Joan's Piano Tuning and Lessons

Top 10 Facts About Sticky Keys
or Getting Yourself Out of a Sticky Situation
by Joan Schwartz – Piano Tuner/Technician

1) What is a sticky key?
A sticky key can be described as any problem in the key, action (playing mechanism) or damper mechanism that causes the note to play improperly. This includes a note that doesn’t play at all, poor repetition, a mushy feeling when the key is depressed or a note retaining its sound long after the key has been released (unless you absentmindedly left your foot on the sustain pedal).

2) Why do pianos get sticky keys?
In my almost thirty years of experience tuning and repairing pianos, I would estimate there are about five hundred reasons. Here are some of the most common:
- The felt under the key needs compressing.
- The felt around the tiny joints connecting the wooden parts in the action is pressing against a tiny part called a Centerpin.
- Something is stuck between the parts - a paper clip, piece of gum, greeting card, pencil, coin, last month’s electric bill, a grilled cheese sandwich, birds…
- A sticky substance such as coffee, cola or Jack Daniels has been spilled into the piano.
- A hammer has cozied up too close to its neighbor.
- A naughty child who thought an open upright piano was a giant set of Tinker Toys pulled the hammers off their shanks (I’ve seen this more than once).
- The slim piece of wood on a grand piano closest to your tummy is warped or swollen and pressing up against the white keys.

3) Is there any way to prevent sticky keys? WARNING! This chapter is not for the squeamish and may make you wet under the collar.
Well, it all depends on what’s causing the problem. If children are constantly putting objects in the piano, you may want to get rid of your children.
That said, much of it is really about location, location, location (which really means humidity). As I mentioned in a prior article, excessive or deficient moisture is the bane of pianos everywhere. Pianos are made of wood. Humidity makes wood swell (you might see this in your tight front door in summer). Dryness makes wood shrink (got wooden floors? Ever notice the cracks seem to sometimes get wider in winter?) Pianos are made of metal. Moisture tarnishes and then rusts metal. Pianos have lots of felt. In humid weather, felt gets all fluffy and puffy. Humidity levels affect your soundboard, pin block, bridges, strings, keys, hammers, dampers…need I say more?
The best way to prevent sticky keys is to place your piano in a stable environment, which means not too close to a fireplace or a drafty window, not against baseboard heating, not in a basement and not on Long Island. I know. You’re thinking, “THIS CHICK IS CRAZY! I love Long Island!” If you don’t live too close to the water and you have central air going all year long, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with humidity. Just don’t go on long vacations where you turn the system off. If you do live near the water and love the feel of a warm ocean breeze drifting through your house, you MUST consider installing a Dampp-chaser dehumidifier (No, I don’t work for the company. They’re just the only decent piano climate control manufacturer I know). If you must have your piano close to an active fireplace, you MUST consider installing a Dampp-Chaser humidifier system in your piano. These systems regulate the piano’s environment, re**rding potential damage, keeping your keys free and easy to gracefully rise and fall and your action parts non-arthritic. If your tuner doesn’t install humidity systems, there is a listing by state and town on the Dampp-chaser website. There’s also a little star next to the more experienced installers (ahem).

4) Should I tell my grandchildren/children/guest offspring not to bang?
As I also mentioned in a previous article, most damage done by the little ‘bangers’ is due to already weakened parts (you see…I really do love children). Evil toddlers and their toy trucks and spare change do way more damage than those merely exploring the piano’s dynamic potential.

5) Why does the key stop sticking 5 minutes before the tuner comes to fix it?
This is called Murphy’s Law and it ain’t so great for your tuner either. Fortunately, through our special kind of magic, good tuners can usually get the sticky little devil to stick or see what may be causing the problem. Most of the time, the reason why it stops sticking is because of changes in humidity (here she goes again with the lecture). If you called the tuner during a wet spell and the tuner arrived on a beautiful, sunny, dry day, your wood may have shrunken back to a better size. Did I mention that humidity is a huge cause of sticking keys?

6) My tuner fixed the stick and now it‘s sticking again!
Yes indeed. Call the tuner and have her/him come back. This time, make sure to tell the tuner/technician to check the rest of the keys. Unfortunately, if the tuner didn’t charge you for the repair to begin with, you may have to pay for the repair now. Fixing sticky keys is NOT part of piano tuning, though many of us may throw in a couple of free repairs since we’re already at your house. If the tuner already charged you for this specific repair, make sure you sit down and play the note over and over while the tuner’s there. Here’s another trick. Play the note repetitively while the sustain (right hand) pedal is depressed. If a key is sticking, it is more likely to be obvious when the pedal is depressed.

7) My new piano has sticky keys. Should I bring it back?
Dear colleague, do not panic. MANY pianos will have tight key bushings (in English, fluffy felt under the keys) when they’re new. I actually think it can be a good thing. New pianos with chubby bushings will have lots of felt to compress in the years to come. The sticking can be remedied by having your tuner remove the keys and compress the felts, using a key-easing pliers.
If the problem is not due to fluffy felt, the store will usually cover this repair, though sticky keys are not usually in a piano’s warranty.

8) Why do my keys stick more in the summer?
Humidity.

9) Joan, should I try to fix the problem myself?
Well, you can call your tuner and see if he can talk you through an easy fix (maybe a little key massaging) but glancing through the youtube-fix-it-yourself sticky key videos (they scared me), I would STRONGLY recommend you DON’T take apart your piano and try it.

10) Hey Joan, what‘s the most interesting thing you‘ve found in a piano?
I went to the home of my regular customer, Mrs. Morgenstern and opened the lid of her grand piano. I jumped back about two feet when I saw a large bluebird (dead) clinging to the strings. White spots dotted the soundboard. The housekeeper removed the carcass because I told Mrs. Morgenstern, “I don’t do dead birds.”
“Oh! My god! I have to apologize to my daughter,” Mrs. Morgenstern gasped, covering her cheeks with her hands. Turns out, she had left her 16 year old daughter alone for the first time and when she got back, found what looked like white paint drops all over the floor. Her daughter denied wrongdoing but was punished anyway. We figured out that the bird must’ve gotten in through the chimney, flown around for a while and took its last breath on top of the piano strings. And that it p**ped a lot!

Joan's Piano Tuning and Lessons Expert Piano Tuning, Piano Repair, Estimates and Appraisals available throughout the island and Queens. Piano lessons available in Commack.

Joan's Piano Tuning and Lessons