New Piano

[spiwak2005]

Sort of a sound question, sort of not. Our school just had a new piano donated - a 9' Steinway. We don't really have a place to store it, so it will remain on stage most of the time. Does anyone have any student "rules & regulations" regarding the use and care of such an instrument? We do also have an upright piano in the pit so this is definitely not an everyday
instrument. Is it acceptable to say "Students are not allowed to play this piano unless they have special permission"? What other types of restrictions do you have in place at your school?

 

[avkid]

A locking cover and a keyboard lock.

 

[wolf825]

Its your piano--I would say you can set whatever rules you wish. Take good care of it and tune it regularly and it will give you decades of service. We keep our grands in a humidifier controlled closet--helps retain the tune and feel of the piano. Suggest you find a good tuner and KEEP them on retainer--you do not wish different tuners to handle your piano. Also--I would suggest highly you tune to A440 and set that as your standard for house tune..there are a few rare idiots who will want a different tune for C or something, and its simple--NO...you have a house tune--and a house tuner...the renter will simply have to deal or they can bring in their own piano at their own expense.

A locking padded cover is a good start to protect the exterior, with a sign saying do NOT place ANYTHING on this piano.. Plus you can have a professional piano crafter put in a lock over the keys--a small investment of a couple hundred dollars to protect a very expensive toy (a new quality 9' steinway grand can run $60-80k to start) from dirty fingers banging and de-tuning it.. A professional piano crafter can also set up the humidifier or temp control system for it, if you find a storage area. We built our own piano box out of plywood and steel tubing, lined with housing foam insulation, and sealed edges, in a corner room.

-w

 

[LDSFX]

At my church where I TD at, we have a harpsicoferous (s locking cabinet in the back of the sanctuary in which our handmade harpsichord is kept). At a high school where I designed, they also had a locking cabinet against their upstage wall where they locked their grand piano. Locked covers and keyboards are also a good idea.

 

[spiwak2005]

Thanks!

Some great ideas here - thanks! This was exactly what I was looking for.

Suggest you find a good tuner and KEEP them on retainer--you do not wish different tuners to handle your piano.

A professional piano crafter can also set up the humidifier or temp control system for it, if you find a storage area. We built our own piano box out of plywood and steel tubing, lined with housing foam insulation, and sealed edges, in a corner room.

-w

We already have one good tuner who handles all the pianos in our school.

I'm in a space restricted situation and your custom piano box idea sounds perfect. What are the dimensions?