we ask that the piano needs to be clear of any books, pictures, or items that will prevent the technician from being able to fully open the piano. If at all possible, it would be nice if the keyboard was wiped down with a mild detergent (but see item 3 on our list…) when the
Hi Folks! Jamie here, with a “making of” Video. Specifically, the making of Paul Hahn & Company’s mailbox – a scale model of a 1920’s Heintzman Model O upright. The Model O was the pinnacle of the venerable Toronto Piano builder’s ouvre. Classic in style, it is appealing even to today’s decorator – not to
I love a good holiday. Better yet, I always loved the feeling of getting back to the piano shop; it’s what I knew, it’s what I lived, it was the biggest part of my life. On March 26th, 2020, leaving the piano store at 1058 Yonge Street for what would be an indeterminate amount of time,
… out of paper, or cardboard! If you’ve seen the video, “In which Jamie has an idea”, you may want to try this at home. It’s a great project for the kids! Simply download this PDF, and cut along every black line. Don’t cut the gray lines! These are places where the paper is folded
Hi, folks! Jamie here from Paul Hahn & Co. With a video about Piano Tuning. That’s right, but if you thought that you could watch a video and learn how to tune, you’ll be disappointed to find out that learning to tune is like learning to play. It takes years of practice! These are the
Being the third-generation owner of a 100-year-old family business – with 30 years under my belt – I have always taken great pride in being prepared for any hurdle that came my way, and I have experienced my fair share of bumps and bruises. Today, we are facing COVID-19. When I first started with the
Hi Folks! Jamie here, from Paul Hahn & Co. With…How to clean your piano’s brass pedals… naturally. That’s right! Normally, a little Brasso or Barkeepers Friend would clean the pedals lickety-split, but if you can’t get to the store because of a zombie apocalypse or a global pandemic these common ingredients will do a fine
Hi folks! Jamie here from Paul Hahn & Co. with a quick primer on how to clean a Lacquer or French-polished finished piano. It’s not difficult, or time-consuming. Leave the inside of your piano to us, but you can do the outside yourself. If your piano was made before the 1940’s and hasn’t been refinished,
75 Piano parts are labeled on an “exploded” piano. Here’s the list of parts: Action, The: The mechanism in an upright piano (such as this one) that transfers the vertical force of the player’s fingers into a horizontal motion whereby the strings are struck. (Or, in layman’s terms, the thing that makes the strings ring.) Action Rail: The rail,
So you want to buy a piano… Your choices are: 1. Buy a new piano. A new piano is an attractive choice. In this society, we tend towards replacing something when it breaks or when it seems “Old-Fashioned”. This is a relatively new ideal. Not too long ago, an entire service industry was founded on
Thomas Giles Heintzman 1941 – 2019 Thomas G. Heintzman, a former president of the Canadian Bar Association, specialized in the field of alternative dispute resolution. One of Canada’s best-known and most experienced litigators, he has acted as counsel in actions, arbitrations and appeals in Ontario, Newfoundland, Manitoba, British Columbia and New Brunswick and has made numerous appearances
Paul Hahn & Company has proudly borne the name of its founder, innovator and inspiration, Paul Hahn, for 100 years. Paul Hahn was born in 1875. He was one of 17 children and immigrated to Canada from Stuttgart, Germany, with most of his family in 1888. As a young man, he was a renowned cellist
The Soundboard of the Piano From an article by Dr. William Braid White, Principle of the School of Pianoforte Technology, Chicago, Ill., reprinted with permission from the Piano Trade Magazine, Chicago, Ill. In the piano the function of the soundboard is to take up and repeat the vibratory motions of the strings, and thus to
Part of Paul Hahn & Co.’s proud 106 year history, Nordheimer pianos have been part of our inventory of fine pianos from the very beginning. Paul Hahn Sr. worked for A&S Nordheimer before opening his own store. Considered by many technicians to be the finest pianos ever produced in Canada
A letter from Henry Z. Steinway to Alex Hahn upon learning of Paul Hahn Jr.’s passing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Z._Steinway
A rare and historically important instrument, the RCA Storytone piano was built in 1939 in a joint venture between Story & Clark and RCA. The case was designed by John Vassos, the famous American industrial designer. This piano is one of only 500 made. It is the world’s first electric piano and debuted at the
In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of Saint Lawrence where, on July 24, he planted a 10-metre (33 ft) cross bearing the words “Long Live the King of France” and took possession of the territory New France in the name of King Francis I. In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, by the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I, founded St. John’s, Newfoundland, as the first North
“Castors: The wheels. Not actually designed for wheeling. In most old pianos, they are designed to chew up hardwood floors… If you are lucky enough to not have to worry about the neighbors, and live in a home where the piano can be in a relatively large room, It will sound best if the room
Leonard “Chico” Marx (March 22, 1887 – October 11, 1961) was an inspiration to a generation of would-be piano players. Entirely self-taught, Chico thrilled audiences with his inventive interpretations and wacky off-the-wall technique. If you take a close look at his playing, you might recognize that musically speaking, it’s actually fairly simple – a two
We get this call far too often. At Paul Hahn & Co., we love pianos, and we love our customers. We do not buy instruments that cannot be ethically re-sold. If you have an old piano that you want to ‘get rid of’, We are not likely to be interested. There are exceptions to
You press a key, and a note sounds. In a nutshell, here’s how an upright works: Pressing the key down lifts the back of the key up. This raises the whippen, forcing the jack to tilt the hammer mechanism toward the string. Halfway toward the string, a spoon on the back of the whippen lifts
(Or: What to know before the delivery.) Before your piano is delivered, plan its placement very carefully. Think of a piano as being part of the family. Pick a room where it will be in the center of the action. You will want it to be part of celebrations, and most of all, you will
When I was little, I would wake up every Sunday morning to the sound of my mother dusting the piano. Of course, she was dusting everything, (being my mom), but nothing else in the house made that familiar badum, badum, badum sound of her cleaning the keys. You might say that cleaning runs in the family:
A Heintzman piano is a musical time capsule. Most people see the piano simply as a piece of musical furniture, something for their kids to learn on, or for other people to master. Many people think of a piano as something to play as a form of recreation, or perhaps a skill that they
5. Piano Strings are steel wires under a tremendous amount of pressure, and they stretch. The piano has 88 notes, but many of the notes have more than one string. In fact, an average piano has approx. 240 strings. All these strings add up to around 10 or more tons of pressure. (That’s enough to
A bench top that had been in use at the store for over 100 years for regulating actions was finally deemed too pitted and worn to do the job we needed. It’s history actually predates Paul Hahn & Co. Before Paul Hahn Sr. opened this store in 1913, he worked as a the Head Salesman
Paul Hahn Jr died in 2008, but we are still hearing and telling stories about him. He was a bon-vivant, and loved an adventure. After his death, I started to go through some of his letters and photos. There were legal documents, personal letters, pictures of the store, and then this. In 1968, Paul Hahn