Pianotech

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

Is it the overall volume or the attack? I have used foam block purchased at fabric stores to place between the beams with success. Sometimes with no foam under the top treble section. When that wasn't enough, I placed something under the music rack to extend beyond the rack 1.5' or so.; this cuts down on action noise and the attack impact. Carpet remnants, corregated cardboard or foam poster panel.

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

Thanks for all the ideas. 

I should have mentioned that the piano is in an airport lobby. It is in a large room with hard uncovered floors, large windows without curtains and only a little furniture. It is not a player. The complaint is that people play it hard and it is too loud in general. 

Mark Krag

Is it the overall volume or the attack? I have used foam block purchased at fabric stores to place between the beams with success. Sometimes with no foam under the top treble section. When that wasn't enough, I placed something under the music rack to extend beyond the rack 1.5' or so.; this cuts down on action noise and the attack impact. Carpet remnants, corregated cardboard or foam poster panel.

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

Thanks for all the ideas. 

I should have mentioned that the piano is in an airport lobby. It is in a large room with hard uncovered floors, large windows without curtains and only a little furniture. It is not a player. The complaint is that people play it hard and it is too loud in general. 

Mark Krag

Thanks for all the ideas. 

I should have mentioned that the piano is in an airport lobby. It is in a large room with hard uncovered floors, large windows without curtains and only a little furniture. It is not a player. The complaint is that people play it hard and it is too loud in general. 

Mark Krag

Is it the overall volume or the attack? I have used foam block purchased at fabric stores to place between the beams with success. Sometimes with no foam under the top treble section. When that wasn't enough, I placed something under the music rack to extend beyond the rack 1.5' or so.; this cuts down on action noise and the attack impact. Carpet remnants, corregated cardboard or foam poster panel.

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

If the complaint is that the piano player is playing too loud then the obvious solution is to tell the player to play softer. No amount of sound reducing material is going to solve the problem, because the piano player will just play louder to compensate for the lack of sound. Management needs to let the player know he/she needs to play softer. It's not your problem.

Creative use of strip mutes.

Thanks for all the ideas. 

I should have mentioned that the piano is in an airport lobby. It is in a large room with hard uncovered floors, large windows without curtains and only a little furniture. It is not a player. The complaint is that people play it hard and it is too loud in general. 

Mark Krag

Is it the overall volume or the attack? I have used foam block purchased at fabric stores to place between the beams with success. Sometimes with no foam under the top treble section. When that wasn't enough, I placed something under the music rack to extend beyond the rack 1.5' or so.; this cuts down on action noise and the attack impact. Carpet remnants, corregated cardboard or foam poster panel.

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

Good luck with that. I have seen grand pianos in airport lobbies which are like the middle of shopping malls. With all of the live surfaces and cavern like space it will be almost impossible to get the piano quiet. The player is competing with crowd noise, constant pa announcements, sound wave physics, glass and floor reflection . Even a player system will have a hard time in this extreme setting. If the airport wants a nice piano lounge they should spend the money to construct one off to the side where they can customize a set. On the other hand if they want to destroy the piano just leave it there and let people pound away.

BTW a string cover will not reduce the sound level by any significant amount. I would not attempt to voice the piano down either. You start needling hammers and players will just play harder. You could try some floor type acoustical pianos or tell management to have an acoustical engineer come to study the problem but I would just segue out of the picture. You are shovelling snow in a blizzard

Thanks for all the ideas. 

I should have mentioned that the piano is in an airport lobby. It is in a large room with hard uncovered floors, large windows without curtains and only a little furniture. It is not a player. The complaint is that people play it hard and it is too loud in general. 

Mark Krag

Is it the overall volume or the attack? I have used foam block purchased at fabric stores to place between the beams with success. Sometimes with no foam under the top treble section. When that wasn't enough, I placed something under the music rack to extend beyond the rack 1.5' or so.; this cuts down on action noise and the attack impact. Carpet remnants, corregated cardboard or foam poster panel.

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

Thanks for all the ideas. 

I should have mentioned that the piano is in an airport lobby. It is in a large room with hard uncovered floors, large windows without curtains and only a little furniture. It is not a player. The complaint is that people play it hard and it is too loud in general. 

Mark Krag

Is it the overall volume or the attack? I have used foam block purchased at fabric stores to place between the beams with success. Sometimes with no foam under the top treble section. When that wasn't enough, I placed something under the music rack to extend beyond the rack 1.5' or so.; this cuts down on action noise and the attack impact. Carpet remnants, corregated cardboard or foam poster panel.

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

I am unexperienced in these matters, but would like to hear if anyone has tried taking this direction with such a situation: Perhaps the core of the problem is that the players cannot hear themselves adequately?  If that's the case it would be pretty difficult for them to discipline themselves to play more quietly, no matter how much they did or did not want to please the airport management (if they're being paid, surely they do??).  In which case perhaps the best solution is to look for ways of reflecting more of the sound back at them.  Granted, that kind of job would be better handled by an acoustical engineer than a piano technician, but maybe someone knows of a relatively easy spot to mount a sheet of plexiglass that might help?

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

I have done what Jon Page suggested but used Sonex foam. I think it was "Sonex one". Expensive option, but as good as you will get if they will pay. Make cardboard patterns between struts. Even a big cut piece over strings if they really want it quiet.

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

I have a teaching studio with a small grand in a small office/teaching room.  The piano has foam under the sound board, blankets under the lid, towels over the desk area and has been voiced down.  I have to admit it is still loud.

Sometimes the room is too loud for anything.

You also have to remember that corner reflections amplify the apparent sound to the player and not necessarily to any audience.

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

Blaine

Since it's a small room, instead of trying to muffle the sound at the source, muffle the sound in the room. Put a thick carpet on the floor, hang carpets and/or curtains on the walls, and even soundproof panels on the ceiling,

Blaine

Then why did you post the problem?

Wlm,

If foam under the piano, blankets over the strings, towels over the action and heavy needling didn't do the trick then the problem is that they have too much piano in too small a room.  Nothing will fix that.

MyPTG.org has enough things to debate.

Blaine

Then why did you post the problem?

I have a customer who wants their grand piano to be much quieter. They like the idea of attaching some kind of cloth or other material to the underside of the rim to block the sound. 

Does anyone know of a material that would be effective this way?

Mark Krag

I'm with Nathan and Ron earlier in this thread. I've been playing surrounded by plexi on several occasions live and in recording studios - not by myself, but with the whole rhythm section cut off from strings and choirs. As a musician, you immediately adjust to the situation and drop the volume.