How do I set up the piano myself?

Have you ever thought about how much space in lifea man assigned to music? Most solemn moments, both joyful and sad, pass under harmonious sounds. People listen to music constantly: at home, on the road, at work and resting when it's bad on the soul or vice versa. And one of the wonderful sources of sound for many centuries is considered a piano. But what is this instrument, and how to set up the piano?

Historical reference

At the end of the XVII century, great composers and musiciansbegan to look for a new keyboard instrument that, by the tenderness of the sound and the breadth of emotions, would not be inferior to the violin and organ. I wanted to have a deep sound, the bark could smoothly flow from thunderous fortissimo into a light pianissimo.

The first name of the piano was literally transmitted as"A keyboard instrument that plays softly and loudly." He called the instrument Bartolomeo Cristofori - Italian master of musical instruments in 1709. The music that comes from the tuned piano does not become obsolete to this day, affecting the deepest strings of the soul.

Who should set up

Like any instrument, over time, the piano changes in sound. It depends on many factors, and you will not be able to avoid the settings.

All virtuosos of their work are strongly recommendeddo not configure the tool yourself. In this process, there is no right to make a mistake, and every movement must be masterfully honed. Moreover, only the owner of an ideal musical ear can cope with this work.

Some can customize their toolyourself. But it is worthwhile to understand that this work is rather complicated and laborious. Moreover, if you neglect caution, you can tear the strings and cause irreparable harm to the instrument.

Curious fact: to violate the integrity of the string it is enough to drag it all by one octave.

Instruments

Those who are interested in how to set up the piano can not but realize that special tools are needed for this. What exactly is needed?

• Rubber wedge or plug.
• Electronic tuner.
• The tuning key.
• An additional light source.

These items can be bought at specialized stores. One must realize that the value of these tools is directly proportional to their quality, and therefore cheap they can not cost.

By the way, if you compare how much it costs to set uppianos - independently or call the master - the difference will be subtle. Why? Because, in addition to the keys, it is important to purchase special books on tuning the piano. Just watching the video on the Internet is not enough for a good piano tuning.

Beginning of work

It should be understood that the quality of the settings dependsyour further perception of sound. If the setting is not in accordance with the generally accepted standards for sounding tonalities, you can forget about the professional game and good musical ear.

So how do you set up the piano correctly? It must be in an empty room. The door to this room is better closed, so that no extraneous sounds interfere. The master needs to concentrate as much as possible and relax his shoulders, since the force to use when tuning is not recommended. All movements should be soft and smooth.

The piano tuning starts from the diagnosis. The first is exploring the keyboard. To do this, attach a ruler to it and check the smoothness of the keys in both planes.

It is necessary to try to shake each key for looseness. You need to do this at both the base and the edge. They should sit tight enough, but the general move should not be restrained.

Each key is held on two pins: front and middle. The height of whites is regulated by washers near the middle pin, and the depth of pressing with the washers of the front pin. The depth of the keystroke should be 10 millimeters.

It is necessary to check the pilot. The quality of its work can be checked by pressing the dark key. There should not be any loophole. When tapping on it, the hammer should not move.

Damper

Dampers are visible at the top. They should fit tightly to the strings. Any mixture is absolutely contraindicated. Pressing the right pedal, you can check whether they are at the same time detached from the strings. And slowly pressing the key will indicate the clarity of the work - half way to the string, the damper must come off it.

Hammers

These small bars should also work clearly. They must work as soon as the pianist's hand touches the instrument. The distance between the hammers and the strings should be 45 millimeters. Moreover, if there are bands on the hammers, this part of the tool must never be left behind. It should be polished as qualitatively as possible. Everything should be smooth.

The point of failure of the malleus should be two millimeters. Usually, if the piano has stood for a long time without tuning, this distance decently increases.

Adjusting the piano

If, before setting up the pianoyourself, you have thoroughly diagnosed it, the adjustment itself will be simple and smooth. Obviously, the height of the keys can be adjusted with washers, which were mentioned above. But how to adjust the tension of strings, hammers, dampers?

The tuning of the instrument starts with the note "A"first octave. In her, one hammer must strike one-three strings. Two strings are clamped with a rubber wrench, and the third is tightened on the corresponding pin. It must be gently turned with a key until the tuner shows that you have reached the desired tension. This action should be slow, especially when setting up the old tool.

How to tune the piano further? By the same principle, but clamping is not two strings, but one. It turns out that the two will be free, and their sound should be the same. To do this, again, you need to twist the tunable strings to the tuner sign.

With the third string, the setting is the same. Only with it you do not need to clamp anything with wedges. We adjust slowly, but hard. This is how one octave is tuned. The whole process of tuning is done by alternating quarts and quints.

About tuner operation

Of course, the tuner is a convenient gadget for setting up any instrument, however there are two "buts":

1. Errors when the sound is too low or too high.
2. No tuner is more accurate than human hearing.

Therefore, if you decide: "I'll set up the piano myself!", Think about how perfect your hearing is. Better consult with a specialist.

rules

Knowledge of how to set up the piano at home can be concluded in a set of simple rules:

1. Do not rush, but do not sleep during the setup. The accuracy of the speed does not depend.
2. It is necessary to eliminate defects in mechanics.
3. Torsion of the pins should be smooth, with minimal movements.
4. The string should be stretched for 1-2 beats in one second and with the mandatory fixation of the chop only on the bottom wall of the lock.
5. Trust the technology (the tuner), but check it by ear.

These five rules need to betuning the quint-octave type. All work is done without the use of physical strength. The entire tool should be professional, replace it with a similar one is forbidden.

If a quarto-octave tuning path is selected, littleKnow how to adjust the piano yourself. It is necessary to tune from the "la" of the first octave to the "mi" of the second, and from it to the "mi" of the first and so on. This is much easier, but often more inaccurate.

Intonation and other important trivia

An intonation is a work connected with compactionhammers, and to be more precise, felt on them. To do this, the needle needles are used, by means of which the felt is smoothly mixed to the center, loosening or compressing it. This is necessary, since some hammers are used much more often than others, and the felt on them simply wears out or is displaced.

The pusher of the hammer, or the spindle, also often needs either to be repaired or corrected. In it there is a spring that likes to fall out of the train and, worse still, to cling to neighboring elements.

Strings tear strongly is not recommended, because they are very expensive, and the replacement is a long and difficult.

conclusions

Adjusters pianos are a kind of doctorsmusical instrument. One of them "operation" lasts about two hours and requires maximum concentration. If you wanted to try yourself in their place, be prepared that the "patient", roughly speaking, "fall into a coma," and stay in it until the arrival of a more experienced "doctor."