MAKERS
‘I’ll tell you how to move a piano: properly.’ Vicky Murphy, managing director of F&M Elite Piano Specialists, based in London, is not joking. ‘It really is that simple,’ she adds. ‘Brute strength will get you nowhere. Instead, it takes technique, experience and team work. Get it wrong and not only do you risk damaging the piano but more importantly, yourself.’
Confession time. Around 20 years ago I moved my piano, a large Broadwood Stratford upright, from my dining room to my sitting room. It wasn’t too far but the journey involved two very tight turns, the floors were carpeted and there was only me doing it.
First, I tried pushing the piano on its tiny castors but they simply dug into the carpet and in any case, looked to be more decorative than practical. So I went into the kitchen for a rolling pin which, by raising one end of the instrument, I was able to place under the piano with my foot. By pushing the Broadwood like my life depended on it, I was able to roll it slowly over the rolling pin from one room to the other, stopping only to transfer the rolling pin to the front again and manhandle the instrument around the tight doorways. It was an exhausting
