Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum I broke a string.

So I was playing Chopin's scherzo 2 and at the very end I broke the high F. I opened up the lid and removed the broken string.

What are the chances that other strings might break, and how much will it cost to replace this one string? Also, how much does a full new set of strings in a Yamaha G2 cost in your area?

No one out here is cyber-land can help you.
You need to call your piano tuner.

...you DO have a piano tuner, right??? The guy that comes regularly to tune your piano????

On top of what Jurgen says, DON'T REMOVE THE WIRE AND THROW IT AWAY!!! Hang onto it. It just takes us more time to figure out the proper size and costs you more money for us to do so. Not all wires are the same size.

Yes leave it there. It sizzles and sings as it buzzes on the other strings reminding you to call the tuner.

What are the chances another string might break, you ask.

It could be just a single occurrence.

I recently had a crackdown on breaking strings at the conservatory. I have had to fight some of the faculty on this. I have refused to tune some of their home pianos because they break strings. I have recently 'pulled rank'. I am not just the tuner, I have started to speak of my extensive experience with concert pianists who can create an enormous sound and not damage the piano. I service their practice pianos where there is no sign of a broken string though the piano might be 50 years old.

Now I have a head of faculty who holds the position that, 'if they're doing that to the piano, what are they doing to their hands?' That helps enormously.

As a result, we have reduced string breakage and other maintenance. We have only had 3 broken strings in the past 2 months.... Down from one every other day.

What are your playing habits? Jerking keys down in an effort to achieve a louder sound is a recipe for breaking strings, an ugly tone and muscle damage. If this is so, Seek out a teacher who understands this and good luck finding one.

By correct playing, you will create a more full tone with less effort, consequently less damage to the piano.

Practice with the lid up. Having the lid down distorts the sound, making the treble thin and the lower middle boomy causing a tendency to play too heavy in the treble in trying to create a balance.

Most broken strings are in the treble. If you start breaking tenor and bass strings on a normal piano in fair condition, your playing is in big trouble. Have you ever watched an habitual string breaker play?? They even look stoopid.

Is someone else playing your piano? A string can be stressed by brutal playing or tuning to the point of breaking and then break later with only quiet playing.

There are pIano tooners who will disagree with me. Remember that replacing broken strings is a lucrative source of income and can colour the views of a normally intelligent person.

I agree with everything in the post immediately preceding mine. During my six years as a B.Mus. and M.Mus. student, I did not break a single string, while I know one person who broke 70 (not kidding) in a single year. There's just no need to play that way, not to say that you do. Of course, some pianos are also, by design, more prone to string breakage, but usually it is the pianist's fault.

If you don't routinely break strings, just have it replaced and don't worry about it, but if it's a regular problem, reassess your playing. To answer your question, replacing one string will probably cost you one hour of the technician's hourly rate, even though an RPT should be able to get it done in about 15 minutes. The cost of restringing a whole piano is highly variable, depending on who does the work and what their philosophy is. You could probably get it done for $3,000ish. But, some technicians are more comprehensive than others, so it could cost significantly more than that if the pin block is replaced, the bridge/agraffes are reconditioned, and premium bass strings are used, etc.

In response to what rxd wrote, I am one of those pianists that is rough on strings. I have a piano with very heavy hammers, and I used to bruise my fingers slamming the keys too hard. Then I realized that was stupid, so I toned it down a bit and haven't had any bruising since. Despite my piano being 40 years old, I think my playing had something to do with a copper clad low F string breaking (though I did have 4 intense F minor pieces at the time so cut me some slack!) and 3 strings near the top breaking.

More recently, I was informed by my piano teacher that I tend to knock his piano out of tune, and none of the other students do this. I try to limit the harsh attacks, but on the other hand, it's easy to get into the music and start pounding hard, so please be understanding of us piano abusers

I am not a Las Vegas bookie so I don't give odds. And I would bet, ahem, that a bookie would have trouble giving odds on a single occurance happening again.

I think as many strings are broken while tuning as while playing. I am not going to assume that your string broke because of playing technique. And I hope if your tuner breaks a string you won't assume it was his tuning technique.

Call your tuner get it fixed, ask him what he thinks and see if any more break. Like if your car got a flat tire, would you assume the others are likely to go flat, too, and decide to replace them all? Well, if they were bald you would. See what I mean? Your tuner may suggest shaping the hammers or something.

Well, that's a nice validation of playing habits I never knew I have! Evidently my teachers' instructions sunk in well enough that in 53 years of piano playing, much of it ff or higher in stride tunes, I've never once had a string break. The ancient Kranich & Bach upright I used to own started breaking wires at the top of the scale after I had its pitch raised, but that was no big surprise and it only happened during tunings.

Andy

Broken strings is always a great tragedy for the client and a headache for the tuner. You must pick an identical. If not then it will stand out in the sound from others.
Max always afraid to break bass string. If copper braid with a larger or smaller step is very difficult to tuning it string

After 45 years of time playing pianos, I broke my first string this morning with a pinky finger. I was merrily warming up with a little Clementi Sonatina on the Yamaha G3 at church, and ran a light scale passage just like I've run it a hundred times before and *SNAP*. A6. It broke right where the hammer meets the string. I pushed the short piece out of the way, neatly, and coiled up the long piece, neatly, to rest along the tuning pegs. The church's tech is coming in about a week to fix it. Meanwhile, I'll play on Sunday with a note that says "ting" instead of "toooong."

Metal fatigue? I've been trying very hard these days to moderate my staccato touch, but even then, I wasn't playing staccato at the time, and whatever you'd call it, it was more like leggiero, without much force at all! I certainly don't take any pleasure in being the one to break one of my favorite pianos!

--Andy (the other one)

I have never seen a string break at that point. Any evidence of rust or corrosion at tha point it broke?.

I only once saw a break near the hitch pin because a mouse or something had wet it and created a weak spot.

Usually it's leaving the pin or at the capo they break.

Max, do you know how to tie strings that have broken. This is a good technique that can save you from finding a whole new string.

I have to admit, I was more interested in playing than in tech'ing today, and didn't even think to check. I'll look more closely tomorrow, and shall report anon.

Here you go. Great videos. Click here One of them is of a string splice. Enjoy.

I've seen strings break anywhere Andy. From where the hammer hits the strings to the pressure bar and any other place. When it breaks where it broke for you, it generally means that it broke while striking the key. Chances are, the string was back as far as it could be when the hammer struck it again and snap it went.

How many pianos do you service at your conservatory?

How many pianos do you service at your conservatory?

90

Wow that's a huge conservatory - I never like to work on instruments housed in conservatories, temperatures vary so wildly and stability is impossible

.....and that's the impression I like to sustain....it comes from the smaller establishments who bring in some tuner periodically, often when it's too late.

in fact it's possibly the easiest job I've ever done. We have an economy of scale. I'm a morning person so I wander in early in the mornings when theres just me, the cleaners and security. A bit of banter, a bit of work and a bit of coffee and I'm finished by 9 and free to help with the concert work in London which is even easier. I stopped doing home tunings recently so I have no scheduling and I have an understanding that each sheet of paperwork represents a piano that doesn't get serviced so.... No paperwork. I finally have everything just the way I like it.

I will go on in case there's any other ideas someone can use.

I have an assistant look after the uprights. Our first study pianists have good grands to practice on so we have never had a broken string on an upright in the 10 years I have been there. Some of the pianos need little attention, a few can vary in pitch more than others. About 2-3 times a year I pull an all nighter when everything goes out at once. Pitch stays between 440 and 441. Some get as high as 443 but we are training international musicians so 443 is not too high these days. Never below 440 so I occasionally pull up a middle, the extremes tend to stay put except replacement strings, which only occur in the middle of the top two. Much of the time, the tuning is a free ride if I stay on top of it, just tours of inspection making adjustments when needed.

My employers have the wisdom to give me control over my own situation, for example, When I first came here, some pianos did occasionally bake all night so I advised hiring a heating engineer to put the heaters on a timer... Simple. Makes the job 10 times easier. Who's going to listen to a tooner who only comes in occasionally. It's more of a consultant position.

We're not that big, Johnkie, Some Conservatories in London have 150 pianos. I was offered the job at one that size some years ago but the working conditions were not conducive. We are the smallest of the big four in London and the most like family. All the conservatory techs get together occasionally, you must come down and join us. I find myself up your way quite often.

The building is 350 years old with some 2 foot thick walls next to a huge park ... That helps. it's near the river but rust is not a problem. my office overlooks an old tall ship and the river but I rarely use it.

When I first came here, my assistant came in 3-4 month intervals. That system simply can't work so I changed it to weekly. I did the same thing in the 'States, changed a system of quarterly visits to weekly inspections and only doing work as and when needed. Much easier that way and the pianos spend more time in tune for the same financial outlay. Most institutes don't get this rather obvious point.

It takes a good relationship with upper management to make effective changes, much of it done over lunch. It also helps that I have been a successful professional musician and that I did some tuning here in the '60s and I remember some of the legendaries. I still don't think I ever did a days work in my life.

But this is about broken strings.

Much as I deplore signs, I did put up a sign in one problem room to the effect that broken strings were unnecessary and that they were damaging the pianos for their colleagues. I Put it up high ( some of the rooms have 12 and 20 foot ceilings). One student stood on a chair and pencilled in the names of several known string breakers so the students are supporting my crusade.

the designated Jazz dept. pianos have not had broken strings for a few years now, even the 20 year old grands in the big band rooms and they can be heard clearly in the texture of the band, a credit to the teaching I thInk.

Trinity College of Music?!