Piano Tuner West Virginia Continues Explanation of Piano Action Regulation

As your piano tuner West Virginia and the surrounding areas, I have been posting blog articles about the meaning of the term piano “action regulation.” Our previous article gave an overview of the meaning of the term, and this article will begin giving specific information on the procedure. If you have not read our previous article giving an overview of the term “action regulation,” this would be a good time to read it, so that the information in this article will be more easily understood.

Of the ten major adjustments performed on a piano action, the most common is the piano hammer blow distance. On both a grand and a vertical piano the distance that a resting hammer sits from the string is called the hammer blow distance. Depending on the brand of the piano, it is typically about 1 3/4″. On both types of pianos, the distance tends to increase as various felt and buckskin parts of the action get compressed with use of the piano. One reason this adjustment gets “out of regulation” faster than others, is that piano hammers sit at the end of a long shaft, which is a type of lever. Any changes in the compression of parts leading to the hammer get magnified 5-7 times due to the design of a lever.

When the piano hammer blow gets out of regulation, the pianist must loses the ability to play sensitively. Each key must be played with extra force than it should be in order for the hammer to cover the additional distance to the string. Additionally, the force needed will vary from note to note, because the wear on a piano action is uneven due to the fact that some notes are played more often than others. As a result, it becomes more difficult to play an even and beautiful phrase of music. The regulation of the hammer blow on a home piano typically should be performed every 3-5 years. This measurement is something we check at every piano tuning, and we will advise you when it needs to be adjusted.

If you have any questions about pianos, please let us know. Harker Piano Service is your Piano Tuning West Virginia expert. We also provide piano services in the surrounding areas.