dubstep

Today's spotlight shines north of the border on Canadian musician Ndidi Onukwulu . Although born in Canada, Ndidi has Nigerian heritage as well, which peeks through every so often by contributing some funky rhythms here and there, although… (in post Sunday Spotlight - Ndidi Onukwulu from Mainstream isn't so bad...is it?. Download this at Amazon iTunes More by this artist at eMusic)

The sound that a piano creates is made by hammers inside the piano hitting the strings, also found inside the piano. To create the sound variations, most piano contain over 200 strings ranging from bass strings to treble strings.

Treble strings produce the high notes and are found to the right of the piano. Therefore, when you are playing the treble notes, you more than often play with your right hand. Made of steel the higher the note the thinner the string and to help with volume, many pianos will have 3 strings for the treble notes. The highest treble note has strings that are approximately 0.775 mm thick.

Bass strings produce the low notes and are found to the left of the piano, hence playing the bass predominately with your left hand. Made of a steel core with copper wire wound around is, the lower the note, the thicker the string, and due to the volume it can create, you tend to find only one base string. The lowest bass note has a thickness of approximately 1.224 mm. Bass strings tend to be the common strings that will tarnish. When the piano is new they look like polished brass but as the age of the piano increases the tone that the string produces becomes a more dead sound.

One of the most important aspects of the piano string which creates the sound is the tension that each string is under, which is up to 100 kilos per string. When you combine this with the big concert grand pianos it can equate to almost 20 tons of tension in the string. By the addition of a strong cast iron frame in the piano, the tension can be held in place. Assisted by tuning pins on the frame, the tension in the strings is held. The tuning pins can be adjusted, which your piano tuner does when they tune pianos, to assist creating the correct tone that the string makes.

It is always recommended that piano tuning is completed by a certified piano tuner or technician. If not, too much tension can crack the string or worse still, the frame. If the frame is cracked, the chances are, you'll be better purchasing another piano.

As keen internet marketer and pianist, Chris is the author of 2 websites. His home working website contains advice for those who want to make money online and his piano playing tips website which provides tips for online piano lessons