 |
| Silver Swan, from source |
Every day, pianos all over the world are reaching the end of their days. They’ve lived long lives and now it’s time to go. Perhaps they were never well built, but they still made music, made someone smile. What sort of end does a piano deserve? When it can’t stay tuned and the restoration costs more than it’s worth—money most people don’t have—what’s to become of the beloved piano?
According to the BBC, the sad truth is that more and more pianos are going to the dump, being burned for the wood, or getting chopped up for wood chip. A few lucky ones get taken in by restorers willing to spend the money to fix them up, but these days there are far too many pianos at the end of their lives than there are restorers to take them.
Pianos saw their heyday around the 1920s. This was a time when they were finally being mass made for the public, not just for well-off families and those with high status. This meant they weren’t made as well—as so often mass-produced products aren’t—and it’s those pianos that are dying now. So, metal, wood, ivory and all, they get sent to the dump.
But there’s something inherently sad about a piano ending up in a massive pile of garbage, isn’t there? They are such personal instruments—they’ve made us laugh, smile, even cry at the beautiful music they’ve produced. They’ve helped us express ourselves, tap into our creativity, and feel the joy of making music. It seems like they should have a better end.
A lucky few might be made into furniture piece-by-piece, or even art. This feels like a more justified end for some reason—perhaps it’s because they can still be enjoyed and appreciated by people in those forms. They’re not just dismantled, thrown away, and forgotten about.
Blake Cooper at Cooper Piano in Atlanta, Georgia explained the process of disposing of a piano to BBC. “I’m not going to tell them I’m going to chop it up and put it in a hopper,” he said. “It’s an emotional thing. The piano is like a form of expression, and all of a sudden, you’re dealing in a strange situation. All those pianos had somebody happy at some time. All those pianos did that. They really don’t owe us anything. People were happy, even if only for a moment. Did the piano smile? I don’t know—it might have.”
Pianos saw their heyday around the 1920s. This was a time when they were finally being mass made for the public, not just for well-off families and those with high status. This meant they weren’t made as well—as so often mass-produced products aren’t—and it’s those pianos that are dying now. So, metal, wood, ivory and all, they get sent to the dump.
But there’s something inherently sad about a piano ending up in a massive pile of garbage, isn’t there? They are such personal instruments—they’ve made us laugh, smile, even cry at the beautiful music they’ve produced. They’ve helped us express ourselves, tap into our creativity, and feel the joy of making music. It seems like they should have a better end.
A lucky few might be made into furniture piece-by-piece, or even art. This feels like a more justified end for some reason—perhaps it’s because they can still be enjoyed and appreciated by people in those forms. They’re not just dismantled, thrown away, and forgotten about.
Blake Cooper at Cooper Piano in Atlanta, Georgia explained the process of disposing of a piano to BBC. “I’m not going to tell them I’m going to chop it up and put it in a hopper,” he said. “It’s an emotional thing. The piano is like a form of expression, and all of a sudden, you’re dealing in a strange situation. All those pianos had somebody happy at some time. All those pianos did that. They really don’t owe us anything. People were happy, even if only for a moment. Did the piano smile? I don’t know—it might have.”
No comments:
Post a Comment