Grand Piano

The concert size piano was built in 1778 by Robert Stodart of England.  It was originally called a Grand Pianoforte.   Since then all wing-shaped horizontal pianos are known as grands.

Grand pianos are built in several sizes.  They vary in length from 4'6" to 9'6".  The measurement is taken from front of the keyboard to the farthest point of the bend at the back of the piano.  Widths vary between 54" to 57".  The height from the floor to the underside of the keybed is usually 24" and 28" to the top of the keys.  This can vary slightly between manufactures.

A grand piano is no feather weight either.  Even a small 5'1" model S Steinway will weigh in at about 550 pounds all the way up to nearly 1000 pounds for a full size concert grand.

The most widely known term for a grand is the baby grand however it is referred to as the small grand today.  In the piano industry this refers to one that is 5'3" or smaller.   Ernest Kaps of Dresden is said to have built the first baby grand (5'0") during the 1860s.  Hugo Sohmer, founder of Sohmer & Company, invented and patented the first such American grand in 1884.

The next grouping is simply called the medium size grand, from 5'4" to 5'11".  All musicians would like to own a full size concert piano, but the size before that is 6'0" to 7'6" and could be considered the professional group.   In smaller concert halls, many times a 7'6" grand will be found.

The full concert size is 9'0".  Bösendorfer, however, manufacturers a 9'6" model.

Sometimes grand pianos are purchased partly for the beauty and impressiveness of their cabinets.  In the past, they were often ornately carved, and many cabinets were made of rosewood or other expensive, exotic woods.  The inlays and carvings of serpentine scrolls and garlands, the intricate filigree of the music racks and the heavy, fluted, round or cabriole legs gave way to simple, straight-lined cases with square tapered legs, or to modified period styles.

A schematic of a typical grand piano is available by clicking here.

Modern Vertical Piano

Modern vertical pianos date from 1935.  Although made in different heights, they vary little in width and depth.   The width of a vertical piano with 88 keys is 57" to 59".  The depth is 21" to 26".  Player pianos may be slightly deeper.  The piano industry has divided the various heights into the five following categories.

Spinet             36" to 37" high
Consolette      38" to 39" high
Console          40" to 44" high
Studio             45" to 47" high
Professional   48" to 52" high

Regardless of the total height of the piano, the dimension in all verticals from the floor to the underside of the keybed is almost the same, about 24".  The difference in the height of the various sizes is in the dimension from the base of the keybed to the top of the lid on the piano.

The weights of vertical pianos vary from about 350 pounds for a light-weight spinet, 460 pounds for a Yamaha console, 540 pounds for a Studio , 590 pounds for a modern 52" upright, over 600 pounds for an old victorian upt., and over 800 pounds for an old upt. player.

Today, the term upright is not generally used, unless it is describing an old vertical piano more than 52" tall and nearly 100 years old (victorian).  Otherwise, from spinets to professional sizes, the term is vertical pianos. 

In 1935, the Wurlitzer Company built the first 39" tall vertical piano and called it a spinette.  In the same year, the Haddorf Piano Company of Rockford, IL (1901-1960), introduced a 36" tall vertical spinet during the National Association of Music Merchants convention in Chicago.  The advertising referred to these small vertical pianos as, "The up-to-date piano for the modern home."

The 40" console, however, better satisfied the tonal concepts of those manufacturers that did not accept the small spinet.  Because the trend in furniture favored low designs, the small pianos were quickly embraced by the public, especially for use in apartments.

Since the early 1980s, the swing has been back to the taller vertical pianos.  The standard 42" console has led to 43" and 44" tall console designs.  The Studio (45" to 47") is the standard piano in most schools.   As the quality conscious manufacturer constantly seeks to improve his piano, he finds himself unrelentlessly faced with the basic engineering factors required to build a good piano.  He knows that the larger instrument affords him with a better opportunity to achieve the soundboard area and the string length needed for clear, resonant tones.  A larger, stronger structure also provides better support for the tension from the strings, thus making a more stable instrument.  In piano engineering, it is understood that the concert grand piano provides the optimum tone.   The engineer designing a smaller piano scale is making a compromise.  The smaller the piano, the more he must make compromises!

Mathis Piano Service
West Bend, WI