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I read some threads and found most of you recommended to put carpet under the piano. May I know why? Does it apply to upright too?

It helps absorb the sound waves and improves the room acoustics. It can be useful when you have a largish grand piano in a room with lots of bare walls and floors and things start echoing around. I don't think it would help much for an upright, as the soundboard in an upright is positioned vertically.

On the otehr hand, if you are a Mother with a 5 year old as your name implies to me, then the carpet helps enormously when said 5 year old falls off the piano stool and hits the deck.

A

I have no need for damping the volume with a carpet under my grand. My floor is a nice Dutch light-oak floor and it is vibration sensitive. so when I play in bare feet I get the most sensuous attraction from the vibes emmitted from the piano.

This is a free add on for musicians and the piano. No kidding!

Alan

I agree with Alan...one of our showrooms is in a restored mansion with high ceilings and hardwood floors, and the acoustics are incredible. Or horrible, depending on what gets you excited.

We put all our grands on oriental rugs except for one, and that's the one I enjoy playing the most, for the very fact that the sound isn't immediately soaked up and damped before it reaches the floor.

I wouldn't rush to put carpet underneath your piano unless you've tried to voice the hammers first, and the sound is still overpowering. Carpeting under your piano, or added anywhere in the room, will increase sound absorption whether you own a vertical or a grand, but its proximity to the piano is the factor that will most significantly determine the effect on the pianist.

I agree with Alan too. I believe all piano designers, except for ones who had been working for Yamaha in the past(e.g., more than 20-30 years in which era floors of most japanese houses are covered with tatami mats) are designing the pianos assuming the users must put the pinanos on the floors made of wood. If your floor is made of stone, put some rugs. If your piano is an old Yamaha, put some runs even if the floor is made of wood.

Hi Jim,

Just curious, why do you recommend voicing the hammer first before putting on the carpet? I have also been thinking about ways to reduced the volume of my piano. And I have been thinking about putting on the carpet first to see how much sound it reduces, and then have it voiced. Is there any benefit for doing it the other way around?

More seriously ....well, I've got to stop chuckling first ....

I too don't understand the rationale behind voicing first. For starters, the rug is removable. If you have a room that is too live for your tastes you can put a rug under the piano as an experiment. In my experience (which I admit is limited) a rug does different things to the sound than what voicing the hammers down does to the sound. The rug seems to affect volume more than tone. I have heard pianos of my model voiced mellow and the resulting tone and feel of the instrument seems different than mine, which sits on a rug instead.

Hi
I'm with Piano Dad on this one. Get a cheap carpet (you can even buy a remnant very cheaply-- $10 or less) and try it out first before taking more drastic and less reversible steps to change the piano (or getting an expensive carpet). I also agree that a carpet affects volume more than tone and is not a replacement for voicing. I've done both and am pleased with the result.

Sophia