Music Trade Review
Issue: 1922 Vol. 74 N. 19 - Page 13
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MAY
13, 1922
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
11
REVIEW
OurTEOINICAL DEPARTMENT
CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM BRAID WHITE
PIANOS AND MOISTURE
An Explanation of the Effect of Moisture on
Instruments and Some Suggested Remedies
F. C. Sharpes, of Stroudsburg, Pa., asks if I
know anything about Hamlin's Hygrostat, which,
he says, has been advertised as a protector
against dampness and moths in a piano. I have
not come into contact with this instrument,
which, however, I assume to be a device for reg-
ulating the degree of moisture in a room. Such
a device, if it be practical and reliable, can only
be most useful, and I should like to hear some-
thing definite about its performances.
A Neglected Subject
Which leads me to observe that the perennial
subject of the influence of moisture on temper-
ature does not obtain the attention it merits. For
whatever reason, the public is almost wholly in-
different to this powerful agent's influence on
pianos. Tuners of necessity take a greater in-
terest in the facts, but they are not commonly
well informed about them. Hence, the observa-
tions which follow may be both interesting and
valuable to my readers.
The materials of which pianos are manufac-
tured, which are especially susceptible to the in-
fluences of moisture, are the lumber, the glue and
the unprotected metal parts such as screws and
music wire. In conditions of extreme severity,
such as are met with in the Far East at certains
of the year, no ordinary method of binding woods
together by glue has been found capable of main-
taining joints. Pianos which are intended for
the Far East must, therefore, be built of solid
wood without veneers, and all parts that can be
riveted together must be so treated. The effect
of such extremely moist climates upon wire and
metal parts is also very bad. Wires quickly
rust, and it is necessary to cover all screws and
other exposed metallic parts with a coating of
protective paint.
It need hardly be added that the sound-boards
of pianos exposed to such conditions are very
DEAGAN TUNING FORKS
liable to serious crackings, and in fact, that
pianos can hardly be maintained in good condi-
tion for any length of time in these climates.
Domestic Conditions Not Dissimilar
Now the causes for the deterioration of pianos
under domestic conditions on the American con-
tinent are similar in principle to the extreme
causes of which I have been speaking. The
American home, throughout nearly all the
United States and Canada, is almost always very
warm and dry in Winter, but very wet and arti-
ficially cooled against exterior heat in Summer.
The troubles to which pianos are liable, through
exposure to these conditions, troubles which
manifest themselves in the development of per-
manent cracks through the sound-board, in loose
and rattling action mechanism, in rusted wires
and in loss of tonal values, are common to the
ordinary domestic piano in only a slighter'de-
gree than is the case in the Far East or in other
extreme climates. The domestic piano, exposed
only to the seemingly negligible hazards of
American civil life, deteriorates rapidly and until
it has definitely lost its original beauties of tone,
touch and appearance. This is the melancholy
fate of the domestic piano, and its misfortunes
may be attributed to the distressing internal con-
ditions of the American home.
Facts About Atmospheric Conditions
These conditions are usually bad; and often
very bad indeed. American Summers are usu-
ally damp and hot. The moisture content of the
air becomes very great, and the piano absorbs
this moisture all over, but especially in certain
places such as the sound-board region, the wires
and the glue joints. During Summer the absorp-
tion of moisture through the sound-board
results in a general swelling of the wood in this
region. As the wood swells, it gradually pushes
itself upwards along its crown, till the bridge
is raised perceptibly higher than it stood before
the process began. The piano goes out of tune
and perhaps is tuned again. The action swells
up also, and if the piano, is not a good piano, the
swelling may be great enough to cause the
action and keys to stick in various places and on
various turning points. If the moisture content
of the atmosphere in these conditions happens
to be unusually high (75 per cent to 90 per cent)
VIBRATIONS GUARANTEED
8«riM " O n * SeVMty"
A-440. B(,-486.2 and C-52S-3
(A-43S If detlred)
PRICE. 60o. EACH
.
L.
U&AIJAN,
Dcagan Building
I n c . , 1786 BcrUan Areaae, Chicago
VALUABLE BOOK
ON REFINISHING
FREE
Just send your name and address and get this
free book, which tells how damaged or worn
surfaces, in any finish, can quickly and
^ - • ^ easily be made N E W again.
Every dealer, repair man and re-
finisher should read it. Sent post-
paid—no cost, no obligation.
Write for it now—a card will do.
M. L. CAMPBELL CO.
2328 Penn St.
Kansas City, Mo.
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Standard of America
Alumni of 2000
Pua* T U M , F4*« mti R««d Organ
mwA Ptar« riaaa. fwr t—V Frt*.
27-29 Gttinsboro Str«*t
BOSTON, MASS.
machine and make a liberal commission
Free Instruction manual. Price of complete outfit, $12.50. Send
fur details.
LEABARJAN MFG. CO.
HAMILTON, O.
HARLEM PIANO & ORGAN KEY CO.
KEY REPAIRING AND NEW WORK
Ivorlne, Celluloid and Composition Keys
A Specialty
Best Work
Lowest Prices
Send all work parcels post. Give us trial order.
121-123 East 126th Street
N e w York. N. Y.
TUNERS
the pianos thus exposed are likely to show
sluggish actions and highly swelled sound-boards
during the whole of the warm season.
The Winter Dry-kiln
When Winter comes the house is shut up, and
artificial heat is turned on. to be maintained at
a high temperature throughout the entire six
months. Moisture is rapidly extracted from the
air to find its way to the outer atmosphere. The
moisture-laden wood of the piano begins also to
lose its water-vapor, which is extracted com-
pletely from it, without hope of restoration until
the abandonment of artificial heating at the be-
ginning of Summer and the general opening of
windows to the outer air.
As a natural consequence, the sound-board
which had been swelled, shrinks perceptibly until
the bridge has sunk below the line it had been
occupying. The piano, of course, goes out of tune
again. Likewise the action shrinks and loosens
up, sometimes to the point of rattling in places.
Perhaps the tuner is called in again to set right
the trouble caused by Winter's conditions.
A few years of this alternate swelling and
shrinking will be enough to split the sound-
board in more than one place, to coat the wires
with a permanent rust and to destroy the deli-
cacy of the action. No piano ever built, or likely
to be built, can stand the extreme conditions of
the average American home for many years with-
out suffering serious damage.
What Is the Remedy?
What is the remedy? Nothing either easy or
certain. Ultimately it can be nothing short of a
persistent effort to educate the people, until
American homes are no longer overheated and
under-moistened during the Winter months. No
immediately easy method of putting an educa-
tional method into operation presents itself, but
tuners who have to deal with a clientele of intel-
ligent persons can do a great deal of effective
work in a very simple manner. Let every such
tuner carry with him a small pocket hair hygro-
meter, and hang this up by the side of the piano
while he is tuning. Then when his tuning is
finished the instrument will be registering the
moisture content of the atmosphere in the room.
Let the tuner then call in the lady of the house
and to her explain the meaning of the reading
of the instrument. If this reading shows, as it
probably will show, that the moisture content is
either too low or too high, let him go on to ex-
plain that in order to keep a piano in good order,
it is necessary that it should be maintained in
conditions approximately equal throughout the
year, as respects at least the moisture content of
the atmosphere. If, then, the Summer condi-
tions are moderately dry (say 60 per cent of
.moisture content on the average) this percentage
should be maintained during the Winter too. And
if the Summer percentage is lower or higher
(Continued on page 14)
in it's 2 6 ^ e a r
POLKS] wHh
upwards of
Here are
On 1 O O O
I TUNING 2 ' SUCCESSFUL
BASS STRINGS
SCHOOL
•pwlal atteatlta alvea to MM m—4* ef MM tna«r ana" M M
U COURT HOUSE S d
VALPARAISO. INDj
OTTO R. TREFZ, Jr.
8110 Fall-mount Avenue
GRADUATES
Philadelphia, Pa.
Repair Parts and Tools of
Every Description
The TUNER'S FRIEND
Send for New Prices
New style all leather bridle strap
BRAUNSDORF'S ALL LEATHER BRIDLE STRAPS
Labor Saving; Mouse Proof; Guaranteed all one length
Send for Sample*.
Prices on Requett
Felia and Cloths in any Quantities
Braunsdorf's Other Specialties
specialties
Paper, Felt and Cloth
Punching:*, Fibre Washers
and Bridge* for
Pianos, Organs and
Player Actions
GEO. W. BRAUNSDORF, Inc., «•
IBADEMABR
MAY
13, 1922
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
11
REVIEW
OurTEOINICAL DEPARTMENT
CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM BRAID WHITE
PIANOS AND MOISTURE
An Explanation of the Effect of Moisture on
Instruments and Some Suggested Remedies
F. C. Sharpes, of Stroudsburg, Pa., asks if I
know anything about Hamlin's Hygrostat, which,
he says, has been advertised as a protector
against dampness and moths in a piano. I have
not come into contact with this instrument,
which, however, I assume to be a device for reg-
ulating the degree of moisture in a room. Such
a device, if it be practical and reliable, can only
be most useful, and I should like to hear some-
thing definite about its performances.
A Neglected Subject
Which leads me to observe that the perennial
subject of the influence of moisture on temper-
ature does not obtain the attention it merits. For
whatever reason, the public is almost wholly in-
different to this powerful agent's influence on
pianos. Tuners of necessity take a greater in-
terest in the facts, but they are not commonly
well informed about them. Hence, the observa-
tions which follow may be both interesting and
valuable to my readers.
The materials of which pianos are manufac-
tured, which are especially susceptible to the in-
fluences of moisture, are the lumber, the glue and
the unprotected metal parts such as screws and
music wire. In conditions of extreme severity,
such as are met with in the Far East at certains
of the year, no ordinary method of binding woods
together by glue has been found capable of main-
taining joints. Pianos which are intended for
the Far East must, therefore, be built of solid
wood without veneers, and all parts that can be
riveted together must be so treated. The effect
of such extremely moist climates upon wire and
metal parts is also very bad. Wires quickly
rust, and it is necessary to cover all screws and
other exposed metallic parts with a coating of
protective paint.
It need hardly be added that the sound-boards
of pianos exposed to such conditions are very
DEAGAN TUNING FORKS
liable to serious crackings, and in fact, that
pianos can hardly be maintained in good condi-
tion for any length of time in these climates.
Domestic Conditions Not Dissimilar
Now the causes for the deterioration of pianos
under domestic conditions on the American con-
tinent are similar in principle to the extreme
causes of which I have been speaking. The
American home, throughout nearly all the
United States and Canada, is almost always very
warm and dry in Winter, but very wet and arti-
ficially cooled against exterior heat in Summer.
The troubles to which pianos are liable, through
exposure to these conditions, troubles which
manifest themselves in the development of per-
manent cracks through the sound-board, in loose
and rattling action mechanism, in rusted wires
and in loss of tonal values, are common to the
ordinary domestic piano in only a slighter'de-
gree than is the case in the Far East or in other
extreme climates. The domestic piano, exposed
only to the seemingly negligible hazards of
American civil life, deteriorates rapidly and until
it has definitely lost its original beauties of tone,
touch and appearance. This is the melancholy
fate of the domestic piano, and its misfortunes
may be attributed to the distressing internal con-
ditions of the American home.
Facts About Atmospheric Conditions
These conditions are usually bad; and often
very bad indeed. American Summers are usu-
ally damp and hot. The moisture content of the
air becomes very great, and the piano absorbs
this moisture all over, but especially in certain
places such as the sound-board region, the wires
and the glue joints. During Summer the absorp-
tion of moisture through the sound-board
results in a general swelling of the wood in this
region. As the wood swells, it gradually pushes
itself upwards along its crown, till the bridge
is raised perceptibly higher than it stood before
the process began. The piano goes out of tune
and perhaps is tuned again. The action swells
up also, and if the piano, is not a good piano, the
swelling may be great enough to cause the
action and keys to stick in various places and on
various turning points. If the moisture content
of the atmosphere in these conditions happens
to be unusually high (75 per cent to 90 per cent)
VIBRATIONS GUARANTEED
8«riM " O n * SeVMty"
A-440. B(,-486.2 and C-52S-3
(A-43S If detlred)
PRICE. 60o. EACH
.
L.
U&AIJAN,
Dcagan Building
I n c . , 1786 BcrUan Areaae, Chicago
VALUABLE BOOK
ON REFINISHING
FREE
Just send your name and address and get this
free book, which tells how damaged or worn
surfaces, in any finish, can quickly and
^ - • ^ easily be made N E W again.
Every dealer, repair man and re-
finisher should read it. Sent post-
paid—no cost, no obligation.
Write for it now—a card will do.
M. L. CAMPBELL CO.
2328 Penn St.
Kansas City, Mo.
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Standard of America
Alumni of 2000
Pua* T U M , F4*« mti R««d Organ
mwA Ptar« riaaa. fwr t—V Frt*.
27-29 Gttinsboro Str«*t
BOSTON, MASS.
machine and make a liberal commission
Free Instruction manual. Price of complete outfit, $12.50. Send
fur details.
LEABARJAN MFG. CO.
HAMILTON, O.
HARLEM PIANO & ORGAN KEY CO.
KEY REPAIRING AND NEW WORK
Ivorlne, Celluloid and Composition Keys
A Specialty
Best Work
Lowest Prices
Send all work parcels post. Give us trial order.
121-123 East 126th Street
N e w York. N. Y.
TUNERS
the pianos thus exposed are likely to show
sluggish actions and highly swelled sound-boards
during the whole of the warm season.
The Winter Dry-kiln
When Winter comes the house is shut up, and
artificial heat is turned on. to be maintained at
a high temperature throughout the entire six
months. Moisture is rapidly extracted from the
air to find its way to the outer atmosphere. The
moisture-laden wood of the piano begins also to
lose its water-vapor, which is extracted com-
pletely from it, without hope of restoration until
the abandonment of artificial heating at the be-
ginning of Summer and the general opening of
windows to the outer air.
As a natural consequence, the sound-board
which had been swelled, shrinks perceptibly until
the bridge has sunk below the line it had been
occupying. The piano, of course, goes out of tune
again. Likewise the action shrinks and loosens
up, sometimes to the point of rattling in places.
Perhaps the tuner is called in again to set right
the trouble caused by Winter's conditions.
A few years of this alternate swelling and
shrinking will be enough to split the sound-
board in more than one place, to coat the wires
with a permanent rust and to destroy the deli-
cacy of the action. No piano ever built, or likely
to be built, can stand the extreme conditions of
the average American home for many years with-
out suffering serious damage.
What Is the Remedy?
What is the remedy? Nothing either easy or
certain. Ultimately it can be nothing short of a
persistent effort to educate the people, until
American homes are no longer overheated and
under-moistened during the Winter months. No
immediately easy method of putting an educa-
tional method into operation presents itself, but
tuners who have to deal with a clientele of intel-
ligent persons can do a great deal of effective
work in a very simple manner. Let every such
tuner carry with him a small pocket hair hygro-
meter, and hang this up by the side of the piano
while he is tuning. Then when his tuning is
finished the instrument will be registering the
moisture content of the atmosphere in the room.
Let the tuner then call in the lady of the house
and to her explain the meaning of the reading
of the instrument. If this reading shows, as it
probably will show, that the moisture content is
either too low or too high, let him go on to ex-
plain that in order to keep a piano in good order,
it is necessary that it should be maintained in
conditions approximately equal throughout the
year, as respects at least the moisture content of
the atmosphere. If, then, the Summer condi-
tions are moderately dry (say 60 per cent of
.moisture content on the average) this percentage
should be maintained during the Winter too. And
if the Summer percentage is lower or higher
(Continued on page 14)
in it's 2 6 ^ e a r
POLKS] wHh
upwards of
Here are
On 1 O O O
I TUNING 2 ' SUCCESSFUL
BASS STRINGS
SCHOOL
•pwlal atteatlta alvea to MM m—4* ef MM tna«r ana" M M
U COURT HOUSE S d
VALPARAISO. INDj
OTTO R. TREFZ, Jr.
8110 Fall-mount Avenue
GRADUATES
Philadelphia, Pa.
Repair Parts and Tools of
Every Description
The TUNER'S FRIEND
Send for New Prices
New style all leather bridle strap
BRAUNSDORF'S ALL LEATHER BRIDLE STRAPS
Labor Saving; Mouse Proof; Guaranteed all one length
Send for Sample*.
Prices on Requett
Felia and Cloths in any Quantities
Braunsdorf's Other Specialties
specialties
Paper, Felt and Cloth
Punching:*, Fibre Washers
and Bridge* for
Pianos, Organs and
Player Actions
GEO. W. BRAUNSDORF, Inc., «•
IBADEMABR
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