How to Fix a Stuck Key on a Piano Keyboard
When a piano keyboard key gets stuck, the situation is more than just annoying. It can completely ruin the sound and flow of all music made on the machine. This hinders the keyboard from its sole purpose, rendering the piano almost entirely useless. Luckily, a stuck keyboard key is usually easy to remedy. It's almost always caused by grime and dirt getting between the keyboard keys. A thorough cleaning of the keys should remedy the situation.
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Instructions
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Properly Clean Keyboard Keys
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Determine the material that makes up your keyboard keys. Old-fashioned and expensive keyboards are made with ivory (white) and ebony (black) keys which require special care. However, most piano keyboard keys today are made from plastic.Your piano keys are ivory if they are yellowing, have a grain to them and you can see a join between the top and bottom layers. Otherwise they are probably plastic.
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Wring out the damp cloth to make it as dry as possible.
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Apply a small amount of gentle liquid soap to the top of the damp cloth.
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Press the soapy damp cloth onto the dirty key. Press firmly and rub lightly until all dirt gone. Complete those steps for all dirty keys. This completes the job if you have plastic keys. If you have ivory keys then you should purchase a special tool called an ivory scraper and use that to gently remove additional grime.
Alternatives if Keys are Still Stuck
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Review deep cleaning instructions for your particular piano brand. PianoEducation.org notes that most manufacturers offer these instructions on their websites today.
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Press up and down on the stuck key while wiggling your finger slightly. This can sometimes unstick the key.
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Press down on the stuck key as well as a key adjacent to the stuck key. Insert a flathead screwdriver gently between the two keys to drive them apart. Twist the screwdriver slightly and release the keys.
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Contact a repair technician if the keys are still stuck.
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Tips & Warnings
Many piano keyboards come with a warranty. If your product is still under warranty when the key gets stuck then simply contact a technician as your first step, and he or she can resolve the problem for you.
Never use chemical cleaners or bleaches on your keyboard to clean the keys. This can damage the keyboard.
Humidity sometimes causes piano keys to swell which gets them stuck. If other fixes don't work, consider the fact that humidity may be the problem.
References
- Photo Credit keyboard image by Vasiliy Koval from Fotolia.com
