartolomeo Cristofori - Italian master of musical instruments in 1709. The music coming from the tuned piano does not become obsolete to this day, affecting the deepest strings of the soul.

Who should set up

As with any instrument, the piano changes in sound over time. It depends on many factors, and you will not be able to avoid the settings.

All virtuosos of their business are strongly advised not to set up the instrument themselves. In this process, there is no right to make a mistake, and every movement must be masterfully honed. Moreover, only the owner of an ideal musical ear can cope with this work.

Some can customize their own tool. But it is worth understanding that this work is rather complicated and painstaking. Moreover, if you neglect caution, you can tear the strings and cause irreparable harm to the instrument.

Curious fact: to violate the integrity of the string it is enough to drag it all by one octave.

Instruments

Those who are interested in how to set up the piano can not but realize that special tools are needed for this. What exactly is needed?

• Rubber wedge or plug.
• Electronic tuner.
• The tuning key.
• An additional light source.

These items can be bought in specialized stores. One must realize that the value of these tools is directly proportional to their quality, and therefore they can not cost cheap.

By the way, if you compare how much it costs to set up the piano - yourself or call the master - the difference will be subtle. Why? Because, in addition to the keys, it is important to purchase special books on tuning the piano. Just watching the video on the Internet is not enough for a good piano tuning.

Beginning of work

It is worthwhile to understand that your further perception of sound depends on the quality of the setting. If the setting is not in accordance with the generally accepted standards for sounding tonalities, you can forget about the professional game and good musical ear.

So how do you set up the piano correctly? It should be in an empty room. The door to this room is best closed, so that no extraneous sounds interfere. The master needs to concentrate as much as possible and relax his shoulders, since the force to use when tuning is not recommended. All movements should be soft and smooth.

The piano tuning starts from the diagnosis. The first is exploring the keyboard. To do this, attach a ruler to it and check the smoothness of the keys in both planes.

It is necessary to try to shake each key for the purpose of looseness. This must be done both at the base and at the edge. They should sit tight enough, but the general move should not be restrained.

Each key is held on two pins: front and middle. The height of whites is adjusted by the washers near the middle pin, and the depth of pressing by the washers of the front pin. The depth of the keystroke should be 10 millimeters.

It is necessary to check the pilot. The quality of his work can be checked by pressing the dark key. There should not be any loophole. When tapping on it, the hammer should not move.

Damper

Dampers are visible at the top. They should fit tightly to the strings. Any mixing is absolutely contraindicated. Pressing the right pedal, you can check whether they are at the same time detached from the strings. And slowly pressing the key will indicate the clarity of the work - half way to the string, the damper must come off it.

Hammers

These small bars also need to work clearly. They must work as soon as the pianist's hand touches the instrument. The distance between hammers and strings should be 45 millimeters. Moreover, if there are bands on the hammers, this part of the tool must never be left behind. It should be polished as much as possible qualitatively. Everything should be smooth.

The point of failure of the malleus should be two millimeters. Usually, if the piano has stood for a long time without tuning, this distance decently increases.

Adjusting the piano

If you have carefully diagnosed the piano yourself before setting up the piano yourself, the setup itself will be simple and smooth. Obviously, the height of the keys can be adjusted with washers, which were mentioned above. But how to adjust the tension of strings, hammers, dampers?

The tuning of the instrument starts with the note "a" of the first octave. In it, one hammer should strike one-three strings. Two strings are clamped with a rubber wrench, and the third is tightened on the corresponding pin. It must be gently turned with a key until the tuner shows that you have reached the desired tension. This action should be slow, especially when setting up the old tool.

How to tune the piano further? By the same principle, but clamping is not two strings, but one. It turns out that the two will be free, and their sound should be the same. To do this, again, you need to twist the tunable strings to the sign from the tuner.

With the third string, the setting is the same. Only with it you do not need to clamp anything with wedges. We adjust slowly, but it's hard. This is how one octave is tuned. The entire tuning process is done by alternating quarts and quintas.

About tuner operation

Of course, the tuner is a convenient gadget for setting up any instrument, however there are two "buts":

1. Errors when the sound is too low and too high.
2. No tuner is more human hearing.

Therefore, if you decide: "I'll set up the piano myself!", Think about how perfect your hearing is. It is better to consult with a specialist.

rules

Knowledge of how to set up the piano at home can be concluded in a set of simple rules:

1. Do not rush, but do not sleep during setup. The accuracy of the speed does not depend.
2. It is necessary to eliminate defects in mechanics.
3. Torsion of the pins should be smooth, with minimal movements.
4. The string should be stretched for 1-2 beats in one second and with the mandatory fixation of the cleat only on the bottom wall of the lock.
5. Trust the technology (the tuner), but check it by ear.

These five rules need to be remembered constantly when configuring a quint-octave type. All work is done without the use of physical strength. The whole tool should be professional, replace it with a similar one is forbidden.

If you select the quarto-octave tuning path, it is not enough to know how to set up the piano yourself. It is necessary to adjust from the "la" of the first octave to the "mi" of the second, and from it to the "mi" of the first and so on. This is much easier, but often more inaccurate.

Intonation and other important trivia

An intonation is a work connected with the consolidation of the hammers, and, to be more exact, the felt on them. For this purpose, the needle needles are used, by means of which the felt is smoothly mixed to the center, weakening or compressing it. This is necessary, since some hammers are used much more often than others, and the felt on them simply wears out or is displaced.

The hammer pusher, or spindle, also often needs either repair or adjustment. In it there is a spring that likes to fall out of the train and, worse still, to cling to neighboring elements.

Strings tear strongly is not recommended, because they are very expensive, and the replacement is a long and difficult.

conclusions

Adjusters pianos - this is a kind of doctors musical instrument. One of them "operation" lasts about two hours and requires maximum concentration. If you wanted to try yourself in their place, be prepared that the "patient", roughly speaking, "fall into a coma," and stay in it until the arrival of a more experienced "doctor."