Piano Profile: Vintage Yamaha Upright

Built in 1921, this Yamaha upright somehow made the journey from Japan to the United States, despite having been manufactured 40 years before Yamaha began exporting pianos across the Pacific Ocean.

The influence on today’s U-series, perennial favorites of Yamaha keyboard line, is clear in the basic design, from the height to the empire lid that folds back. Today’s upright models are more streamlined, with straight legs and a flat front panel, both free of embellishments. Additionally, while much of the playing mechanism inside resembles today’s pianos, the action is secured with hooks on each end rather than today’s modern system of bolts.

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Piano Adventures: The Ten Grands Benefit Photo Essay

Over the past week, I have spent the majority of my time immersed in preparations for the annual Ten Grands concert, a benefit for noted musician and composer Michael Allen Harrison’s Snowman Foundation.

In a time when arts education is being affected by budget cuts in schools nationwide, the Snowman Foundation is dedicated to bringing access to music education to the Portland, OR community and beyond. As someone greatly shaped by having had ample access to music education, via private lessons in piano, voice, clarinet, as well as summer music camp attendance and participation in school choirs, I am a firm believer in the value of learning music and the Snowman Foundation’s mission.

Therefore, I could not have been more excited and enthusiastic about being the designated piano tuner for the foundation’s annual preeminent event, in which ten gorgeous Steinway grand pianos are situated on one stage for a concert featuring a variety of local artists, ranging from ridiculously talented middle-school guitarists to renowned recording artists such as Tom Grant.

While I have been backstage for a number of events, the Ten Grands concert, due to a wide range of requirements that went far beyond lifting 760 lb. instruments onto 3-4 foot high platforms, was the most intricate, chaotic (as in elaborate, not disorganized) stage setup process I have ever witnessed.

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Piano Adventures: The "Caseworkers" Edition

As a piano technician, my concerns and expertise regarding the instrument are primarily focused on how they feel and how they sound. However, as an instrument that is also considered furniture and tends to draw the eye wherever it is placed, the condition of the case also tends to be a priority.

To address such concerns, similar to how a mechanic would refer auto body work to a separate technician, the expertise of a master finish and/or touch-up specialist is required. 

In Portland, OR, the go-to person for any of the cosmetic needs of a piano, whether they be small repairs to fix chips and scratches or complete refinishing jobs, is Arno Arrak. 

Originally from the Baltic nation of Estonia, Arno is an accomplished painter, a master screen printer, as well as a talented avant-garde musician. He decided to apply his extensive artistic background to pianos around ten years ago, receiving his training in finish touch-up and repairs from his friend and fellow Estonian, Tynis Promet.

(Never has the artistry required for touch-up work been more apparent than when I handed Arno a box that held the 20+ pieces of a shattered lyre from a vintage Steinway grand, and he returned it less than a week later, every shard held in place with dowels and glue, complete with a finish that perfectly matched the original, and no sign that it had ever been damaged at all.)

Now the owner of his own business, Arno is frequently (and sometimes frantically) called upon to bring his formidable skills to bear against the multitude of blemishes that can befall a piano case.

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