Skip to Content

Parts of a Piano (Grand and Upright Piano Diagrams)

A collage of piano and its part.

One big regret I have is I never followed through with piano lessons as a kid. My mom plays beautifully and started teaching us kids when really young, but I hated it and over time the effort stopped.

It’s a real shame because I love piano music and I’d love to be able to sit down and play music these days. I’m not the only kids to bail on piano lessons; it’s not very exciting for kids who love nothing more to than to run around outside and play sports.

While I can’t play, I enjoy listening to music and I think a piano is a terrific piece for any living room if you have the space. I don’t care for it when a piano is crammed into a small living room (that’s why upright pianos are great), but when there’s space for a baby grand or grand, it looks fabulous.

If you’re interested in the anatomy of a piano, we put together two diagrams below illustrating the different parts of both a grand piano and upright piano. Below that we list out and briefly describe each part.

Related: Music Room Decor IdeasWhat Type of Instrument is a Piano | Why Are Piano Lamps So Expensive

2 diagrams showing the exterior and interior parts of both a grand and upright piano

Parts of a Grand Piano

  • Action Frame: Tightly mounted to the piano to keep the playing mechanism securely mounted.
  • Dampers: Triangular felts used to stop the vibration of the strings.
  • Bass Strings: Steel core winding used to slow down the vibration of wire.
  • Cover: Folds down to cover the keys when not in use.
  • Bass Bridge: Connects the sound of the vibrating string into the body of the bass.
  • Cast Iron Plate: Sustains the massive tension of the strings.
  • Soundboard: Also known as belly, it is the large wooden diaphragm of the piano.
  • Treble Bridge: Long wooden rails that stretch across the soundboard and guides strings on the vibration process.
  • Treble Strings: Wire that starts at one tuning pin, wounds around a hitch pin and returns from where it started.
  • Tuning Pins: Threaded steel “peg” usually around 1 1/2” long where every sting is wound.
  • Leg: Adds beauty and forms the foundation for the piano.
  • Wheel: Used for moving around the piano.
  • Hammer: Felted mallet that’s also used to produce a sound.
  • Keyboard (White and black keys): The set of keys on a piano that makes it a piano.

Anatomy of an Upright Piano

  • Hammer Rail: Where hammers rest inside the piano.
  • Case/Body: The decorative wooden housing of the piano.
  • Muffler Felt: The cloth that is lowered between the hammers and strings that create a muffled effect.
  • Pressure Bar: Keeps the strings against the v-bar and from slipping sideways.
  • Tuning Pins: Threaded steel “peg” usually around 1 1/2” long where every sting is wound.
  • Pin Block: Also known as wrest-plank, it’s a large thick piece of hardwood used to anchor tuning pins.
  • Strings: The part that the hammer strikes and vibrates extremely rapidly to produce sound or music.
  • Keybed: Where the keyframe, keys and action sits inside the piano.
  • Keyboard: The set of keys on a piano that makes it a piano.
  • Pedal Rod: Levers controlled by the feet to make the sound softer or longer.
  • Treble Bridge: Long wooden rails that stretch across the soundboard and guides strings on the vibration process.
  • Treble Strings: Wire that starts at one tuning pin, wounds around a hitch pin and returns from where it started.
  • Soft Pedal: The pedal most used in post-Classical music producing melodramatic tones.
  • Muffler Pedal: The middle pedal that’s rarely used among the three pedals.
  • Damper Pedal: The most used of the three pedals with the primary function to execute most passages.
  • Hitch Pins: A row of slanting metal pins where the strings are attached at the ends.
  • Bass Bridge: Connects the sound of the vibrating string into the body of the bass.
  • Soundboard: Also known as belly, it is the large wooden diaphragm of the piano.
  • Metal Frame: Also called the plate or harp, it is used to anchor both ends of the strings to withstand tension.