Your piano is your soul mate. Once you start playing it, you two are hopelessly entwined, enjoying a world of your own, mindless of what goes on outside your world. It is therefore absolutely important that you take care of your piano properly.
Taking care of your piano does not only entail having it tuned up every two to five years. It would also appreciate a daily maintenance from the owner himself. What good would it do to a piano if it would just be left at one corner of the house, untouched for sometime? Absolutely nothing, and it would just gather dust and rust.
One of the best ways to maintain its good condition is to play it often. Just like a human being, this piece of entertainment equipment needs exercise so as not to expire soon. Through regular playing, you are not only practicing to become a better pianist, you can also play and check if your piano is still in perfect tune.
It feels great to let your fingers glide over smooth and shiny ivory keyboards. It can’t be helped though, especially when you have little kids at home, to have little sticky hands pounding on the keys from time to time, unless you have strict off-limits rule on your piano. So, to keep your keyboard clean, shiny and non-sticky, try wiping a lemon or lemon-salt paste over the keys and then rinse with clean, wet cloth then polish with dry cloth.
Check out some of the things you must do in cleaning and taking care of your piano:
The Keys:
It is recommended to clean the keys with a light soap solution preferably that of Ivory brand
The Cabinet:
Some pianos, especially those with high-gloss finish should be handled with utmost care. Use a new soft cloth to wipe the cabinet. Do not use old towel converted into rags as the rough fabric can scratch the finishing. And the small particles, even dust can leave permanent graze over the glossy cover. To clean, wipe a damp rag over a small portion and then immediately wipe the area with dry cloth. The wet portion must not be left wet for more than a minute. Repeat process until the entire cabinet is cleaned.
To polish the cabinet it is best to use piano polish. Furniture paste wax will do as well. An old upright piano with an old wood finish may be cleaned with one of those new orange spray cleaner/polisher. Do not use the usual aerosol cleaner on a piano as it contains alcohol that will react with the finishing or tarnish the varnish or lacquer paint on your piano surface. You can buy specially designed piano polisher and polishing cloth as well in most piano stores.
The piano should be positioned by the wall of the home and not along a concrete block or floor as they can cause unstable temperature due to dampness. Constant changing of temperature can cause your piano to go out of tune. But the foremost cause of the change in tune is the change in humidity.
Having a piano at home is achieving a lot of goals. Other than it being an attraction, most of the time, visitors tend to assume that when a homeowner has a piano in his home he is not only musically inclined but also knows how to belong in the elite society. It is because a piano is still seen as a classical and very important musical instrument.
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About The Author
The writer, Ismael D. Tabije, runs the website http://www.pianos.e-mart4all.com that markets a wide choice of high-quality digital pianos and electronic keyboards at the lowest prices in the online market. Brands sold include Casio, Yamaha, Korg, Kurzweil and Roland. The website also features interesting piano articles about piano humor, trivia, myths and facts and even piano lessons and instructions.
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This article was posted on October 10, 2005
