Restoring the True Voice of Your Piano
Expert Tuning, Repairs, and Care for Homes, Churches, and Concert Instruments
Comprehensive Piano Care Solutions
Piano Tuning
Precision tuning to keep your piano in perfect harmony.
Repairs & Maintenance
Skilled care to restore and preserve your piano’s performance.
Action Regulation
Adjustments for a consistent, responsive touch.
Consultations & Advice
Professional guidance to help you care for your piano.
A Smooth & Enjoyable Shopping Experience
We hope your experience here is enjoyable. Taking care of your musical needs online is fast and easy. Shopping on the web saves gas, and your order is shipped right to your doorstep. Please note that all orders on our site over $85 include FREE SHIPPING! And, on a few select items under $85, we will ship free!!
Explore a Variety of Musical Essentials
Search for a variety of quality, inexpensive piano benches, lamps, and accessories. We offer a source for piano sheet music, plus music for guitar, organ, violin, and other instruments. You can also save big on Christmas sheet music all year long. Many of these items make wonderful gifts for your family or friends.
Premium Brands You Can Trust
Our growing list of products includes Schaff piano tuning supplies, GRK adjustable artist benches, and Jansen benches, stools, and accessories. The GRK sheet music cabinet is a lovely accessory, and please view the beautiful House of Troy piano lamps. These quality lamps can also be used for desk lighting. We have piano bench cushions (sometimes called bench pads), which will prevent scratches and add comfort to your playing enjoyment. Musicians and beginning piano tuners can purchase tuning hammers plus other piano tuning tools, supplies, and parts.
For Digital Piano Players & Young Musicians
For the digital piano player, we offer a source for purchasing electronic keyboards and accessories. You will find an excellent selection of digital keyboards, whether you are a professional musician or just a beginner. And if you are looking for a child's gift, please view the “Schoenhut” toy piano page. Kids will have hours of fun playing with these unique instruments. You may also enjoy our Schoenhut Picture Gallery.
Browse Categories & Get Personalized Assistance
Please browse each category on the left for the items you are interested in. And if you do not see what you are looking for, please call or email us. We may be able to get the item you are looking for. Have you ever asked, “How old is my piano?” Find out now. Send us the serial number and name to find out how old it is. We can determine the age of about 95 percent of all pianos made worldwide.
A World of Sheet Music at Your Fingertips
Please note that our sheet music source has more selections than you will ever find in one place. Shopping online is great! Search for rock, jazz, classical, ragtime, blues, gospel, band, and choral sheet music for piano plus all instruments.
Keyboard Benches & Essential Accessories
The GRK keyboard bench is currently on sale! It is our lowest-priced piano bench. We also offer the Yamaha X-Style portable keyboard bench. This lightweight accessory folds up and is easy to carry. It can be used with any electric keyboard or simply as a portable seat. More accessories offered are a keyboard stand, soundboard cleaner, fallboard lock, caster cups, and the deluxe Sav-A-Rug.
More Than Just a Store-A Growing Resource
You should spend a little time on our site looking at more than just the home page. This site offers much more than piano benches or lamps, and accessories. We are continuously updating and adding more products, information, history, facts, valuable tips, and free info on piano care and piano tuning and repair in Memphis, Tenn., and Shelby County. Be sure to bookmark any page or pages that you are most interested in.
Changing Times in the Piano Industry
The piano-making industry has seen drastic changes in recent years, while the instrument itself remains basically the same. Sorry to say, the piano manufacturing business in America is almost dead (2017), but the love of the instrument may be as great as ever! It's just that nowadays, while almost everyone loves a piano, very few people can afford a new one. Read our Piano Facts page about recent prices and production numbers.
Why a Used Piano Makes Sense
So we say, buy a used piano. There are still a lot of them out there. Find them listed in the newspaper, on the web, on the street (yes, it does happen, probably because of all those foreclosures and job losses over the past few years), etc. That's it! Save a piano.
Cleaning & Caring for Pre-Owned Pianos
Seriously, though, be careful about picking one up off the street. It might have a disease! Just kidding. Although it would be a very good idea to clean the key tops and case. Lightly wipe the black and white keys off with a disinfecting wipe. Don't let any wetness drip inside from the sides of the keys, and then wipe off with a clean, dry paper towel or cloth. If there is a bench, clean the top and the inside.
Storm Damage & Hidden Risks in Free Pianos
Another important fact is this: one single thunderstorm can completely ruin a piano, no matter how good it is. Plus, if the instrument has been thrown out, something may be wrong with it. Check to see if all the keys and action (the insides) are all working and have not been water-soaked. It is no good if the action gets wet. An action contains mostly wood, felt, and glue. A small amount of rust on the steel strings and pins can be tolerated, but that's about it. If the wood keys are water-soaked, they will dry out but will most likely warp and lose their felt bushings.
Why Saving a Piano Still Matters
Let us say further that we only talk about this free method of finding pianos on the street because, as piano players and technicians for over 30 years, it saddens us to know that many of these abandoned instruments may wind up in the dump. We know most people are not all that thrilled over the idea of picking up a piano off the sidewalk, but a lot of them can still be used to at least give your child beginning piano lessons.
Beginning Lessons & Upgrading Later
If they do well, later buy them a new one (if you can) or a newer and nicer used one. There is a chance that a few of these discarded “kings of instruments” may be of very good quality. As the economy gets better, there won't be as many free ones anymore, so typically a referral from a piano teacher, close friend, neighbor, or relative will be the best source for a good piano, new or used. And don't forget the bench!
When Older Pianos Become a Problem
Here's an afterthought. Recently, we have realized that many of those free or cheap spinets were not all that good in the first place. Plus, the big old uprights and old grands are all getting so aged and decrepit that they no longer perform well. Not to mention, most of them will not tune up very well at all. Now, please don't get us wrong. We're not contradicting what we said above about salvaging one of those discarded instruments. But the truth is, a badly playing and sounding piano may actually discourage your child. Or even worse, it may turn them off of music altogether!
When Older Pianos Become a Problem
Here's an afterthought. Recently, we have realized that many of those free or cheap spinets were not all that good in the first place. Plus, the big old uprights and old grands are all getting so aged and decrepit that they no longer perform well. Not to mention, most of them will not tune up very well at all. Now, please don't get us wrong. We're not contradicting what we said above about salvaging one of those discarded instruments. But the truth is, a badly playing and sounding piano may actually discourage your child. Or even worse, it may turn them off of music altogether!
Considering a Digital or Electronic Option
As an alternative (forgive us, God, after all, we are piano tuners and lovers), just maybe an electronic keyboard could also be a good choice. After all, they have gotten much better these days. And of course, for a real piano student, we only recommend a digital piano, not a cheap electric keyboard. “Digital” and “electric” mean the same thing, but “digital piano” and “electronic keyboard” do not always mean the same thing, even though both terms are used to describe a keyboard.
Understanding the Difference
An article at the bottom of our Digital Piano page may be helpful to understand this. We particularly enjoy the Roland RD-300GX, found on our digital piano page. It plays and sounds really good. Ah, but now we are no longer talking cheap, as in a free spinet piano sitting on the curb. Now do you see what we're talking about?
Give Your Child the Best Chance to Succeed
We hope so, because it's all about giving your child the best chance possible to do well with their music studies. The instrument they play on must be good enough so that they will not be hampered by any possible inadequacies of the instrument. This means that if you do pick up a cheap or free spinet, you must have it tuned and adjusted to sound and play as good as possible. If this cannot be done, then you must spend $10,000 for a new Kawai studio piano or around $2200 for a Roland RD-300GX digital keyboard and speakers!!! Just kidding, but only a little, since we love high-quality stuff. We realize, of course, that these might not be in your budget, so there is nothing wrong with dragging that free spinet into the house. Now we're sure you see where we're coming from!!
Enjoy the Journey Into Music
Have fun! The world of music is an exciting place. From John and Daisy at The Piano Tickler—your online source for piano tuning services, tools, related information and much more.
Our Legacy of Piano Care
We have tuned and repaired pianos in Memphis, Tennessee, since 1976.
We also service Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, Arlington, and Lakeland, Tennessee. We will travel to all surrounding counties and beyond. Concert piano tuning by ear!
“DEDICATED TO QUALITY SERVICE”
For an appointment, call (901) 827-3609.
Difference Between Upright and Grand Pianos
Well, if we want to be upright or grand, we surely should know the difference—that is, between the two types of pianos. I mean, seriously now. The upright piano is also referred to as a vertical. It stands up, so to speak. A grand piano is horizontal and lies down. But it's not really lying down, since three legs (four on old square grands) are supporting it. The strings and cast iron harp or plate inside are horizontal in a grand and vertical in an upright.
Design and Structural Differences
The cast iron plate in both types looks about the same. With grands, there is a more curved shape and closed-in design, giving them a more attractive look than uprights. Which is good, because with the top raised, we can see inside a grand. Verticals are closed up and do not allow an inside view. Now, we shouldn’t misunderstand. The plate in a grand piano is not necessarily made just for looks. It is designed to give the instrument greater strength and tone, and because of the way the soundboard is shaped, a grand piano utilizes a greater portion of its sounding board than a vertical.
Sound Projection
With the lid propped open, the sound goes out into the room and carries farther than an upright.
Action and Playing Mechanics
The piano action in a grand piano is made differently that in an upright. Grand actions contain a repetition lever, which allows greater speed than an upright action, which does not contain a repetition lever. This speed is noticed mostly by concert musicians only. Let's face it—the average player (no matter how many piano lessons we have had) will hardly notice the difference.
Pedal Systems
Another important difference in a grand piano is that the dampers are able to cut off the sound of the strings closer to the striking point than in an upright. A grand piano is also more easily equipped with a working sostenuto device. The sostenuto is activated with the middle pedal. It may also be referred to as selective sustain.
The soft pedal (the one on the left) is much more useful in a grand piano than in a vertical because it softens the sound without affecting the feel of the keys.
The pedal on the right is called the sustain or damper pedal. It does the exact same thing on both types of instruments. When depressed, it lifts all of the dampers to let the sound ring on. With the damper depressed, we had better make extra sure that we play only the right notes, or it will sound terrible! But now, that's what piano lessons are for. We need to find a good teacher.
Comparing Costs
Last, but not least, another big difference is the price. Grands cost a lot more than verticals, although it does depend on the brand of the vertical, because a new or used Steinway upright will cost more than lower-priced new grands. But if we are talking about just the difference in price between lower- to average-quality instruments (Chinese instruments fall in this category), the price for an average vertical is about half of what a grand piano might cost.
The price difference may be much greater if we are talking about used instruments. In other words, a used spinet, for instance, may cost much less than a used grand piano.
Piano Benches
Well, that's about it—except for the piano bench. Quite often on newer pianos, we can't see much difference in the size or shape of the benches. With older instruments, sometimes a grand bench is longer than an upright's. Then again, we have seen some used verticals with a bench as wide as a grand piano bench.
Learn More About “The Piano”
Check back later to learn more about “The King of Instruments,” as it used to be called over a hundred years ago. There is so much interesting history, facts, collectibles, trivia, and technical information about “The Piano.”
Scott Joplin Ragtime Piano Sheet Music
Get Your Piano Tuned - Call John @ (901) 827-3609
