PTG Written Exam Study Guide Flashcards

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering terms, action parts, materials, and specification measurements from the PTG Written Exam study guide.

Abstract

An old name for the sticker.

Stack

Keyframe, keys, and the playing mechanism, or the playing mechanism of a grand piano excluding the keyframe and keys.

Acu-just hitch pin

Hitch pins made of rolled steel, used in Baldwin pianos from the mid-1970s to present, that allow the downbearing to be individually adjusted for each note.

Aftertouch

The distance a piano key moves, with diminished resistance, after the escapement of the jack takes place.

Agraffe

A brass, machined screw with holes in it, through which the strings pass on their way to the tuning pins.

Aliquot bars

The bars or platforms used in duplex scaling in the treble sections of some pianos, especially grands, that allow the waste section of the string between the bridge and hitch pin to sing.

Back

The structural frame of a piano, including the soundboard, ribs, posts, pinblock, iron plate, and strings.

Back check

A block of wood, or sometimes plastic, covered with felt, which catches and stops the hammer tail in grand pianos, and the butt catcher of the butt assembly in verticals.

Back rail cloth

Also called keybed felt.

Back stop

Name for the butt catcher.

Balancier

The top lever on a grand wippen, also called the repetition lever.

Becket

The short, bent end of a piano string which goes through the tuning pin.

Bell

A bell-shaped metal cone attached to the inner rim of some Steinway grand pianos that acts as a brace to the plate by means of a bolt extending through the soundboard.

Bird's eye

The formed hole in a wippen, damper, hammer butt assembly, or jack, through which a flange is attached by means of a center pin.

Brass rail

The main rail to which the 88 butt assemblies are attached in some old upright pianos, particularly Kimballs.

Break

Refers to a division of the piano scale, such as between the bass and tenor sections.

Bridle strap

Also called bridle tape; holds the wippen up, and the jack from blocking, when the action is removed from the piano for repair.

Bridge

Strip of hardwood attached to the soundboard over which the strings are stretched, and which transfers sound from the strings to the soundboard.

Bridge apron

The shelf attaching the bridge to the soundboard, via the runner.

Burning hammers

Refers to heating of the hammer shanks, either by flame, hot air, or hot tool, to allow bending of hammer shanks in order to align hammers.

Flange bushings

The felt in the action centers in the flanges, which surrounds the center pin, allowing the flange to swivel on its hammer butt, wippen, damper lever, sticker tongue, etc.

Key bushings

The felt in the front and balance rail mortises in the keys, which allows the key to pivot on the balance rail, or go up and down on the front rail, without binding or rattling.

Butt plate

The small metal plate used to hold the center pin in the butt-assembly in place on an action with a brass rail.

Capo d'astro bar

Sometimes called the capo bar. In grand pianos, it is the bar, usually in treble sections, under which the strings pass on their way to the tuning pins.

Capstan

A wood or metal device attached near the back end of a key, upon which the wippen foot or sticker rests.

Case

The outside of the piano.

Casters

Special heavy-duty wheel assemblies on the bottom of pianos to allow it to be moved around.

Caul

Key bushing cauls are metal or wood sizing devices used when installing new bushings in keys.

Cent

One hundredth of a semi-tone on an equally tempered piano, where $4\,\text{cents} = 1\,\text{beat}$.

Center pin

The brass pins in the action center used to hold the flange onto whatever component.

Spinet piano size

36” - 39”

Console piano size

40” - 44”

Studio piano size

45” - 47”

Upright piano size

48”+

Mini Grand Piano length

4’5” - 4’10”

Baby Grand Piano length

4’11” - 5’4”

Living Room Grand Piano length

5’5” - 5’10”

Professional Grand Piano length

5’11” - 6’4”

Semi-Concert Grand Piano length

6’5” - 7’4”

Concert Grand Piano length

8’9” - 9’0”+

Damper

Felt block or wedge that is pressed against the string to stop the tone of a note after the key is released.

Damper rod

The rod mounted on the back side of a vertical piano action, which lifts the dampers from the strings, as a group, when the damper lift pedal is played.

Damper rod dogs

The hooks, usually four, that stick out of the damper rod, which hold the rod in place via brackets, and allow it to swivel when in use.

Dip

In regulating, the distance a key will travel downward when depressed during playing ($10\,\text{mm}$ or $3/8\,\text{in}$).

Downbearing

The amount of downward angle, or the amount of down pressure, exerted on the bridge by the strings, as a result of the height of the plate in relation to the bridges (about $3\,\text{lbs}$ of pressure).

Drop

The distance which the hammer drops during escapement of the jack from under the knuckle.

Drop lifter nut

Adjusts the length of the lifter wire, moving the wippen higher or lower, and regulating the height of the jack tip in relation to the hammer butt cushion; also called whip lifter.

Drop screw

In the hammer flange of a grand piano, the adjustment screw that sets the height to which the repetition lever can rise.

Drop lifter wire

Connects the wippen with the key fork.

Duplex scales

The dividing of the waste ends of strings.

Elbows

Also called lifter elbows; a small L-shaped part that connects the back of the wippen to the lifter wire.

Fly

Name used by some manufacturers for the jack in grand pianos.

Fork

Attached in the end of the key, and holds the lifter wire, via the lifter nut.

Glue size

Term referring to the solution applied to an enlarged hole.

Grommets

Isolate the drop lifter wire from the key fork.

Half-damper

Alternate name for bass damper.

Hammer rise

In grand regulating, the slight upward movement of the hammer, caused by the wippen repetition spring raising the balancier lever, which takes place after it has checked and the pressure from the key has been released.

Inharmonicity

The deviation of the frequencies of the partials of tones from their theoretical values, in pianos due mainly to the stiffness of the piano wire.

Keybed

The heavy wooden base on which the keyframe rests.

Keypin

Refers to front rail pins and balance rail pins.

Key button

A piece of wood with a slot for the balance rail pin, which is glued to the keytop over the balance rail hole, guiding key movement during playing.

Kneeboard

Also known as bottom panel.

Knuckle

Also known as roller or barrel; on the bottom side of the grand hammer shank, usually having a rosewood core wrapped with felt and covered with buckskin.

Laying touch

Also known as regulating.

Lost motion

A lag between when the pianist begins playing the key and the hammer begins moving toward the string.

Lyre

In grand pianos, the pedal mechanism consisting of a system of posts, rods, braces, and pedals, attached below the piano underneath the keybed.

Nose

Also called horn; a protrusion on the bottom side of the plate of a grand piano, which helps distribute string tension into the piano frame below.

Nose bolt

A bolt screwed into the underframe of a grand piano, or the back frame of a vertical, coming through the soundboard and plate, secured with a nut on the string side.

Notches

The cutting out of the edges of soundboard bridges to allow in-line installation of bridge pins and equal lengths of strings for that note.

Overdamper

A second damper, an inch or more above the normal damper, usually used in larger vertical pianos in the first few notes above the bass break.

Overstrung

The section of the stringing scale where the bass strings cross over on top of the longest tenor strings.

Pinblock

Also known as wrestplank or webbing tuning pin plank; the wooden plank into which holes are drilled for tuning pins, made of laminated hard maple, beech, or falconwood.

Pinblock bolts

Four to six bolts near the top of a vertical piano's plate.

Plate screws

Also known as plate bolts; one to two dozen screws (usually $1\,\frac{1}{2}\text{--}3\,\text{in}$ long) securing the piano plate to the wooden frame.

Pressure bar

Also called upper bearing bar; the iron or steel bar screwed down over strings in vertical pianos above the v-bar and below tuning pins.

Letoff button

A small, round, adjustable wood button with felt on it, used to set the point at which the jack escapes.

Repetition lever

Also called the balancier; the upper lever of the grand wippen that holds up the hammer at the knuckle after key release to allow the jack to return to resting position.

Ribs

Glued and screwed diagonally onto the soundboard.

Soundboard

Usually made of spruce (ideally Sitka spruce), though sometimes mahogany or basswood; amplifies tones produced by strings.

Splicing

Repairing a broken string by tying on a broken end or a new piece of wire.

Stretcher

Also known as bellyman or front rail; the piece of wood extending across the front of a grand piano above the fallboard.

Swing

Name used by Kimball for the musicdesk-music shelf on their spinet and console pianos.

Tension resonator

Radial arms of nearly inflexible steel joined under the soundboard and bolted to the inner rim of grand and some vertical pianos (mostly Mason & Hamlins).

T-hammer

Originally the tool for tuning pianos, harps, clavichords, and dulcimers.

Tilter

Used to help tip vertical pianos onto their back.

Tongue

A short arm extending between the sticker and sticker flange rail to keep the sticker in place over the capstan.

Trapwork

The system of levers and rods which activates the various pedal functions.

Triplex

In a grand piano, that portion of the string waste end between the capo d'astro bar and the front of the plate.

Tuning Pin Plank

AKA PInblock

Underframe

On a grand piano, the basic structure of the piano before the soundboard and plate are added.

Web

The portion of the plate which covers the pinblock, and through which the tuning pin holes are drilled.

Whip Lifter

AKA Drop Lifter Nut

Winking

In grand regulating, the slight movement of the hammer when a properly adjusted jack is gently tweaked with the tip of the finger.

Wrestplank

AKA Pinblock

Average key height

The bottom of the key should be about $1/8\,\text{in}$ below the top edge of the key slip.

Hammer letoff distance

$$1/8\,\text{in}$$

Hammer checking distance

$$5/8\,\text{in}$$

Key dip

$$3/8\,\text{in}$$

Amount of lost motion desired in dampers when using pedal

$$1/4\,\text{in}$$

Hammer blow/strike distance

$$1\,\frac{3}{4}\,\text{in}$$