Piano: Climatization: An Open Learning Guide

A climatized piano is a piano that has been modified in a way that gives the piano resistance and durability in wet or rapidly changing climates or weather conditions, with the added benefit of improving the quality and clarity of the piano’s sound. On July 31, 2021, a user by the name “Thepianoforever” (The Piano Forever) published a video demonstrating the benefits of owning a climatized piano, in this case, a 1952 Steinway piano. The pianist explains that while it is true that the temperature differences in the seasons can cause a piano to go out of tune, it is the humidity that plays a greater role in damaging the soundboards and thus compromising the quality of the sound of the instrument. Changes in humidity cause wood to expand or contract. Wood contracts in dry conditions and expands in humid conditions, causing the tuning pins inside the piano to move slightly. While one slight move is hardly noticeable, a piano will experience many such moves over time, and eventually, these slight moves will build up enough that the change is not only noticeable to the user, but also, so noticeable that it can make the piano practically unusable. Climatization can fix the soundboards, restoring the quality and making it sound cleaner, clearer, fresher, and better than ever before! Additionally, while normal pianos are susceptible to changes in weather, climatized pianos stay good-as-new even in harsh climates.

In the July 2021 video, the pianist plays "Cavatine" by Russian classical composer Eduard Schütt.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Piano/Climatization by Wikibooks contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. This adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.