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New York Production Models
-- Piano Glossary & Index --
The piano action is the intimate connection between the body and the intended result of the body's vivacity: music. Thus, a smoothly working piano action is of utmost importance because the action is the machinery that transfers and transforms the delicately scripted movements made by the hands to the strings by way of hammers and dampers that, in combination, strike and silence the strings in an exact pattern and movement in keeping with the pianist's intentions. From the hands to the keyboard to the hummer, to the strings. The result is power, delight, joy, satisfaction. The result is music.
Over time the hammer felt hardens, the shanks adapt to pressures that force other tensions to adjust, thus they warp. Moths eat the felt. Objects find their way into spaces where they do not belong and cannot easily be retrieved. Thin layers of dust meld and crustify. Delicate calculations on precision parts slowly become askew and in need of regulation. Even worse, sometimes parts break. From use, from time, from the weather, even the best materials begin to break down or wear out.
But all is not lost! Often that which began in excellence can be brought back to excellence. Steinway piano actions are made of such high quality materials using technologies and blueprints that are tested and true. It's a good chance that your piano action can be repaired and returned to its former state of integrity. Even many Steinway actions that have met tragic, damaging circumstances have been brought back to life by skilled technicians.
Sometimes piano owners attempt to repair their own pianos, but soon find that their piano is an amazingly complex machine with thousands of precision parts that look like no other type of part in other fields of repair. Certainly, to repair or rebuild a piano action, training is necessary. A Steinway grand piano is worth your effort to find a professional piano rebuilding technician. More: Talk to an expert about repairing & rebuilding your Steinway Grand Piano
Piano Restoration 101 Learn about the three distinct levels of piano restoration.