[CAUT] Upright tone openings

[Ron Nossaman]

On 2/26/2011 11:17 AM, Laurence Libin wrote:
> Early 19th-century uprights often have a fabric panel rather than wood
> front. They look imposing but can sound too loud at the keyboard because
> the soundboard is right in front of the player's face; also the
> mechanical noise was prominent. This wasn't desirable especially in a
> smallish parlor, and wood panel fronts were cheaper to make, more
> durable and easier to clean than fabric ones, hence (along with trends
> in furniture fashion) the change to wood enclosure as the market became
> more middle-class.

And the pianos became louder and brighter.

Ron N