Any Piano Movers Here??

[Ricardus]

Is this the right way to elevate a piano? I'm not a piano tech but it seems like it's going to put a ton of stress on the pedal leg/extension.

 

[pucho812]

Having seen piano moving videos before, it's a common to do this. However they move quickly and don't really rest it on the leg so much as just use the leg to help pivot the turn to move it upright. The biggest mistake here or with a table or whatever is to do it as a single person and rest the table on the leg as you bring it up right, the force is sure to cause a stress fracture.

 

[Ricardus]

I heard a cracking noise noise when they lifted it.

I asked a piano technician friend of mine and he said:

"Wow!!! The first thing you remove before moving is the Pedal Lyre, and the
last thing assembled is the pedal lyre, not the 3rd leg."

They're getting beat up pretty badly in the comments under the video.

 

[pucho812]

I heard a cracking noise noise when they lifted it.

I asked a piano technician friend of mine and he said:

"Wow!!! The first thing you remove before moving is the Pedal Lyre, and the
last thing assembled is the pedal lyre, not the 3rd leg."

They're getting beat up pretty badly in the comments under the video.

I didn’t catch that part. I thought you were talking of the lift and pivot

 

[Ricardus]

I didn’t catch that part. I thought you were talking of the lift and pivot

I was talking about the pivot when they applied pressure to the pedal lyre. There was a snap sound.

This is not good.

 

[pucho812]

I was talking about the pivot when they applied pressure to the pedal lyre. There was a snap sound.

This is not good.

I missed that snap sound, I had the volume off as I was multi-tasking

 

[PermO]

Ooooh,... that was defenitely a "wood is cracking" sound.

You timed the video perfectly, turn up the volume and ... Crack !

 

[Ricardus]

I do tech at a fine arts museum and we have a performing arts division also, with a theater, and we have two vintage Steinways. Our techs would have had heart attacks if they saw this.

 

[PermO]

Yeah they all act like it did not happen.

Makes it go away

 

[Script]

Worked in a theatre long-time as a student and we had to move the piano regularly -- always a highly delicate operation. Too long ago to remember how to do safely (so wouldn't trust myself on it anymore).

We never removed the pedals or feet but always had at least four (if not five) people handling it. I think we tilted it off its special cart for better angle (bend knees to get down, hold firmly and lift up by standing up with straight back until arms are outstretched, very heavy but swift), piano feet barely touching ground. There must be better videos. Those guys are demolition.

 

[iampoor1]

Lifting it with a bobcat would of been more graceful

 

[Bjorn218]

You're right to be cautious about how to elevate a piano. It's super important to distribute the weight evenly to avoid any damage, especially to delicate parts like the pedal leg. Also, if you're hiring movers, make sure they have experience with pianos. Once the move is done, considering whether to tip can be a bit of a puzzle. I found some good guidance on that at https://threemovers.com/should-you-tip-movers-and-if-so-how-much/ which helped me figure out an appropriate amount based on their effort and care.

 

[cyrano]

When I was at uni, I worked as a piano mover for a few months. The people who did this as a fulltime job knew how to handle a piano, but had little respect for standup piano's in difficult situations. They once dropped a piano from the fourth floor onto the pavement...

They seemed to know valuable piano's. These got the respect they deserved. I've never seen them doing things like in that video.

I didn't do this for very long. I'm not skinny, but amongst those ubermen, I was the skinny one. It was a bit too dangerous for my taste. Like lifting a standup piano with the three of them on a narrow and steep staircase. They told me to get out of the way. I wasn't strong enough to help them...

 

[totoxraymond]

I've seen many piano movers delivering pianos to gigs. They can do scary things sometimes, but i've never seen them install the pedal lyre before lifting the piano.

 

[Tubetec]

Ive helped move a few upright pianos ,
They have a special dolly that tilts up and spreads the weight evenly on the underside .