The Things We Have Found In pianos

Now, here is a story to tell.

Besides the parts of pianos that you would expect to find inside of it, over the years I have found some rather unusual items.

When there are children in the home, there is a wondrous inquisitiveness at seeing the inside of a piano. There is very often the comment made “I never knew the piano could come apart like that.”

This is often followed by the realization that under the keys there usually lies years of dirt! Finding a piece of paper with the details of the manufacturer and a date and signature brings the question of who this was and what it was like to be working in a piano factory. So seldom can we follow the trail of a piano — the factory to its present home. Imagine the tales a piano could tell of the hands it has been through.

Under the keys of an upright piano, I have found old coins, bits of sheet music, monopoly money, other board game pieces, hair clips, paper clips, the odd evidence of a mouse nest, and the– droppings. Then there are also the plastic soldiers that Johnny was playing with – while supposedly practising.

The moving parts can contain leaves, twigs, and various other items that fall in when the top lid is open. One piano housed a whole family of field mice. When the piano was carried outside to remove them, they all started abandoning ship (I mean piano!) and we counted 21 of them. Good thing the piano was on a trolley, otherwise it might well have been dropped!

Even more unusual finds are snakeskin, skeletons of mice and other rodents, birdseed, dog food pellets, and a comb. Oh, what stories they could tell!

In grand pianos, there is often the pencil and pen that have managed to cause various notes not to play by moving under the moving parts and causing consternation to the pianist and then astonishment when the piano tuner arrives and finds the culprit. A fellow technician told me of the discovery of a diamond ring that had been presumed to be lost and the emotional reunion with its owner when found.  I have had the squeamish task of removing a mommy rat and her six babies, very much alive! Fortunately, mommy made a dash for it herself while I delicately picked up her squealing babies.

Some pianos become the hiding place of treasured items that people would not think of looking for…not in a piano.  One customer asked me to remove all the items she was storing there before I started to tune the piano. I have found old pictures, photos and letters stashed away which caused great excitement when discovered. The most unusual items I have found are boxes of ammunition and knives.

So in this line of work you are  not just a piano technician but also a detective and historian.

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