USFemail-retired's Blog

The wood in the piano could wick in the moisture. But I do not see how it could possibly hurt it. Wood is constantly taking in and giving off water. Most piano's are made from hard woods and have a finish on them. Even a upright has shellac on the back that is most likely unfinished looking.
If the wall is masonary keep the piano a few inches away from it. That would just be erring on the side of caution. If it is plaster or wall board I would not worry about it at all.
If someone told you it is because it will throw it out of tune they are wrong. The harp the strings are on is made of metal. The wood swelling would not effect it all that much. Anyway, you should have it tuned once a year. I have played piano and guitar for 40 years, and I am a woodworker and carpenter. Hope this helps.

Glad I could help. I assume it is a spinet piano and not a grand. The spinets are a lot tougher. With modern heating and cooling I would not be concerned at all. Have fun and play a tune for me. I sure do love the piano.

Read this Page on this site
http://www.stlpiano.com/advice.htm

Here is excerp... lots to read though

#4. Where's the best place to put a piano?
I don't have a "best place" suggestion, but I've made some observations about where NOT to put a piano:
1. Upright pianos placed over the furnace's cold air return become very dirty inside. The piano becomes a very expensive air filter.
2. Pianos placed next to an outside wall or in a basement might or might not be okay. It depends (in my opinion) on the thermodynamics. If a wall or floor is colder than the rest of the room, it will draw away the warmth and make the piano colder than the rest of the room. Since moisture in the air condenses on colder objects, the piano will become damp. This means rusty strings and/or moldy felt. Once I serviced a piano that was resting against a cold, poorly insulated (masonry) wall. The room was very humid from cooking in the kitchen. Water was literally dripping off the tuning pins. The heavily rusted strings were untunable.
3. Direct sunlight can discolor plastic keys, damage the cabinet's finish, and its heat can cause a temporary pitch drop.
4. Pianos placed near a heat vent or radiator will constantly be expanding and contracting with the temperature and humidity changes. This doesn't make for a very stable tuning, and it might eventually cause problems like glue joint failures.
5. It is very uncomfortable to read music when the piano is facing a bright window. It puts the music in shadow. But when the window is behind the pianist

Years ago I had my little piano years on an outside wall. The outside wall was not very well insulated and the back of the piano would feel cold when it was cold outside. I play a lot and have it tuned every six months. The tuner said to get a sheet of styrofoam from Home Depot and cut it down to fit between the piano and the wall. That has worked fine for many years now.

Be sure you have it tuned regularly, once or twice a year, even if no one is playing it. This is very important to keep it maintained until your son can take it. Properly cared for, a piano can last a long, long time and be a very valuable heirloom.

I've had my piano on numerous different walls and have moved it all over the United States and (knock on wood) nothing has hurt it. I do keep it clean and have it tuned regularly because I was told many years ago that it would be harder and harder to keep in tune if I didn't keep up with it. I even had it hauled over a third-floor balcony once when I was living in Denver. Thank Heaven's it didn't fall.