Bill Calhoun’s Piano Glossary

About the Glossary Author

Glossaries are written by someone, right? In many cases the author of a glossary stays anonymous. Someone in the company did it, but who? Anyway a task that has been forwarded some 100 times, and no one actually liked to take care of it. Maybe the email provided will give you a hint. But that’s it.

And than there are those “other” glossaries, those that are so closely related to the one who took the time to collect and present the information for us.  People with real passion and expertise about a subject. Those, who are serious about sharing  their knowledge.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to one of them: Bill Calhoun – Piano technician and author of an outstanding piano glossary.  Bill holds a Certificate in Piano Technology from the  New England Conservatory of Music, and for over twenty years serves his clients throughout the Boston area.  Bill does everything   from simple repairs in the home to precise regulating and voicing for the professional;  from basic tuning to thorough reconditioning. And Bill passes on his knowledge! Not only in his glossary, website and blog, but Bill enjoys teaching, and offers regular workshops on the physics of music and musical instruments in local schools through The Music School.

Thanks, Bill!

Glossary Description

Don’t let the somewhat old-fashioned design blur your view! This glossary is a pearl. With 44 terms, all related to piano parts, it covers the subject very comprehensively. The hyperlinked terms in the definitions will make easy for you to go on navigating to additional terms of  interest.

So far, so good. Get ready for the special “bonus” of this glossary: Many terms are equipped with a “diagram” icon – opening up a diagram of a piano with the special part marked in red. Several terms even an animation file attached to them. Perfect, how text and vision are used in this glossary.

Example Term: Damper

The damper is a device for suppressing the vibration of a string.  In a grand, the dampers sit on top of the strings; you can see them go up and down as you play the piano.  In an upright, they sit against the strings below the hammers.  The dampers are spring-loaded, and also sometimes weighted.  The last 20 notes or so in the treble don’t have dampers.  The damper consists of a hinged lever, a thick, bendable wire that runs from the lever to a wooden damper head, and specially shaped felts glued to the head.  When you depress a key, the damper lifts off just before the hammer hits the string.  When you let go of the key, the damper returns, damping the string.  In an upright, the damper is lifted off the string by a little metal spoon on the wippen.  In a grand, the damper is lifted by the end of the key.

Glossary / Dictionary Details

Title: Piano Glossary	Terms: 44
Link: http://billcalhounpiano.110mb.com/glossary.html	Language: English
Quote as: Piano Glossary. By Bill Calhoun. [+link]	Last visited: November 09, 2011