Winter Dryness And Your Piano.

The break in the cold was welcomed today, but I'm afraid winter is still with us. Winter can be extremely hard on piano. This is a result of the realitve humidity being very low in most homes and institutions this time of year. The piano is made largely of wood, which changes dimensionally with humidity changes. Particularly at risk is the soundboard. It is constructed of a thin (3/8") panel of spruce. This panel, if unrestrained, would "grow" about 1/2" across the grain between winter dryness and the summer humidity. In the piano, the panel of spruce is restrained by ribs that can be seen in the photo (This is the Baldwin F board. More on the in the future). The result is that the board bellies up in the summer and goes flat in the winter. This causes the piano's pitch to go sharp in the summer, and flat in the winter. Keeping the change in humidity around your piano at a minimum will greatly improve it's tuning stability, and will lengthen the life of the instrument. Humidification devices can be installed on some heating systems. I can also install a humidity control system in your piano to protect it from seasonal humidity changes. (see www.dampp-chaser.com)