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It sounds as though the owner is doing all he can - you're right, the open top lid is to let a bit of air circulate - except PLAY the thing. Have you spoken to the tuner in person? Be guided by whatever he tells you. He will know the piano better than the owner, I expect. Ask him how much it will co...

Bit like saying you've been offered a Ford Focus and is it any good? As with a car, it depends how old it is, how it's been treated and where it's been kept. Schiedmayer are a good make but go back a long way so the piano could be very old. The sticking keys - if at the right hand end in particular ...

Well done - a lot harder for adults to learn than children!

Some piano shops offer an upgrade service whereby they promise to pay you back what you paid for your piano that you bought from them, less the VAT and knock it off the price of the next piano you get from them. That way you can spend a sensible amount of money and hedge your bets in case she ever g...

So am I. Doing my head in! Getting a pain in my scrolling finger...

Bill Kibby wrote: ↑
31 Aug 2018, 12:27
Imagine - Pierce didn't help!?!?

Ah, but Eizenham did give me a laugh though...so it does have its uses apart from standing my sarnies on in the car!

Looked very like a tiny Cramer I tuned once but looks older than 1943.

Good job! Hard to replicate the distance with an upright though, isn't it? That was what threw me when I took my first ever piano exam on a grand rather than the uprights I was used to...good job my eyesight was perfect then!

Hello Bill, tuned a tiny weeny Dale Forty today, 5 and a half octaves, no 43022. Oak case, looks to be 1920s but could find no date and Pierce was no help at all. It was sold by Mickleburgh in Bristol. Would you be able to help with an accurate(ish) date please? Tickled by Pierce's interpretation of...

Pianist magazine often finds some unusual little gems; might be worth looking at their back numbers for some ideas. A composer called Mompou is little known but has some interesting little pieces - sort of Satie-esque, if there is such a thing. I like some of the pieces by lesser known Russians like...

Well since you are going to need the piano tuner, why not let your tuner sort it out - sounds as if you've exhausted everything we might suggest! The keys themselves might have twisted and be touching, or the key leads might have oxidised and be touching. Let the tuner have a look.

ABRSM also do a Dip ABRSM and there's a qualification to bridge the gap between that and grade 8. But I think it'd just point the person questioning your qualifications to happy pupils/parents - they are your references. And never say 'only grade 8', say Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Musi...

It doesn't seem that they have a Certificate for Music Educator's equivalent. They do have a diploma in community and music group teaching but it doesn't seem to be the same sort of thing.

Did you do ABRSM (Associated Board) exams? I taught from about Grade 6 onwards and didn't get complaints. As long as you're teaching carefully and thoroughly and not pretending to have ten teaching degrees then I don't see any problem. ABRSM do teaching courses and certificates I think and that woul...

Sorry Michael, only just seen this post. You'd get more response by posting it under a new topic - something like 'Piano tutor book recommendation needed.' Tried to move it but don't have the know-how! The Complete Piano Player by Kenneth Baker is excellent; songs you know and aimed at an adult teac...

1934 according to Pierce Piano Atlas which is fairly unreliable on British makes. They were fairly good at dating their pianos; get your tuner to take out the first key on the left hand side and there should be a date, either written on the key, or on a label underneath it.

Blimey, you're starting early! I get teachers moaning about Good King Wenceslas is September! Still forewarned is forearmed as they say...

You could also ask for the tuner's number to chat about the general condition of the instrument. If they don't know/can't find the tuner's number then it's a fair bet that it hasn't been tuned for a while.

Take the bottom door off, follow the sustain pedal backwards into the piano and you'll see a nut atop a long bit of wood. Tighten that (lefty loosey, righty tighty) and keep testing the sound/feel until you get the desired result.

Ah, so THAT'S what 'chernigov' meant ! I thought it was a manufacturer. Thanks,Max!

Did Belarus pianos sometimes have no name on the fall? I tune an unbadged Russian piano - not bad! - but the only words I can discern are 'student' and 'diplom' on a transfer on the frame.

More to the point why should such a young piano (Petrof?) have loose tuning pins?

That's true, Barrie; it is a distinct sound all of its own, isn't it? Often followed by a dull thud, the sound of the tuner's heart hitting the diaphragm...

Moved this to the piano advice section since that what we wandered in to! Yes, I thought that once you'd seen a diagram you'd appreciate how complex a job it might turn out to be. But on the plus side it seems to be just the one note so hopefully it won't be too big a job. Do mention the fact that i...

When I started at 21, my projected retirement age was 60. Then it moved to 65. Now I'm 57, retirement is supposed to be 67. By the time I'm 67 it'll be 97...

I'll retire when either my ears or my thumbs give out.

Absolutely'; just have fun for now and explore which way you want to go. Then if needs be, find a teacher who works in your particular area of interest.

Nope, look at a diagram of a drop action - it will show you from the side what one nope comprises. There is a lever called a jack which is right in the centre of the whole shebang, at a slant of about 60 degrees, The top of that nestles on a pad of felt when the action is at rest and it's the pad th...

Can you take the bottom door off (the bit in front of your knees when you sit at the piano) and then sit on the floor and play the note. If the click is in front of you, it's a notch felt. If it's above you, it's possibly felt under the flange (what your arrow indicated) that's been eaten. Google 'p...

The click is probably a missing notch felt; when the jack goes back to its original position it should be resting on a tiny felt pad. These get eaten, worn or the glue gives up and the pad drops off, so instead of a silent repositioning of the jack, you hear the click of wood upon wood. Tell your tu...

Could you take a photograph of the inside of the piano for us please? The top opens up and each end of the inside of the top door there should be a swivel peg that will allow you to remove the top door. Specifically, we are looking for a serial number stamped amongst or above the tuning pins. The pi...

Found the playerpianogroup.org.uk and pianola.org.uk .

See if there's a local(ish) pianola society who might be interested and there may be a pianola specific website where you could offer it. It would be nice if it went to an enthusiast rather than someone who only wants a piano - and as a piano they're big beasties which a lot of people find hard to a...

You can get a PICTURE CHORD DICTIONARY FOR PIANO which has photographs of a hand in all the positions for the various chords; mine was about £25 i think from eBay. All the 'D min dim 7' and all that cods doesn't mean a thing to me, so it's been a godsend if I'm given trendy music to play with nothin...

Not crucial, no - but it can be useful. People who play with a metronome all the time sound slightly robotic and never develop their own sense of tempo. However, where it is very useful is where there's a difficult bit. Either the pianist goes from 100 mph to 2mph (in effect saying 'Helloooo, I can'...

Ooo, older than I thought then; I had a punt at late 50s/early 60s but wasn't sure. I knew you'd know though! I'll have a look at the key frame on my next visit. Ta!

Bill, could you give me an approximate age of a Kemble Minx serial no 64283 please? Ta!

Barrie Heaton wrote: ↑
06 Mar 2018, 21:27
I bet it is great fun to tune

...not!

Oo yes, nought out of ten for observation then! Sorry...do the strings go through the pin like a Brinsmead ? Must be really awkward to tune.

I tune three Minxes, all top tuners - in fact I only know Eavestaff as the dreaded piano with pins under the keyboard. One of the 3 has a few loose pins owing to its having been parked by a radiator in an old lady's home for many years but the other two - both dating from the 1960s - are fine and at...

Fortunately I had a light week this week and left it empty once I saw the forecast. Had THREE telephone calls this morning (weekends? What are they?) from people with sticking notes though - probably bowed lockrails, I expect.

Kemble (not Kimball - they're american) Minx are normally fairly well made and as long as it's been well looked after and not overheated there's no reason it should have the problems that you mention. Why not get it looked at first before you start to panic?

That#s because LVB is ALWAYS depicted as a miserable old git. I have a small bronze of him as a young man - still brooding but gorgeous. Knocks Liszt into a cocked hat and women used to swoon over him!

Glad it's not just me who's iffy about Brahms...we always referred to him as the Miserable Old Git at school! :D I moved your Broadwood question to the Piano Advice bit, as I think it will find a greater audience there...sometimes I think it's just thee and me here! Good idea to get it evaluated; mo...

Blimey...isn't the Brahms difficult? I never seem to find him very user-friendly. Probably because I don't like practising! Excuse radio silence computer's been awol.

Firstly you both need to listen to eachother - and pianists in particular are not used to that! Also, practise with a metronome for a little while (not too much or your music can sound mechanical) that you both need to listen to while playing. Any tricky bars need to be taken out and practised caref...

My brother and I were left money and he blew his on a top range Skoda (the Superb? Something like that) and he loves it to bits. I drive my smart about and spent mine on a piano!

Nice to have you aboard! Are you a beginner or an established pianist?

Look at new Zimmermanns which are now under the auspices of Bechstein (like Volkswagen did for Skoda and Seat). I've been very impressed by the ones I've seen, although I think Barrie has come across the odd iffy one. Older Zimmermanns are Cold War East German and not half as well made .

I think they were made in Britain in the 1930s I tune one very like it and found a date on the side of the bottom key. You could try looking there, or ask your tuner to.

But how many uprights did you play at Forsyth's? Kick a lot of tyres before you decide!
Yes, toning would make a difference to your teacher's piano, I expect. Has she ever considered it?

The pedal probably IS working but is fairly subtle and not noticeable; when the front is off as in the pic, can you see the hammers move closer to the strings when the left pedal is depressed? If so, it's working. If you were taking a guitar would you ask the landlord's permission? No. So as long as...

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