Preparing to move an Upright Aeolian piano

by John Rodgers
(Vero Beach, FL, USA)

What preparation is needed inside for securing keys, etc. before moving a piano?


Pianos vary hugely in design, so it is hard to promise that this can be a definitive check list.

There are a couple of things to check before moving an upright piano, and when you do it for a living you learn that you can take nothing for granted.

I once moved a piano so rotten with wood worm that the bottom fell out of it immediately it was picked up!

The first job to have a good inspection of the removable panels. These comprise:

1) The top panel (or desk) where the sheet music sits - check latches and dowels are all present and secure.

2) The key cover, check it sits tight and does not rattle.

3) The key retaining bar. This is a wooden bar that runs along the top of the keys, at the edge of the black and white finished key tops.

Check its screws are intact if used.

4) Check that no key tops (black and white) are not loose: They do need replacing after time and may have been replaced with poor adhesive.
5) Bottom panel Remove to check latches and dowels.

6) With the bottom panel removed, check for loose jars or containers that may have been placed in the bottom of the piano and filled with water to act as a humidifier.

7) Top lids are sometimes secured with hinges and removable hinge pins. Ensure the pins are present and are not so loose that they may fall out. Consider removing them and (the lid).

8) Check the castors: Old pianos may have one or more seized castors which could scrape, scratch and tear anything they connect with.
We sometimes slip plywood sheet (maybe on a blanket) under the castors to help extract a piano with seized castors from a tight corner of a room.


Now you have considered how to inspect the piano before moving it, its time to plan the move and consider what piano moving equipment you may require to protect it...and floors walls, steps and furniture.

Stephen from SW Piano movers of South London