Piano Index & Glossary

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  • Dampers -- Pieces of cloth that are held against the strings in order to prevent or stop the strings from vibrating.
  • Damper underlever -- The part that is lifted by the back of the key when the front of the key is depressed in order to lift the damper away from the string, allowing the string to vibrate.
  • Dates for Steinway Piano Production
  • Decay -- The sound of the string as it diminishes or dies away.
  • Development of the Overstrung Scale
  • Diaphragmatic soundboard -- A soundboard that is slightly thicker in the center than it is on the edge. The difference is slight, but it increases the resonance of the soundboard.
  • Double tuning -- Tuning the piano in two stages. The first tuning is a preliminary tuning to correct the pitch of a piano that is either sharp or flat. The second tuning is the fine tuning that will be heard by the performer and the audience.
  • Don't Do This To Your Piano
  • Double repeating action -- A feature of grand pianos where the hammer is reset and ready to play before the key has actually returned to its home position. The advantage of a double repeating action is that you can play the note a second time faster. This ability for rapid repetition is a feature that distinguishes a grand piano from an upright.
  • Downbearing -- The pressure that the strings exert against the crown of the soundboard. The pressure is created by the angle of the string as it passes over the bridge.
  • Downbearing gauge -- A tool for measuring the change in the angle or bend of the wire as it passes over the bridge.The downbearing gauge is used to help determine the optimum amount of downbearing. The final test is how the piano sounds, and it varies from one end of the piano to the other in that there is usually more downbearing in the treble than there is in the bass.
  • Down weight -- The measured amount of weight it takes to start a key moving downward.
  • Drop screw -- An adjustment screw of the grand piano action that determines how close the hammer is allowed to approach the string after it is released from the backcheck. The reason for drop screw adjustment is that if the hammer rises too high it will strike the string a second time, and if it doesn't rise enough it slows down the repetition.
  • Duplex scale -- The part of the string between the bridge and the hitch pin where the sound is controlled in order to complement the tone of the speaking part of the string. The aliquots help to determine the quality of the sound of the duplex scale.

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