HOW TO KEEP A PIANO.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Issue 50, 14 September 1878, Page 4

HOW TO KEEP A PIANO.

Otto Branning writing to tho Journal de Musiquc in Paris, says :—" Th" piano is constructed almost exclusively of various kinds of wood and metals, cloth, skin, and felt being used also in mechanical portion. For this reason atmospheric changes have a great effect on the quality and durability of the instrument, and it is necessary to protect it from all external influences which might effect the materials of which it is composed. It must be shaded from the sun, kept out of draught, and above all, sudden changes of temperature? This latter is a most frequent cause of the piano getting out of tune, and th'eipstrament should be kept in a temperature not lower than .Hdeg, and not higher than Hlideg. P. When too cold, the wood, cloth, and skin, well, and the mechanism worka badly ; when to warm these materials shrink and produce clinking, and other disagreeable soundß. Moisture is the greatest enemy of the piano, and it cannot bo carefully guarded against. In a very short time damp will destroy every good point about the instrument. The tone becomes dull and flat, the wires rusty and easily broken, the joints of the mechanism stiff, and the hammers do not strike with precision, and if these symptoms are not attended to at once, the piano is irretrievably spoilt. Therefore, do not put your piano in a damp ground-floor room or between two windows, or between the door and the window when there is a thorough draught Never leave the piano open when not in use and, above all, when the room is being cleaned. Do not put it near tho Btove, ohimney, or hot-air pipes. Always wipe tho keys after playing. Never pile books, music, or heavy things on the top. Be careful when using the pedal not to thump the notes. Do not allow five-note or other exercise of a small compass on a piano you have any regard for. A leather cover should be kept on the instrument when not in use, •u<! removed every day for the purpose of dusting. A cushion of wadding or a strip of flannel laid on the keys will help to Keep them white and preserve the polish. Never leave the piano open after a musical evening or dunce. • If you are obliged to huvo it in a damp room, do -,'. .. , ace it against the wall, and raise fro..i the llooi bj mi uus of insulators, and olwi.Yn iV' " v •' playing. Employ fani w ti i ■■ end it nnw let it b* tufted every two months during the first year, and at, lea ■ ,: i year afterwards. U vu) ■ nave it toned alter a soiree if tho j room'has been very dot."