I have just bought a new upright piano. It sounded quite civilised in the shop, but is overpowering in my apartment.

Concerned that my eviction would shortly follow my playing, I tried to quiten it down.

I found that placing a large, thick, flokati rug behind the piano had the desired effect, and reduced the volume from ear shattering to very pleasant. However these rugs are about $500, so I'd rather keep it on the floor; it also leant a rather stone-age look to the piano, shrouded in fur...

Can anyone suggest a cheap material (and supplier thereof) with similar acoustic properties - I live in Brookline (Boston) MA.

TIA

I have grandma's quilt draped over my vertical. People think it is there for decorative purposes so it must not look too strange. The quilt hangs over the front, is held in place by a heavy piano lamp on top and is long enough to cover the back. It dampens the sound just enough to take the "edge" off. My tech also suggested wedging a couple of cheap polyfil pillows ($5 at walmart)behind the piano if it's still too loud.

I am sure that the best results will come with a lot of experimentation. Before listing a few ideas, you might want to know that dampening the sound from the piano will result in a clear change in the quality of the sound, not only its intensity. Some frequencies will respond more to dampening than others. Again, experiments will show. In the meantime, a few thoughts:

- A rug under the piano will help. My guess is that you have hardwood floors (given that you live in Brookline). I would believe that if the piano stands on a sound insulator (like a rug), fewer vibrations will be passed to the hardwood floors, which in turn will vibrate and produce sound. My guess is that nobody wants those vibrations (many of them undesirable harmonics), and that includes your neighbors. Even better, foam (as used as insulation for pipes) could be used under legs and bottom of the piano (with or without a rug).

- a sheet of foam behind the piano will help. Home Depot has them. Warning: they are very flamable (well, if lit...). If covered in felt, it would be even better.

Hope that this helps. Congratulations for your new piano!

Take an old comforter and wedge it between the backposts and the soundboard.

Old comforter is a good idea - think "Thrift Store". Also moving blankets (U-Haul, the quilted blankets, not the fuzzy orange ones) and acoustic ceiling tiles (Home Depot).

You can also root around for a rug to hang on either the wall or the back of the piano. Some of the inexpensive ones from places like Target look pretty good and they do a good job of sound dampening if they are thick enough.

Your Question makes me wonder if I have to worry about the sound in my place if I get a 52" uprght. At least I do live in a house. And maybe you folks are just atlking about trying to make it quiet for an apartment dweller. But some made statements like "It dampens the sound just enough to take the "edge" off." So I am wondering if having such a sized piano in a small (12X10) room will cause any problems. and if I should try to get a smaller piano. Anyone?

Morgan, I don't know if getting a slightly smaller piano will be much quieter. Are you afraid that the piano will be too loud for yourself in the 10x12 room, or for others in the house? My problem is that I like to play at night after the kids are in bed. The piano is in its own room away from the bedrooms but one of my daughters is a light sleeper.

Morgan,

The flokati rug made a huge difference, a lot more than taking the edge off. I think it's basically because a great deal of the sound of an upright is reflected off the wall behind it - after all, the soundboard is at the back.

I'm sure you'd be able to get it quiet enough - I was pleasantly surprised by the difference the rug made.