How a standard upright piano mechanism works
If you've ever peeked inside the lid of your instrument, you've probably noticed that the upright piano mechanism is a bit of a mechanical marvel. It looks like a dense forest of wooden levers, felt pads, and tiny springs, all crammed into a vertical space. Unlike a grand piano, where everything lays out flat, an upright has to fight gravity to get those hammers moving back and forth. It's a fascinating piece of engineering that has stayed largely the same for over a hundred years, and for good reason—it just works. ...