Facts Little Understood About Square Grand Pianos
Correcting Common Misconceptions about Square Grand Pianos
The Cultured Victorian Lady
Often misunderstood, antique Square Grand Pianos have suffered terrible prejudice by the modern piano industry. We routinely hear stories from clients who tell us that their highly regarded Piano Tuner tells them that their Square Grand Piano isn't worth its weight in firewood, and that investing in restoration & preservation would be fruitless.
Piano Tuners and Square Grands:
Consider this: Today's average senior Piano Tuner/Technician would likely be about 50 to 70 years old. When he learned to tune and repair Pianos decades ago, Square Grand Pianos were already 100+ year old antiques! As a result, no one alive today can remember these Pianos when they were new and in their prime. Piano Tuners tell us that they simply never had a chance to see and hear a Square Grand Piano that was in good working order because they were "ancient" Pianos in disrepair for as long as they could remember.
Tuning Square Grand Pianos:
Some Piano Tuners will tell you that Square Grand Pianos can't be tuned. This is true if a Square Grand Piano is in original, unrestored condition. What they DON'T tell you is that a 100 year old Upright or Grand Piano that is in original, unrestored condition can't be tuned
19th Century Square Grand Piano Showroom
either! This is because of the fact that the old strings, felt and leather tend to deteriorate over time. There is an estimated 12-14 tons of tension on a Piano when it is in tune. When this tension is put back on these deteriorated components, they simply can't hold it, causing the Piano to be unable to hold tune properly. Again, this is the case with any 100 year old Piano, not just Square Grand Pianos.
Since Square Grand Pianos were built so long ago, their tuning pins are shaped differently than modern tuning pins. Most modern tuning equipment doesn't fit an original square grand piano's tuning pins. This often causes further prejudice among many unprepared piano tuners.Note that when a Square Grand Piano is properly restored, the tuning pins are replaced with standard tuning pins so that that ANY piano tuner can tune it (with the exception of early historical forte-pianos which require a much smaller diameter tuning pin). Also, the tuning pins are in the back of a square grand piano, causing the piano tuner to have to bend over for a considerable amount of time to tune the instrument. Since most piano tuners keep themselves busy making good money with easier conventional upright and grand piano tuning and servicing, it can sometimes be difficult to find a piano tuner willing to tune a square grand piano even after restoration. In most cases, a piano tuner will charge a bit more for the extra effort involved in tuning a square grand. Finding a piano tuner who loves and appreciates these special pianos is key to keeping your square grand piano in good working order long term.
In summary, a properly restored square grand piano can be tuned just fine.
It may be a bit more physically challenging to tune a square grand piano, so your tuner may rightfully charge more than an average service call to tune it.
Why Do Square Grand Pianos Sound Different Than Modern Pianos?
Note: We have found that to the untrained ear, the average person can tell very little difference in the tone of a restored square grand piano compared to a typical new grand or upright piano.
To understand why a Square Grand Piano sounds different than today's modern instrument, one needs to understand a bit about how music
Tuning A Square Grand Piano
has evolved over the centuries. 300 years ago when the Piano was in its infancy, there was no such thing as electronic amplification. The Harpsichord and Clavichord were generally used in small intimate settings, producing adequate volume to fill an ordinary room. The early Piano-Forte had a decided advantage over its predecessors because it was able to produce both loud and soft dynamics, but not to the degree of modern instruments. These early Piano-Fortes had soft, leather covered hammers, and they produced an almost "harp like" quality that really is quite beautiful to listen to.
As the piano continued to evolve into the 19th Century, makers began to build their Pianos larger and heavier, ultimately allowing their strings to handle greater levels of tension. In Grand and Upright Pianos, hammers became covered with hard dense felt rather than the traditional softer leather covered hammers of their predecessors. As these instruments became larger and more evolved, they also became louder. Higher tension, use of iron frames, and evolving science helped create the loud and powerful Piano that we know today.
By the middle of the 19th Century, the traditional Grand Piano in America had evolved to a point where it sounded almost like the Pianos of today. There is evidence that much of 19th Century America did not like the loud and powerful sound of the evolving "Modern Piano" that was being introduced to them. Some described the tone as "harsh" and "overbearing", and they preferred the softer, harp like tones of the earlier Piano-Forte that they were accustomed to. We believe that this the prime reason that the softer toned Square Grand Piano continued to be the most popular type of Piano built and sold up until the last part of the 19th Century.
Square Grand Piano In 19th Century Music Classroom
So yes, Square Grand Pianos do sound different than modern Pianos. When composers like Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, and Schumann wrote their famous Nocturnes and Piano Concertos, they heard the music they wrote on early Piano-Fortes with delicate, beautiful tones. The Square Grand Piano continued to maintain this delicate tone quality throughout its entire existence, even as Grand and Upright Pianos became louder and harsher. More Square Grand Piano were built and sold in the 19th Century than Upright or Grand pianos, indicating that 19th Century American preferred their tone quality to the more modern tone of the Grand and Upright Pianos.
Note: As the modern piano continues to evolve, the tone is continuing to change. Today, Asian import pianos are offering a "high tension scale" which is yet again increasing the volume of the piano. These pianos tend to have a very glassy and metallic tone quality which is far different from what pianos sounded like just 30 years ago!
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Please click on these links for more information about Square Grand Pianos:
Page 1. Introduction - Square Grand Piano Main Page
Page 2. What Is A Square Grand Piano? - History and Evolution
Page 3. Facts Little Understood - Tuning Square Pianos, Understanding Their Sound Quality