Glossary of Piano Parts and Terms
A
Accelerated Action - A technical feature in Steinway grand pianos, in which the key balances on a rounded surface, rather than a flat surface.
Action - The internal mechanism of a piano, consisting of several thousand moving parts made of a wide variety of materials. action consisting of a system of levers that move a felt hammer to strike the strings when a key is depressed.
Action Regulation - The adjustment of action parts to their proper specifications.
Agraffe - Small brass fittings, with holes through which the strings pass, screwed into the plate of some pianos to keep the strings perfectly spaced.
Art-case piano - The term for a one-of a-kind, specially decorated or embellished piano; often made by a noted designer or artist.
B
Bass Sustain Pedal - The middle pedal that sustains the bass notes only.
Belly Department - The part of the piano factory where the soundboard and iron frame are installed into the wooden rim of a grand piano.
Book Match - A decorative technique where two pieces of veneer with the same grain formation are placed side by side to obtain a figured pattern.
Bridge - A wooden structure (between the strings and the soundboard) that transmits string vibrations to the soundboard.
Bridge Pin - A small metal pin embedded in the top of the bridge against which the string presses; there are two for every string in a piano.
Bushing - A peice of cloth that acts as a buffering between metal hardware and surrounding metal or wood.
C
Capo d'astro - A metal bar attached to the underside of the iron frame of the piano, used in place of an agraffe in the treble notes to hold the strings in place evenly.
Case - The externa cabinet parts of a piano.
Center Pins - Small pins that form the precision pivot points of moving action parts. There are over 600 center pins in a piano action.
Clavichord - An intmate and quiet-sounding stringed keyboard instrument in use from approximately 1500 until the early 1800's and again in recent years.
Closed-grained - The term for lumber with tiny, or non existent, pores. Can be finished without the use of pore fillers.
Color Matching - The process of staining by which the shade of the wood of the various parts of a natural-finish piano are made to match.
Crown - A slight dome given to the soundboard in order to withstand the down-bearing pressure of the strings and maintain its proper shape.
D
Damper - A felt cushion attached to a lever assembly that stops the vibration of the strings.
Diaphragmatic (soundboard) - A thinning of the edges of the soundboard so as to increase the potential for vibration where it attaches to the case.
Digital Keyboard Pianos - Electronic musical instuments that electronically reproduce authentic piano sounds.
Duplex Scale - A scale design in which the ends of the strings (usally muted with cloth) are allowed to vibrate, adding tonal color.
E
F
Flitch - A complete section of tree trunk that has been sawed into thin pieces of veneer and is shipped as one unit.
G
Gray Iron - The mixture of iron ore and composite materials that is melted together and poured into a mold to create a piano's metal fram; also known as cast iron.
Grey Market Pianos - Pianos originally made for and the sold in Japan, then later sold as used pianos in America.
H
Hammer - The mallet that strikes the piano strings, made of very dense felt wrapped around a wooden core.
Hammershanks - The thin wooden levers on which the hammers are mounted.
Hammer Filing - The process of reshaping the hammers and removing worn layers of felt.
Harp - An alternate name for the iron frame fastened to the piano's inner rim to which the strings are attached; it enables the strings to be held under tremendous tension.
Harpsicord - A stringed keyboard instrument, forerunner of the piano, first described and still in use.
High Gloss Finish - A mirror like finish. (Also referred to as "Polished")
Hitch Pin - The metal pin at the terminal end of the piano string that holds the strings in place.
I
Inner Rim - The wooden structural part of a grand piano rim to which the soundboard and iron frame are attached.
J
K
Keybed - A wooden panel to which the keyboard and action are attached; it slides in and out of the piano for easy access.
Keylid - The curved, hinged wooden cover that pivots down to protect the keyboard when a piano is not in use. Also known as the Fallboard.
Key Bushings - Felt or leather bushings glued into mortises in the keys that enable them to move quietly.
Key Covering - The visable surface of the key usually made of ivory, ebony, or plastic.
L
Lacquer - A varnish used to coat a wooden surgace for an especially hard, glossy, durable finish.
Lamination - The process of bonding multiple layers of thin strips of wood (laminates) into one integral piece. Also, applicable to the use of veneer.
Lyre - The grand piano part that decends from the case of the piano and hold the pedals.
M
Music Desk - The horizontal cabinet part that holds the prited music upright for pianist.
N
Node - The exact point between vibrations of partial segments of a string, ocurring at measurable intervals along a string's length.
O
Outer Rim - The external portion of a grand piano's wooden rim.
Overstrung Scale - A design scheme where the bass and treble strings cross over each other, adding length and creating a larger sound.
Overtone - A higher tone faintly heard above the fundamental pitch of a note, resulting from the vibration of a partial segment of the string.
P
Pianoforte - The orginal name for an early version of the piano, in use from approximately 1700 to 1850.
Piano Rebuilding - The process of replacing major parts of the piano or sets of parts. This may also include case refinishing.
Piano Reconditioning - Restoring the condition of exciting piano parts and their functions.
Piano Strings - The steel and copper wires that produce the musical tone in a piano. There are three strings per note throughout most of the piano range.
Piano Tuning - is the act of making minute adjustments to the tensions of the strings of a piano to properly align the intervals between their tones so that the instrument is in tune.
Pinblock - The wooden structure that holds the tuning pins in place. Also known as a wrestplank.
Pitch - The highness or lowness of a sound, corresponding to the frequency of vibrations.
Q
Quartersawn - Refers to lumber milled axially against the grain; produces the most durable, strongest boards.
R
Regulation - Process of making adjustments to the action to compensate for chandges due to wear and enviromental changes.
Repitition - A small assembly of wooden levers, springs, felt, buckskin cusions that is part of the grand piano action. There are 88 repetitions in an action.
Ribs - Wooden bracing glued to the soundboard to strengthen it and support the transmission of sound across the grain.
Rim - The curved, laminated wooden structural framework that supports the soundboard, iron frame, and keybed, etc., in a grand piano.
S
Satin Lustre - The name for the least reflective buff finish available. This finish is found most commonly on the Steinway Crown Jewel pianos.
Scale - In apiano, the basic layout of the strings, bridge, and hammers relative to one another and to the overall size of the instrument.
Soustenuto pedal - The middle pedal that sustains only those notes beign played at the moment the pedal is pressed.
Soundboard - A large, thin, wooden diaphragm that amplifies the vibrations of piano strings.
Speaking Length - The principal segment of a piano's string, whose vibration gives the instrument the greater part of its sound.
Stencil Piano - Piano bears the decal different from the company that actually manufactured the piano.
Sympathetic Vibration - A natural phenomenon where a string will vibrate when a nearby sting is excited, even though it has not been struck itself.
T
Technician - A person who tunes and repairs pianos.
Tubular Metallic Action Frame - A metal armatue to which the individual action mechanisms that transmit the pressure on the keys to the strings are fastened.
Tuning Pin - The treaded steel shaft that keeps the strings at the proper tension. There are nearly 250 tuning pins in a piano depending on the piano.
U
V
Varnish - A broad term for a number of different kinds of smooth coatings applied to a wooden surface, which can be built up into an attractive, durable, protective film.
Veneer - Thin wood sheet cut from the circumference of a log.
Voicing - Adjusting the shape, density, resilience of the individual hammers for desired tonal quality and uniformity.
W
Whippen - The cintral action part that allows the hammer to fall from the strings after striking them.
Wrestplank - The laminated wooden plank that sits at the keyboard end of the piano in which the tuning pegs are embedded; also know as the pinblock.
X
Y
Z