C. BechsteinA

C. Bechstein A — a grand from Berlin, 182 cm long, black under a satin polish.

182 cm is salon-grand size: for a large living room, for a school music room, for teaching beyond the beginner stage. Within the Bechstein range the A counts as the grand that still fits into a flat.

The bass has more speaking length than any upright; it does not match a concert grand, which is over two metres long. Day to day it is the action that counts: a grand repeats faster, and a note can be taken again straight after the strike. The keyboard has 85 keys, three fewer than is usual today — reach into the top octave and you run out. Two pedals: the right lifts the dampers, the left shifts the action and draws the tone back; there is no middle pedal to leave single notes standing.

The surface is a shellac polish: no water, no alcohol, no heat — so no vase on the lid, no cleaning spray, no sunlight, no radiator air. Dust it dry, and softly. Satin takes the light more quietly than high gloss.

182 × 140 cm is a good 2.5 m² of floor; with room to sit and to walk past, better count on four square metres. 320 kg, laid on its side for carrying, legs and lyre off: work for movers, not for friends. Not by the radiator, not in the sun — swings in humidity put it out of tune. If you play in the evening and have neighbours, an acoustic instrument can have a Silent System fitted, and you play on with headphones on the same keys.