Is your piano too loud?
Do you want to make it quieter without breaking the bank?
As an aspiring pianist, it must have been great to buy your first piano.
When you buy a piano from the showroom, it usually tends to sound different when you play it in your room.
Most people complain of the loud sound, which may be problematic to you and other people living with you or your neighbors.
You don’t want to give up on your new piano, which is why we wrote this guide on how to make a piano quieter.
There are several ways to make a piano quieter. They involve choosing a quieter piano, adding more sound absorbing items to your room, using quieting technology, or combining the three methods.
Let’s dig in and find the right option for you.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
The list of items you’ll need depends on the method.
This list covers what’s talked about in the methods below.
Sound Absorbing Rug/Sheet – This is to potentially drape on the piano or place it on the floor of the room to absorb the sound.
Sound Absorbing Panels – The panel on the walls of the room will absorb the piano vibrations too.
Piano Quiet System – A dedicated quiet system mutes the sound right at the piano without tinkering with the function of the piano itself.
It costs a little more at times, but you’ll be able to switch from full to muted piano sound easily.
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8 Ways How To Make A Piano Quieter
1. Buy The Right Piano For Your Room
Suppose you are buying a piano for the first time.
In this case, it might be difficult to determine the best piano for your room size.
Still, consult your seller or piano technician.
The fact is: a large piano might be too loud in your small room, while a small piano can produce inadequate or uneven sound if the room is too big.
Therefore, you avoid issues with piano sound right from the beginning by buying the right piano for your room.
However, if you already purchased a piano and you are facing the problem of too loud sound, the tips below will help you control the volume to your liking.
2. Always Keep The Lid Closed
Whether you are using a baby grand or grand piano, it’s always possible make it quieter by closing its lid.
Do this in two ways depending on the amount of sound you want.
First, try closing the lid but leave the fly lid open.
With this option, the sound will be reduced but not too much.
If you want the piano to be even quieter, close the lid and remove the entire music rack.
Likewise, after removing the music rack, place it on the piano to contain more sound.
Whichever option makes you feel more comfortable, try, and you will be able to play your piano without any compromise.
3. Use A Rug
Even if you do not have much experience playing the piano, you may have noticed its sound comes from the top and the bottom.
While the biggest part of the sounds comes from the top, about half of it comes from the bottom.
Therefore, the trick is to reduce the sound coming from the bottom part by placing a rug beneath.
Get yourself some insulation-type materials such as foam, and this will solve the complaints of the people living below you — it will significantly dampen the bottom sound.
4. Use Sound-absorbing Materials
Suppose you do not want to reduce the sound coming from the bottom of the piano.
In this case, you may want to attempt placing these materials inside the piano.
Place them somewhere between the soundboard and the wooden support beams.
It could be a blanket or foam blocks, and as long as you do it right, the trick will reduce the sound drastically.
However, if you are not sure how to do it, talk to a piano technician to do it for you to avoid damaging the instrument.
If your piano comes with a humidity control system or uses an electric piano system, this option is not for you.
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5. Choose Your Piano Space Wisely
Where you place your piano will influence the amount of sound it will produce in and out of the room.
For instance, if you are using an upright piano, most of its sounds will emanate from the back.
This means if you place it near a wall and most of the sound will be absorbed and produce lesser sound.
To reduce the sound further, again use the sound dampening materials behind the piano, which will manage the amount of sound traveling to the neighbors.
6. Consider The Things You Have in Your Piano Room
Some people would want to have an open room with a piano only, and playing it in such solitude is great and relaxing.
However, suppose you want to reduce the sound produced by the same piano.
In this case, you may be forced to forego it for a moment and add some upholstered furniture in the room.
It could be sofas, upholstered chairs, pillows, carpets, or any other thing as sound-absorbing.
Also consider covering coffee tables and other wooden furniture with cloths.
While they will absorb just some little sound, the combined efforts from all will work wonders.
7. Consider Silent Systems
This is a new technology, and you may use it to reduce or turn off the sound from your piano completely.
It works by placing a felt-covered bar in front of the hammers to prevent them from hitting the strings.
An optical sensor will then read the performance of the keys and send it to a virtual piano through a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI).
Then play the sound through a speaker at any volume.
You may also use your headphones for total silence in the room, and nobody will know you are having fun playing your piano.
While this a great solution, it has a disadvantage because you will only be hearing a replica of the piano sound and not the actual instrument.
8. Consult a reliable piano technician
Most of the DIY tricks will work on reducing the sound of your piano but if you are still not satisfied, talk to a piano professional.
The tuner can help by needling the hammers of the piano to increase their softness. Hard hammers make a piano to produce a very bright sound.
If the problem gets fixed correctly, the volume will be lower, and the sound becomes more mellow.
You might even enjoy some warmer tones coming from the piano after the harmers’ fixation.
However, make sure you get yourself an experienced and reliable piano turner to avoid causing more problems than you already have.
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Final Thoughts
Now take these ideas on how to make a piano quieter and go practice!
Playing the piano or any other musical instrument is fun, especially when you have a passion for it.
If you have come this far and the only problem you are facing is having a very loud piano and unending complaints from neighbors, worry no more.
Use these tips on how to make piano quieter, and we hope you enjoy your journey as a pianist.