ClassicPiano Gayle's Blog

 

26 January 2007: A Testimonial to the Old Upright
6 February 2007: Considerations When Choosing a Piano Tuner.
(For those who have not had experience with pianos and their maintenance)
22February 2007: Thanks Be To The Piano Or How I learned to love my work while tuning pianos.

28 May 2007: Feng Shui and Your Piano

Recently I became interested in the specifics of the concept of Feng Shui and began reading up on the subject. A good definition of Feng Shui is ‘the study of how to arrange your environment to enhance the quality of your life’. Translated it means ‘wind and water’, Feng Shui observes the relationship between the unseen and the seen forces of nature.

Let us apply this to you and your piano, like wind and water you and your piano can be compared to these two forces of nature. Your desires, goals, talents and feelings are like the unseen force of the wind, and your piano is like the seen force of water. When playing/practicing your piano these forces are constantly interacting and influencing each other as the flow of energy encircles you.

There is a Bagua map that is used as a tool for achieving optimum ch’i , or energy, flow in your home. Bagua literally means “eight trigrams”. The use of this map leads you to the discovery that all parts of your home and your life are of equal importance. The goal is to create a flow of vital energy in yourself and in your home. There is a massive array of books on the subject if you care to delve further into this helpful world.

Now to relate this to your piano and the room in which it lives. Most important about the space is that you will be encouraged to stay a while and play/practice the piano. Look around …. Is there clutter that distracts you? Then get rid of it. Is there a piece of artwork that inspires you? Then keep it. Do some soul searching about your purpose in a space and then edit accordingly.

The opportunity to observe a space while tuning pianos presents itself to me…well…. every time I tune in someone’s home. Sometimes I feel compelled to suggest a few changes that may help make the area more inviting to the player and to the listener and most people are accepting of my advice so I am emboldened to give it as often as I see necessary. During a tuning there is plenty of time to observe and make mental notes on how this space could be improved. Sort of my hobby you might say.

An example from a recent appointment points out a firmly established prejudice of mine – that most people either have ‘no taste’ or ‘bad taste’, and such a rare few have ‘good taste’ when it comes to furnishing and decorating their homes. So here was a large room with lavish furnishings (clichéd ‘bad taste’) and this baby grand piano nosed into a bay window nook. I sat down to tune the neglected instrument and immediately began feeling uncomfortable because my back was to the entrance as well as everything else in the room. The view at the piano was looking out the window onto the street and neighboring houses which was not a particularly inspiring scene. Everything felt wrong about this arrangement.

There is something instinctual in humans about needing to see the entrance/exit to a space. Having a view of the door is always desirable and the power position. An executive would never sit with her or his back to the door – never!

Now back to the baby grand. Uncomfortable though it was, I managed to complete the tuning and began to play and ‘test drive’ my work when I was startled by my client who had entered the room unseen by me. This makes my point that no one likes to be surprised so don’t position your furniture – pianos in particular- for this to happen.

The grand piano should always have the curved part of the case facing into the space both for sound projection and to best display its dramatic character. The client hadn’t thought about it at all once the movers asked her where she wanted it. They then carted it in and parked it in its current position. Most piano movers seem to be hopeless on this subject so don’t assume they will even have a clue about where to place it. Just be happy they were willing to cart it to your house and set it up. We discussed the possible changes she could make which seemed to spark her interest with the new possibilities and she planned to move it as soon as some extra bodies could help. Now if only she would learn to play the piano…..