What’s The Best Way to Move a Piano?

Your piano is a complicated, delicate device that’s as complex as a car—but not as sturdy! With 10,000 moving parts, a piano must be handled especially carefully during a move. Follow these tips to safely move your prized piano to your new home.

Hire Professional Movers

Never try to move a piano yourself. Even the smallest spinet weighs 400 lbs., and a grand piano can weigh more than 1200 lbs., vastly outweighing the goodwill of your helpful friends.

Professional movers have experience and resources to handle the demands of the delicate, heavy machine that is your piano.

Measure Your Piano Before You Move

Taking measurements before moving day can prevent unforeseen problems. If any structural changes have been made, you may not be able to make the turns that allowed the piano to move in.

You can remove the legs from a grand piano to prevent damage and allow it to turn on its side for piano moving. Upright pianos will be easier to leverage through doorways.

Move Furniture Out of the Way

Because pianos are so heavy, they will be one of the first objects to be loaded into the truck, near the front. That means there will still be boxes and furniture in the house. Get these out of the way! Angling around objects in the room can cause dings. Move furniture out of the way so your piano has a straight shot out the door.

Wrap and Lock the Piano

Lock the lid so it doesn’t open during the move. Some people pack dessicants inside the piano to reduce humidity levels, especially if the instrument will be in the truck overnight.

The piano must be well-covered with nonslip blankets to protect the finish. Your movers should secure the blankets with moving cords or tape.

Use Heavy-Duty Straps

Movers will use a piano dolly where possible, but stairs will require moving straps, and these should be heavy-duty straps designed to hold the exceptional weight of a piano.

Tune Your Piano After Moving

After the physical stress and atmospheric changes of a move, every piano will need to be tuned. Plan to tune more frequently than usual the first year after a move, as your piano adjusts to its new conditions.

Electronic Pianos Need Care, Too

Electronic pianos don’t have the problems of weight, size, and mechanical parts that acoustic pianos do. But like any electronic device, they do need to be moved carefully.

Wrap an electronic piano well, preferable in its original box or a hard travel case designed for this purpose. You want to shield the keys from damage and prevent damage during any small bumps.

Few Moves Moving Company is a full-service moving company ready to move all your belongings with care, including your piano. Call Few Moves at (919) 999-6201 in Raleigh or (910) 512-6999 in Wilmington, NC to discuss your particular moving needs.