The Upright Action

According to Williams, the “sticker” action is the earliest example of an upright piano’s action. It comes from Germany in 1739 by Don Domenico del Mela di Gagliano.

How does upright action work:
The upright pianoforte action is made of two long sections joined at a right angle and resting on a woven pad. The sticker is placed vertically at the resting place of the key and shares the same pivot with the hammer. The damper rests on the strings to avoid vibration while a cord with the hammer’s pivot also links it. When the key is depressed, the sticker will push upwards and this makes the pivot turn clockwise. The hammers are thrown towards the string while the damper releases its resting position allow the strings to vibrate. After the striking momentum, the hammer head is lifted from the strings. It bounces backwards, rests on a woven pad because of gravity, and makes the pivot to turn anti-clockwise. The chord’s tension direction is reversed and the damper will rest on the strings again to stop vibration.

After about a hundred years of construction development, the upright action’s development reached its fullest realisation. According to Williams, by 1842, Robert Wornum’s tape-check action had become the basis of the present upright piano action. This action, adapted from a patent of Hermann Lichtenthal’s, can prevent the strings from being struck by the hammer again from its re-bounce. This was an important achievement, since it helped each key to produce a clearer tone when struck.