Inspecting a Piano's Key Action

Video Transcript

"Okay, let's talk about the action of the piano. The action of the piano starts with your finger touching a key, which that movement is transmitted to the bridal strap, to the back check, to the hammer. We're not going to talk about this in any detail because this is a whole show unto itself. But, what you're going to be feeling when you hit the piano, is you're going to hit it soft, and see if it still makes a sound. You're going to hit it hard. And you're going to hit it medium so that you can sense what the action is on the piano. The action, whether it's soft or hard, hard action or soft action, this is set at the manufacturer's desire. If they want to sell a piano that has light action or heavy action. I personally like medium action as most piano players do, but we all have our preferences. This is transmission of the force of your finger, and this hammer strikes the strings, and that's what makes this a percussion instrument. Try out all your keys. Don't let anyone escape. Listen for clicks and squeaks, and look at your action, as this one, you can see, is now stuck. We've got a problem there. This is why we inspect the piano. This is why we start with the action."