What does it take to break a string?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I haven't broken a string yet, but sometimes when I'm playing, I get worried that I might snap one because I'm playing loud pieces. 

[49410enrique]

it scared the krap out of me  when it happened to me. i wonder if certain strings are more prone to snapping, i.e. by thickness or tension? i've never popped a top end string though when i ve gonein the practice room and one's been done  it's always been an upper one. for me it last happend to me on a lower string, i was banging away at some low octaves on a  'concerto',

in honestly i think it's a combination of the intensity of strikes, how many strikes, and the particualr home of the string, i.e. is it old, prone to wild swings in humidity and temperature has there been a long accumulation of fine oxidation/rust?, how many times has it been struck , is the amount of force usually very high with a strong attack?

i just consider it randomness, hope it doesn't happen to me, i see it neither as a feat to be proud of nor do i dread it, it just happens. kind of like farting in  a way.

[ajspiano]

I doubt there is a defined answer to this, not without an analysis of the piano in question, and it seems like a bit of a waste of time to try and figure out how much pressure is required to break your piano.

 It happened to me once when I was a teenager. Pain in the arse, string slipped over the entire set and the whole instrument became completely unplayable until the tech came to restring it. Buzzzz buzz buz.

[j_menz]

I'ts happened to me twice. I also snapped a hammer once.    I blame the piano! 

[ajspiano]

Also..

I went to a concert quite some time ago now where the pianist told us that she once played a concert on a fairly dilapidated instrument and a leg broke mid performance sending the piano to the floor.

wouldnt that be just a bit frustrating..

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I doubt there is a defined answer to this, not without an analysis of the piano in question, and it seems like a bit of a waste of time to try and figure out how much pressure is required to break your piano.

 It happened to me once when I was a teenager. Pain in the arse, string slipped over the entire set and the whole instrument became completely unplayable until the tech came to restring it. Buzzzz buzz buz.

It's just that sometimes when I'm playing loud pieces, the piano sounds like it's gonna snap in half, and I notice a difference in the the ways the keys act when you have the pedal on as well.  I don't know if it's normal.  I remember I was playing a Rachmaninoff prelude and he kept telling me to go louder and louder, and I was afraid that I was gonna destroy the piano. 

I don't know, I practice on the piano at school, but I still have this fear of breaking something.  Perhaps I'm paranoid?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Also..

I went to a concert quite some time ago now where the pianist told us that she once played a concert on a fairly dilapidated instrument and a leg broke mid performance sending the piano to the floor.

wouldnt that be just a bit frustrating..

Daang she must have felt extra salty!!! 

[49410enrique]

Also..

I went to a concert quite some time ago now where the pianist told us that she once played a concert on a fairly dilapidated instrument and a leg broke mid performance sending the piano to the floor.

wouldnt that be just a bit frustrating..

what about a 'broken venue' i played /accompanyment for a student viola concerto last december and the floor is warped and there is a definite lean to the room in spots, the piano was not where it normally is in the same orientation, mid 3rd (fast) movement it decided it wanated to roll off to my left i.e. up the register i had to keep playing since the student's grade was on the line and i most certainly wasn't going to mess her up so ther i was scooting over scooting over etc. till it decided to setlle (another reason i hate those piano moving 'dolly' carts they set them on to make moving them easier, guess what it makes the piano move easier! even on its own)

[ajspiano]

This is going to be a pretty far fetched comparison that may be a really long way off reality..

but you could probably consider that the piano strings are under immense pressure and strain even when you are not playing. Seriously, look up how much pressure is applied to the frame of a grand piano.. They are strong to begin with just because they don't break when they are put in tune. The hammers striking them is a pretty mild amount of pressure comparitively to the strain they are under generally.

Its a little bit like throwing a tennis ball at a brick wall. It doesnt matter how hard you throw it, shoot it out of a canon if you like..  you won't knock over the wall unless there is some significant weakness there to begin with..  rust? kink in string to begin with because piano tech is a bit dodgy?

As far as the piano mechanism, there is a limited amount of time/space for you to even impact its motion, and the hammer releases so you cant apply excess pressure there..  and if you're pressing beyond the key bed the action isnt moving anyway you're just pressing the key into a chunk of wood and you're not strong enough to do damage - you probably feel a lot more strain that the piano does..

[quantum]

I've broken many strings, hammer shanks, and keys.  I have found it usually happens at moments  least expected, and when I was not playing particularly heavily.  Probably due to defects in the string or oxidation.  I've brutally bashed pianos and not broken anything, yet other occasions of light playing has snapped a string. 

If it happens, it happens.  No big deal. 

[ionian_tinnear]

Strings break for many reasons, some of which are noted in earlier posts.  Another factor is the piano's design.  For instance, on some Yamaha uprights, the angle the string takes after passing from the pin thru the Agraffe was a bit too much, and the holes in the Agraffe itself had rather sharp edges.  That leads to easily broken strings.  No need to play hard, just be patient, a string will break.  I believe that desgn flaw was corrected, Yamahas are still good pianos.

Age, oxidation, rough treatment, maybe.  I played my piano very vigously and not broken anything.  It's a 1924 Model M Steinway.  All the strings are original according to my technician.  When I got it, everthing was original except to hammer shanks (someone else broke them, really!).  Piano now has a completely rebuild action, but the original strings.  Maybe next year I'll get it restrung.

[perfect_pitch]

I've broken two bass strings before. I blame the Totentanz.

Apparently it is still unknown exactly what causes strings to break. Excessive force however is almost always destined to break strings, but there are also environmental forces.

[p2u_]

What does it take to break a string?

1) Corrosion (rusty strings)
2) Very hard and worn hammers
3) Sustained excessively hard playing

Paul

[keys60]

Agreed. Corrosion is probably the main culprit, especially at the contact points like hitchpins, coils, V and capo bars. Hard playing on a healthy string will probably snap the hammer shank before snapping the string. No a pianos limits in terms of volume and projection and don't play harder. Its fruitless.

[hbofinger]

Agreed. Corrosion is probably the main culprit, especially at the contact points like hitchpins, coils, V and capo bars. Hard playing on a healthy string will probably snap the hammer shank before snapping the string. No a pianos limits in terms of volume and projection and don't play harder. Its fruitless.

Right. It's fatigue or corrosion, and usually happens by the agraffe of contact point closest to the pin.

Here is an interesting factoid: Early monoplanes (non-biplane aircraft) used piano strings extensively to support the wing from masts. They would vibrate harmonically in flight and suddenly fail due to metal fatigue, causing the wings to collapse. The great French aviator Bleriot (sp?) crashed and died this way in a race.

The bang of a busted string on pianos usually happens in the tuning process. The string is either fatigued or corroded, and snaps on the highest friction point. Which is a he?? of a lot better than while flying around a speed track....