Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum distance from wall - upright placement.

Hi there.
What are the guidelines for placement of an upright piano, and how far it should be from a wall?

If it's placed facing a wall, try 4"-6". If it's placed facing the room, positioning is a more matter of aesthetics.

I was in a piano store last night - and when you get right down to it, what better way to spend a Friday night. Anyway, I played two identical upright piano models, one was placed in the middle of the room, and the other was diagonally placed in a corner. It was AMAZING how much louder the one in the corner was. The difference in volume was like the one in the center of the room had the soft pedal on and the corner one didn't. That is how noticeable the volume difference was.

So I would say the best place for an upright, and I'm sure this would apply to a grand, is in a corner.

I remember doing some research on this a couple years ago and what I found is that the optimal distance is about 9". I don't remember where I found that, but I do remember that the conclusion was based on careful research. Larry

I think 9" from a wall would look very strange and aesthetically unappealing. Even 6" would look bizarre to me.

I wonder...

Is an upright partly designed for the sound to be bouncing off the wall or is that just part of the animal because they would look funny in the middle of the room?

Older large uprights often had sound coming from a raised forward full music rack or holes in the frontpiece top and/or bottom.

For sure that was for the sound to project forward, but they don't seem to feature that anymore.

Anyone to the drawing board? (What is old is new again!!!)

If the upright is upright then from a dry wall 50 mm is acceptable, and a damp wall 50 metres.

If the upright is placed flat on the floor then the same guidelines apply.

When placed with right or left end onto wall, some deviations from the above dimensions are permitted, subject to the tolerances of musical scale.

The thickness of a fist is the usual recommendation.

How would placement interact with room size? Suppose it is a very small room aprox. 11' x 9' ? Does a larger distance from the wall give a bigger sound? How does it compare to a shorter distance and opening the top lid?
Thanks,
Ary

fe2008,
I have my spinet 6" from the wall on one side and 7" one the other. I record with a Zoom H2 and found this is the best location for recording the sound. Yes, it does not look appealing, but the sound doesn't come out like a spinet either! The reason for the different measurements is the sound projects louder on the side with more clearance. There was a similar discussions back around 6 months ago on this very topic.
Woody

it actually does not matter. with great technology now for example the dammp chaser (dehumidifier), the distance will not affect both the condition and the quality of the piano.

What about underneath the piano? Is it better tio place the piano on a carpet, or directly sit it on the floor?

No exact guidelines. It's really trial and error. It relates to what lilylady described as the sound "bouncing off the wall" behind (and every other adjacent surface of the area). The smaller the space and the harder and denser its surfaces, the more difficult it is to manage. Glass is a killer. I had a vertical piano positioned next to an interior door with eight glass panels. When the door was open and facing the piano, the sound was awful. It didn't matter whether the piano was 4" or 8" from the wall behind it.

What you really need to do is disperse the flow of the sound. I had more luck with some self-stick acoustic foam squares that I found cheap on eBay. I spaced some on the wall behind the piano and three on the hard floor directly under it.

Please add this to the mix: I have a new K3 upright coming and it will go in a corner that has exposed brick walls. There are no other options. What may I expect and what would be the cure, if needed?

I used to have my upright right up against a wall... maybe 5-6 cm to spare.

Then I decided to pull it out further, and eventually I find having it not parallel with the wall, in fact slightly diagonally, works best.

So this is what I think: Have it 4-5 cm away from the wall at the treble side, and about 20-30 cm away at the bass. But I believe it'll differ from piano to piano.

It may not be such a bad option. Placing a grand on a ceramic tile floor does not usually flatter the sound; but brick, while being dense, is somewhat porous, absorbs readily, and offers an uneven surface in that the individual bricks protrude more than the surrounding mortar. I won't venture beyond that because I'm certainly no expert, but I'm fairly certain that if your object is to tame the beast and avoid unpleasant booming, you could do much worse than exposed brick.

If you're talking about an exterior wall that might transfer moisture from the outside environment, there are other concerns relating to piano maintenance.

Thank you, Turandot. Very encouraging. The K3 arrived this morning and, sitting in the exposed brick corner about 2" from either(interior) wall, it sounds glorious -- warm and round but clear. It is the perfect size piano for this room: not much carpet, glass sliders and rather light drapes. Dining room aka music room.

I have had three pianos in as many years! You can call me fussy, eccentric or just plain wacko, but I believe I now have the perfect instrument for me -- at last! All my old rep is blooming and I am newly inspired. Wow!

Don't forget the pictures!

Will do -- as soon as I can get my canny grandson to come over and do it for me. Greetings from one cat lover to another (am I right, 8BallFan?).

Retread