Construction and Maintenance
Recommended Books
In the print Music Collection, books on the construction and maintenance of pianos can be found in ML 652 to ML 697. See especially ML 652, "Construction and repair. General works." Guides on tuning, an important component of piano maintenance, can be found here as well as in MT 165. The recommended books below are sorted by their call numbers. Hover over the info icon to see a description of the book.
Pianos and Their Makers: A Comprehensive History of the Development of the Piano from the Monochord to the Concert Grand Player Piano by
The late Alfred Dolge was one of the most remarkable figures in the history of the piano. First trained in the German piano industry of the 1860s, he continued to work and study under the great Mathushek upon coming to the United States. He went into business for himself, manufacturing hammers and other components (eventually founding the piano town of Dolgeville, New York), and achieved an international reputation as a manufacturer, designer, and inventor of piano-making machinery. In addition to being one of the top technicians in the world, he had a unique circle of business and personal acquaintance with everyone of importance in the piano world of both Europe and America, on a level that no outsider could ever attain. All this culminated in the 1911 publication of Pianos and Their Makers. To prepare the reader for more technical exposition, Dolge first gives a brief history of stringed keyboard instruments, from the early pianoforte up through the square piano, the development of the upright, and the modern grand. After this, he explains the development of individual components: the full iron frame, the keyboard, various types of action, hammer, soundboard, as well as woods, felts, and wires. The heart of this book, however is a close history of the development of the nineteenth-century piano, with full credit to the great designers and manufacturers. More than 100 pages are devoted to American advances alone, all highly specific. There are also profiles of important personalities. In addition to covering the standard piano, this volume is also one of the few sources to cover in some detail automatic instruments, including player pianos, reproducing pianos, transposers, and cabinet piano players. The result of this incredible amount of data is a book that is both necessary and fascinating to anyone seriously interested in the piano of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, whether in historical developments, background for an instrument that the reader may happen to own, restoration and repairs for unusual devices, and overall background. The diagrams and illustrations alone make this book indispensable, providing as Grove's has noted "invaluable data about American piano making."
Call Number: ML652 .D6 1972Publication Date: 1972
The Piano: A History, Revised Edition by
For more than a century the piano has occupied a dominant place in music and society. Here, Ehrlich traces the instrument's fascinating history from the fortepiano of Mozart's time, and the Victorian's "household orchestra and god," to the most sophisticated modern products of the Japanese manufacturers. Updated and revised by the author to include recent developments, this book will captivate musicians, historians, and all lovers of the piano.
Call Number: ML652 .E4 1990Publication Date: 1990
Giraffes, Black Dragons, and Other Pianos: A Technological History from Cristofori to the Modern Concert Grand by
This lavishly illustrated book treats the history of the piano from its invention in 1700 to the present in terms of its technology. Looking at the technologies of design, materials, and manufacture, and focusing its description on specific existing pianos, it describes the changes in pianos from the earliest days to contemporary instruments. This revised edition incorporates the results of recent research that increases knowledge of the work of Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the piano; changes perceptions of how eighteenth-century pianos were made and used; adds to the available information about the important contributions of the Steinway Company; and describes the most recent changes to the piano.
Call Number: ML652 .G6 2001Publication Date: 2001
Piano Servicing, Tuning, and Rebuilding for the Professional, the Student, and the Hobbyist, Second Edition by
This second edition of Reblitz's title can be used by students and hobbyists, but it's the professional most likely to include this in a personal reference library. Here is all the information essential to the art of restoring and maintaining a piano; from minor repairs and cleaning to major tuning and complete restoration techniques. A fine, specific reference.
Call Number: ML652 .R3 1993Publication Date: 1997
Theory and Practice of Piano Construction with a Detailed, Practical Method for Tuning by
How piano operates and is constructed. How to tune piano, adjust action, make simple repairs very clearly explained; no special skill needed. 19 illustrations. Reprint of the 1906 ed. published by E.L. Bill, New York.
Call Number: ML652 .W58 1975Publication Date: 1975
The Pianoforte in the Classical Era by
In a period of only thirty years in the second half of the eighteenth century European musical culture underwent a remarkable transformation. In 1765 the harpsichord was the indispensable item in almost every concert and in every home where music was practiced; the sound of the pianoforte was virtually unknown to most music lovers. Yet by 1795 the situation was entirely reversed. The pianoforte was indispensable and the harpsichord had become all but obsolete - except in the most backward and conservative establishments. Three hundred years of harpsichord dominance had ended, and workshops that had been busy producing them either ceased trading or switched hurriedly to the new hammer-action instruments. What precipitated this amazing capitulation was, of course, new styles in musical composition and performance. While baroque counterpoint might be ideally suited to the harpsichord, the new keyboard music required above all expression. Not only loud and soft sounds, which the harpsichord could be contrived to imitate, but diminuendi and crescendi, sudden accents and an arresting quietness, which it was powerless to perform; these became the essential elements in any accomplished performance. For song accompaniments, too, the pianoforte was found to be ideal, with a sweet tone that supported the voice, and a dynamic flexibility that permitted it to follow the vocal line or to prepare the appropriate effect. The Pianoforte in the Classical Era charts the progress of this revolution in musical aesthetics and experience, detailing the extraordinary variety of sounds and musical resources built into the keyboard instruments in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Wherever possible the author returns to original sources - a wide variety of previously unreported documents, as well as surviving instruments - to reconstruct a history of the pianoforte that departs radically from earlier theories of many of the most fundamental issues. A wide range of instruments, each carefully described, is placed in a precise chronological and cultural setting. New insights are offered into the parameters that governed the performance of keyboard music in the Classical Era.
Call Number: ML655 .C53 1998Publication Date: 1998
Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand by
An alluring exploration of the people and the legendary craftsmanship behind a single Steinway piano. Like no other instrument, a grand piano melds engineering feats with the magical sounds of great music: the thunder of a full-throated bass, the bright, delicate trill of the upper treble. Alone among the big piano companies, Steinway still crafts all of its pianos largely by hand, imbuing each one with the promise and burden of its brand. In this captivating narrative, James Barron of The New York Times tells the story of one Steinway piano, from raw lumber to finished instrument. Barron follows that brand-new piano--known by its number, K0862--on its eleven-month journey through the Steinway factory, where time-honored manufacturing methods vie with modern-day industrial efficiency. He looks over the shoulders of men and women--some second- and third-generation employees, some recently arrived immigrants--who transform wood and steel into a concert grand. Together, they carry on the traditions begun more than 150 years ago by the immigrants who founded Steinway & Sons--a family that soared to prominence in the music world and, for a while, in New York City's political and economic life. Barron also explores the art and science of developing a piano's timbre and character before its first performance, when the essential question will be answered: Does K0862 live up to the Steinway legend? From start to finish, Piano will charm and enlighten music lovers.
Call Number: ML661.8.N7 B37 2006Publication Date: 2006
Physics of the Piano by
Why does a piano sound like a piano? A similar question can be asked of virtually all musical instruments. A particular note-such as middle C-can be produced by a piano, a violin, a clarinet, and many other instruments, yet it is easy for even a musically untrained listener to distinguish between these different instruments. A central quest in the study of musical instruments is to understand why the sound of the "same" note depends greatly on the instrument, and to elucidate which aspects of an instrument are most critical in producing the musical tones characteristic of the instrument. The primary goal of this book is to investigate these questions for the piano. The explanations in this book use a minimum of mathematics, and are intended for anyone who is interested in music and musical instruments. At the same time, there are many insights relating physics and the piano that will likely be interesting and perhaps surprising for many physicists.
Call Number: ML3805 .G56 2010Publication Date: 2010
Piano Tuning: A Simple and Accurate Method for Amateurs by
Reprint of the 1907 edition published by Theodore Presser. If you have a note that has dropped in pitch, do you have to call in the tuner? A stuck key? Sympathetic rattle? Missing bridles? A broken hammer shank? An unglued ivory? The answer, in each case, is no: you can make all of these repairs yourself! This is the clearest and most complete book available for beginning tuners and amateur pianists. It explains all the basic processes practically and with model clarity. A non-musician can use this book without too much difficulty. You will learn how upright, grand, and square actions work, and how to take care of the smallest repairs--repairing stuck keys, poorly adjusted bottoms and capstans, crowded back checks, felts and leather on the hammers, hammer stems; softening damper and hammer felts; installing new bridles; eliminating "sympathetic rattle"; all with a minimum of tools and training. You will learn a professional method of tuning based on slightly flattened fifths, where only the octave and the upward fifth intervals are used. This is one of the easiest systems to learn, one capable of a great deal of control, and one perfectly suited to adjusting one or two keys. It is a tested method especially right for amateurs working without a teacher, and a method that trains the ear for other recommended systems. The author also explains "beats," the theory of the tempered scale, and useful experiments you can make with harmonic phenomena. If you want to experiment with tuning a piano, there is no better book to start with. It will help performers and teachers make occasional repairs and learn the structure and scale of the piano. Those who want to know how pianos work will find this book both clear and useful.
Call Number: MT165 .F48 1975Publication Date: 1975
Interlibrary Loan
Users are encouraged to search for items beyond University Libraries' catalog via RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and WorldCat. Materials not available in print or online may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow up to seven days for electronic delivery and up to fourteen days for delivery of physical items.