How to Move an Upright Piano? (Step-by-Step DIY Guide)

From cheerful jingles to dramatic masterpieces, pianos create a variety of music that spreads joy to hearts around the world. But as beautiful as they are, they’re also fragile, needing special care and meticulous preparation to be relocated safely. While we highly recommend that you leave the relocation process to experienced piano movers, if you still want to learn how to move an upright piano, the following blog gives you detailed instructions from proper equipment to securing the instrument to loading it onto dollies for safe transportation.

DIYing Your Piano Relocation:  How To Do It Like A Pro

Are you moving across the state? Or is it to the next county that you’re relocating? Shifting your entire life to a new location is hard enough, but when you have a delicate musical instrument like a piano to take care of, it becomes an entirely different challenge. While we recommend seeking expert help in the matter, if you’ve got a group of burly friends who’re willing to help, we do have a detailed guide.

Here is how to move your upright piano safely on your own.

Step 1: Gather Equipment

It helps to have everything you’ll need in a single place. Before even thinking about moving your piano, make sure to have the following things on hand to make the process fast and efficient:

• Painter’s tape,
• moving blankets
• Ratchet straps
• Piano dolly
• Gloves & boots

Step 2: Clear Path

Next, create a cleared path from your piano’s current location all the way to the moving truck. Move chairs out of the way, open doors, and get boxes situated against walls to make sure there are no tripping hazards or cramped corridors.

Step 3: Remove Loose Items

Next, clear the piano. Remove things like ornaments, picture frames, and music from the instrument to prevent scratches and other forms of loss as you carry the upright piano from one location to the other.

Step 4: Prepare The Piano

Now, move on to actually preparing the instrument for the move. Close and lock the keyboard lid before wrapping it and the pedals in foam or bubble wrap. Finally, wrap the entire instrument in a moving blanket to keep it safe during the move. Secure everything with tape or straps at the end.

Pro Tip Don’t attach the tape directly to the finish to prevent damage

Step 5: Position The Dolly

Now it’s time to get the piano on the dolly. Since it’s a large instrument, don’t try to lift and place it on top. Instead, tilt it slightly back, one side at a time, before sliding the dolly underneath.

Step 6: Secure To Dolly

Once the piano is centered on the dolly, you should use strong straps to secure it. This will prevent it from getting jostled or sliding off completely as it’s moved.

Step 7: Begin Rolling

Now, carefully and slowly tilt the piano backward. It should be less than an inch, and there should be someone on each side to catch and balance the instrument in case anything goes wrong.

Step 8: Load Into Truck

Once you reach the truck, use a ramp to roll the dolly into the truck and strap the piano securely to the far wall.

Step 9: Repeat In Reverse

Once at your new location, carefully roll the dolly out with the help of the ramp and bring it inside. Be careful to avoid any obstacles till you reach your new home.

Step 10: Wait & Tune

Give the piano a few weeks to acclimate to its new home. This will help it adjust to temperature and humidity levels. Once that’s done, tune the piano and enjoy beautiful music!

Conclusion

To conclude, a piano is a beautiful musical instrument that has a rich history. Moving a piano is a complex procedure; one that requires detailed planning, a lot of manpower, and endless patience. But if you’re willing to put in all that effort, you should remove all personal items from the instrument after clearing a path to the truck, wrap the upright piano in bubble wrap and moving blankets, and roll it onto the truck. After it’s at its new location, give it a few weeks to acclimate before you tune and begin to play. We hope this blog helped you understand how to move an upright piano. For more questions or guidelines, please drop us a line.

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