Upright vs. Grand Piano Moving: What Changes

Every piano move has the same goal: get the instrument to its new spot without damage to the piano, the building or the people moving it. How that happens depends almost entirely on whether the piano is an upright or a grand. The equipment, the crew size, the preparation and the route planning all change. Here is what is different, and why it matters when you schedule a move.

The two families of pianos

Pianos come in two basic shapes. In an upright, the strings and soundboard run vertically, so the piano stands tall against a wall. In a grand, they run horizontally, so the piano rests on three legs and extends back from the keyboard into a long, curved tail.

Upright sizes

Uprights are grouped by height. Labels vary by manufacturer, but as a general guide:

• Spinet: roughly 36 to 39 inches tall, the smallest upright.
• Console: roughly 40 to 44 inches tall.
• Studio: roughly 45 to 48 inches tall, common in schools and practice rooms.
• Full upright: about 48 inches and taller, including many older, very heavy instruments.

Taller uprights generally weigh more, and an older full upright can be one of the heaviest pianos found in a home.

Grand sizes

Grands are grouped by length, measured from the front of the keyboard to the end of the tail. Again, names vary by maker:

• Petite and baby grand: roughly 4.5 to 5.5 feet long.
• Parlor or living room grand: roughly 5.5 to 6.5 feet.
• Semi-concert or ballroom grand: roughly 6.5 to 8 feet.
• Concert grand: about 9 feet, and it can approach or exceed 1,000 pounds.

How an upright piano is moved

An upright moves the way it is played: standing up. A typical sequence:

1. The fallboard and lid are closed and secured, and the piano is padded and wrapped to protect the finish.
2. The piano is tilted just enough to set it on a heavy-duty piano dolly, with movers controlling it from both ends.
3. It rolls along the planned route, with movers guiding the top and the base so it never tips. An upright is top-heavy, so balance is the main concern.
4. At stairs or steps, it is moved with straps and proper equipment, with crew positioned above and below it.
5. In the truck, it is strapped upright against the wall so it cannot shift.

An upright usually fits through a standard doorway because its depth is small. The challenge is weight and height packed into a compact footprint: it is tall, heavy and easy to tip if anyone loses control.

How a grand piano is moved

A grand cannot travel on its legs. The legs are not built to take sideways force, and rolling a grand across a floor or over a threshold can snap a leg or crack the case. Instead:

1. The music desk is taken off and the lid is removed or secured.
2. The pedal lyre is removed.
3. The piano is carefully lowered onto its straight side onto a padded piano board, also called a skid board, and the legs are removed.
4. The piano is wrapped and strapped to the board, which rides on a dolly through the house and is secured in the truck.
5. At the destination the process runs in reverse: the legs and lyre are reattached, the piano is lifted back onto its legs and set where you want it.

Why grands need more planning

On its side, a grand is often narrow enough to pass through a standard doorway, so width is rarely the problem. Length is. Even a baby grand on its side is a long, rigid load that has to pivot through every hallway corner, doorway and stair turn. That is why a grand move starts with measurements:

• The clear width of every doorway on the route, with doors fully open.
• Hallway widths and the room available to turn at each corner.
• For stairs, the number of steps, whether there are landings, how tight the turns are and how much headroom there is.

Larger grands typically need more movers, and a concert grand calls for planning that looks more like moving equipment than furniture.

What stays the same

Whatever the piano, a professional move follows the same principles: plan the route before moving day, protect the finish with pads and wrapping, use equipment built for pianos rather than general furniture dollies, and never let the piano take a load it was not designed for. Our guide on how to move a piano safely explains why DIY attempts so often end in damage or injury.

Choosing the right service

Messolar moves both kinds of pianos in Nashville and across Middle Tennessee. For spinets, consoles, studios and full uprights, see our upright piano movers. For smaller grands, see baby grand piano moving, and for parlor, semi-concert and concert grands, see our grand piano movers. On every grand, our crew removes the legs, lyre and pedals and secures the piano to a piano board before it leaves the room.

Get a quote for your piano

Tell us whether you have an upright or a grand, its approximate size and what the route looks like at both addresses. Request a piano moving quote and we will plan the move around your piano.