Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Help adapting to a grand piano

I played 2 pieces today at a piano party on a Young Chang grand piano. There wasn't any opportunity to warm up on the piano and I just couldn't get the feel of this piano. My Everett upright at home has a totally different response. There is a "kickback" of some kind and it was very difficult for me to play smoothly. Does anyone have ideas for how to play grand pianos and what techniques need to be used. I'm not sure whether it was the feel of the keys or the time it took for the sound to come from the hammers.

you just have to get used to playing on different pianos, there's no other way. If someone plays before you, listen to the sound of it.

It is true what Amelia said, you just have to play lots of pianos to get good at making adjustments while performing. It is a skill that you develop with more experience. Most grand pianos will have a tougher action than most uprights, so that is something that you can usually assume when playing on a different piano. That coupled with different width keys, different key materials, height of the pedals from the floor, pedal sensitivity, etc., there are a lot of variables that makes each piano distinct.

You are right about needing more experience on lots of pianos. I think the difference in heights of the bench, music stand, and other variables are significant. I believe there is still something different in where the sound starts on a grand after pressing a key. The difference in the sponginess before the hammer engages. It's a combination of sound and feeling that I have a problem with.

The mechanism for grand pianos is different from uprights, so that is what you're feeling. On uprights, the strings are vertical, as is the sound board, so the hammers have to have a different setup. I really don't know all that goes into it, but this site is informative:
http://www.musicplay.com/Musicplay/How_Pianos_Work.html

And here's info on the upright piano key action:
http://www.infovisual.info/04/025_en.html

Thanks, Morodiene
That leads me to wonder whether experienced players can tell whether they are playing on a grand or an upright if blindfolded and wearing headphones. I'd like to try this test myself to determine if I can tell the difference, which I think I can.

Just a thought, someone I know has a Young Chang grand and I have noticed this 'kick back' or double strike if I play softly in particular. This piano is in dire need of regulating. Is it possible that the piano you played needs regulating? It may not be your fault.

My high school had a 9-foot Young Chang concert grand--somebody donated it to our piano program. The bass is dead and the treble is shrill. The action is terrible. In the same auditorium there is a 6-foot Kawaii grand. It was very modest, but it has a nice tone. I actually prefer the Kawaii, but the teacher thought the 9-foot looks better, so we ended up playing the Young Chang for our concert.

Interesting comments, Thanks. The Young Chang I played is about 10 years old and I would guess not regulated. I was bothered by the shrill tone of it but thought it was just my ears. The person who owns it played the same piece a week earlier on my Everett upright--Scarlatti--and it sounded deep and resonant on mine and tiny on her piano.

The "kick back" you describe might be a function of a higher "upweight" on the grand. If a piano is properly regulated, the key should stay under your fingers at all times. In other words, after you depress the key and start to release your finger from it, the key should come up at the same speed that your finger is. This is to facilitate rapid repetition, which is one of the things a grand's action can do much better than an upright's. If it is a "double strike", or bobbling type feeling you are experiencing, then the piano's let off, drop and/or repetition spring tension needs adjustment. This is an indication that the hammer is striking the string a second time just after it hits it the first time, which will cause an interference with the string's vibration and mute the sound somewhat. All in all, a poorly regulated grand is no better than an upright's action, and, in many cases, worse. You should not judge all grands by this one, especially if it is evident that this woman does not properly maintain this instrument. If you have a highly regarded piano retailer or, better yet, restoration (rebuilding) facility in your area, go there and ask to play some grand pianos. If the pianos are well regulated, you will thoroughly enjoy the experience once you get used to them.

CC2--"If a piano is properly regulated, the key should stay under your fingers at all times. In other words, after you depress the key and start to release your finger from it, the key should come up at the same speed that your finger is. This is to facilitate rapid repetition, which is one of the things a grand's action can do much better than an upright's."

_______________________________________________________

This is the information I was looking for. I was just playing my upright with these ideas in mind. I had my piano regulated a month ago and had new jack springs installed. It's 100 years old so I don't have the response that a newer upright or grand piano would have, however still plays to my satisfaction.

_______________________________________________________

CC2--"The "kick back" you describe might be a function of a higher "upweight" on the grand."
_____________________________________

This "upweight" of a grand piano then is what I need to adjust to.

I'm surprised by this. Most piano manufacturers put their best into their concert grands, but I guess even the best materials can't account for poor care. If a piano isn't played enough, put in a good environment and tuned regularly, then it will suffer.

I grew up playing on an Everett!

To me, every piano feels a bit different.

Stanny,

I love your quote, "Gone Chopin, (have Liszt), Bach in a Minuet."

How do you adjust to different pianos? What happened to your Everett, do you still have it in the family?

One of the worst pianos I ever played (for a fairly demanding concert) was a Young Chang grand like this one described. However, I don't think the problem was "if a piano isn't played enough", rather the opposite . It needed a lot more than tuning. The bench also came apart when I sat on it, but that's another story.

The 9' Young Chang I played on was a school piano, so it's played on 5 days a week for many hours. I seriously believe it was donated to us because they figured it was a piece of junk that nobody will ever buy, so they dumped it on us and got a huge tax ride-off.

At the same school--during our concerto competition, we pianists got to play on that 9' Young Chang, and our poor accompanists had to play on a stupid Technic synthesizer. Oh, lordy...No wonder the cellist won!!

Some pianos just have problems like sticking keys and kick back motions. Trying to overpower this with arm weight and finger strength may work. Sometimes not, depending on the severity of the problem.


Keith
http://www.keithphillips.net
http://www.freepianoresources.com
http://www.keithphillips.net/AdvancedPianoSecrets.htm