Three Guys and a Pickup Truck!

Have you ever needed to move a piano from one location to another and when you found out the cost, it was more money than you wanted to pay? I'm not going to say that you should never move your piano by yourself, but hiring a competent moving company can save you heartache and damage to your piano. Then again, I've heard horror stories about how a moving company my customers have hired were no more qualified than young kids without experience and without care for the owners property.

If you must move the piano yourself, let me share just a few tips to keep you on a safe path.
But first, Let me tell you about when I was only a child and what I remember. I was always amazed whenever my dad and his friend in the piano business would either bring a piano to my dad's shop or deliver from the shop. They used only a pickup truck, a piano dolly and ropes and a few blankets. One of those movers was quite the mover because he was old and very strong and full of energy. He was the Boss. But he was very smart and knew how to move pianos after many years experience. Well, to move a grand piano, they simply had the three legs disassembled and wrapped in blankets. The piano was placed on a skid and tied up with blankets and ropes. They would load the piano unto the piano dolly, roll it out to the driveway, tip the load on a corner, then have the driver back the truck toward the piano. After aligning the bed of the truck to the piano, the old experienced mover would place his back up against the leaning piano and on the count of three, with the help of two guys, lift it into the truck. One guy was in the truck to guide it. The piano was standing on the shid on the bed of the truck. So they leaned the piano back unto the side of the pickup and blocked up the bottom. During travel, one guy stayed in the truck to watch that piano.

At the other end of delivery, moving it out of the truck was much easier but still had some
challenges ahead. After the piano was positioned into the home, they unwrapped the piano and set it up on its legs and the job was complete. It pays to ask questions about a moving company's experience because moving a piano is not the same as moving a couch!

Do I need to have the piano tuned every time it's moved?

Pianos generally need to be tuned every time it is being moved from one house to another. But to move a piano from just one room to another, you don't need to have it tuned. The reason pianos are tuned after a move is because there are a number of things that happens to a piano:

1. The jostling about of the movement of the piano on a dolly hitting bumps etc, on the ground jiggling the tuning pins from the impact of it
2. The ride in a truck knocks it out of tune
3. A different climate at the new location causes the wood in the piano to expand or contract in the soundboard and wood posts and bridges, causing the piano to go out of tune.

If the piano is very out of tune to begin with, the move at a future date should not prevent you
from at least getting the first tuning in because even if the piano is not moved, it will still go out of tune because it will require a second tuning anyway from the sudden strain of the pitch raise it required.

Once a piano is in place at the new location, it is recommended that you let the piano set in place for at least two weeks to a month period of time. It is during this time that the piano is acclimating to the new temperature and humidity. Of course you can still play the piano while you're waiting.