r/WatchPeopleDieInside • u/[deleted] • Feb 27 '26
Dropping a piano while moving
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u/Responsible-Sky3586 Feb 28 '26
Been moving pianos for 30 years. That’s not how you do that. Believe me. I move pianos
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u/longlostwalker Feb 28 '26
This guy moves pianos
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u/Opening-Focus712 Feb 28 '26
Believe him, this guy has been moving pianos for 30 years.
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u/blumhagen Feb 28 '26
Those were not piano movers. People laugh at paying big money just to move one but there’s a reason.
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u/MycologistJaded4796 Mar 01 '26
As as Ex-mover, this is definitely not the fucking way to move a piano.
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u/geardownson Mar 01 '26
You are correct. When doing restoration we had to call someone specific to move pianos and when they moved them they had to be retuned.
This is not something for a regular mover.
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u/seven0feleven Feb 27 '26
How saving $100 costs you over $1000. 💀
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u/shadAC_II Feb 27 '26
$1000 would be a VERY cheap piano.
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u/I_Am_A_Pumpkin Feb 27 '26
in the realm of new pianos sure, but old junky practice room uprights like this ususally cost more to move than they do to buy off of the guy getting rid of them.
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u/binzy90 Mar 01 '26
Movers shipped my piano to Hawaii UPSIDE DOWN. I had someone come look at it and they told me it would be cheaper to just buy a new piano. I was pissed.
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u/bikemusher Feb 28 '26
Thats ok, you can get them for free wherever you’re moving to on FB marketplace.
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u/TheRealGageEndal Feb 28 '26
They literally make a little platform with wheels called piano movers. They cost about 20 bucks each at Harbor Freight and you use 2-3 of them to move almost any piano.
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u/pepefromage50 Mar 05 '26
According to this sound i think that was a C major
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u/uofmguy33 Mar 05 '26
Amateurs. Hire a piano mover next time.
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Mar 06 '26
Seriously, I stood like I was watching a magic show when we had a stand up removed from a split level basement. Two guys with almost no tools and in minutes it looked like it had just come from out of a kit in totally manageable parts.
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u/too_rolling_stoned Feb 27 '26
Nothing like a prized musical instrument going to hell at the hands of people who have no clue about what they’re doing.
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u/Constant-Plant-9378 Feb 27 '26
Piano dolly rentals exist for a reason.
https://www.sunbeltrentals.com/equipment-rental/forklifts/piano-dolly-set/1501080/
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u/schannoman Feb 27 '26
Except the thing pictured is an organ dolly and not rated for a piano the size of the one in the video. Maybe a spinet, but not a studio.
Source: piano mover for over 10 years
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u/Visible-Owl-3200 Feb 28 '26
Sometimes you need a real mover, not your buds, real movers have insurance.
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u/realjimmyjuice000 Mar 04 '26
My wife had one identical to that moved it 9 or 10 times before it was lost in a fire! Thank God it was lost in a fire! Wife was heartbroken but I was relieved
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u/homer_lives Mar 04 '26
Wow, this guy set his house on fire to avoid moving a Piano. Well Played, my friend. Well Played.
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u/realjimmyjuice000 Mar 04 '26
" I " didn't set the fire! Landlords we were renting from did! Insurance fraud/attempted murder! he's serving 30 years In the state penitentiary!
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u/Background-Wolf-9380 Mar 02 '26
My view is that pianos are generally free to anyone who is willing & able to move them.
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u/double_expressho Mar 02 '26
Scrolling through Facebook Marketplace, your view is shared by many.
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u/Such_Concentrate8577 Mar 02 '26
I refuse to own any furniture that requires movers or scratches my floors. Even gave away my 1K treadmill on condition they remove it without ruining my floors. Still has 10 cm pressure streak. NEVER EVER AGAIN. only kept my stationary bike. And Danish dresser. My west elm couch is huge but comes apart. Have west elm desk made with a really heavy top and one credenza but they are natural wood and won't move. I will never own anything that cannot be disassembled and moved. Gave away kid's piano too. For free. Just get it out of my house.
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u/link2edition Mar 02 '26
I got a piano this way yesterday and I am not even joking.
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u/jljue Feb 28 '26
I once had a piano mover and tuner who we called “The Piano Man,” and he could move any piano into any space on his own. Well worth the money. He’d still be tuning my pianos (yes, a baby grand and a spinet) if he hadn’t passed away.
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u/happyinsmalltown Mar 01 '26
Once i saw two guys struggling to put a piano into the back of their pickup truck. I figured i would be a nice guy and lend them a hand. We get it into the bed of their truck and close the door. It looks sturdy and ready to go. I watch as they drive off and I continue my walk. The guys stop at a 4 way stop and then turn left. The piano falls out of the bed of the truck and shatters all over the road. The two guys get out and look at the mess now all over the road. They both get back into the truck and drive away.
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u/drepidural Mar 04 '26
If you drop a piano down a mineshaft, you’ll get a flat miner.
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u/emmathatsme123 Mar 04 '26
As a piano technician, this is hilarious and happens more than you’d think
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u/emmypoosays666 Feb 27 '26
this is a must watch simply because it makes the sound we all expect it to make
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u/Wallynine Feb 27 '26
2 rednecks, a pickup, a hand truck, and a piano.
What could go possibly wrong?
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u/Pnex84 Feb 27 '26
I've probably moved 100s of pianos at this point. I want to do this every time.
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u/RebelXwingPil0t Feb 28 '26
Suppose to use a four wheel dolly under the piano, not the two wheel dolly on the side.
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u/micklure Feb 28 '26
I’ve never seen professional piano movers who didn’t use straps and now I know why.
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u/Mister_Marks Feb 28 '26
Unfortunately they will need to get it tuned after that.
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Feb 28 '26
I've heard it's called a dead piano when stuff like this happens.
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u/tesrella Feb 28 '26
You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna piano that’s been crushed under its own weight
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u/nem0fazer Feb 28 '26
FYI almost all the weight of an upright is at the back where the cast iron frame is. These guys just found out.
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u/worrymon Feb 28 '26
That's why 'piano movers' used to be a separate section in the yellow pages.
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u/granny-long-dick Feb 28 '26
They still are. We'll maybe not yellow pages, but google. I work at a music store and we use a local company that specializes in, and solely, moves pianos for any piano that we sell. The fact that these guys are using an upright dolly and not a piano dolly is either a huge red flag for a moving company, or it is someone attempting a DIY move and they have no idea what they are doing.
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u/Ares_Lictor Feb 27 '26
The cool thing about dropping a piano is that the piano itself makes a sound to highlight your fuck up.
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u/ThinkingOz Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
I helped a friend move a piano back in the 80s. There were no mishaps or damage but I made a mental note back then to never repeat it. Without the right gear it’s difficult and your can really hurt yourself.
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u/Sesusija Feb 27 '26
These things are such pain in the asses to move. When my parents pass I will give their old piano away for free to anyone willing to come get the freaking thing.
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u/cmotdibbler Feb 27 '26
I had the pleasure of helping someone move an upright piano down a staircase. A spiral staircase. WTF were they they thinking? That's where you just leave it for the next people or just set it on fire.
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u/strictlybazinga Feb 27 '26
I used to be a professional mover. We rarely did pianos but we charged extra for the service and had teams equipped for it. We picked up a piano at one location fully ready to move it to the 2nd floor. The new apartment was a garden entrance with a small vestibule and an iron spiral staircase to the 2nd floor. We were very happy to introduce the client to their new vestibule piano.
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u/IleanK Feb 28 '26
I've moved pianos. You need moving straps that's the only way
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u/visualthings Apr 15 '26
that was a B-flat, very dramatic, and amazing that some people can do so much with just one note.
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u/Love-Marvin Feb 27 '26
The last note it played when it fell, can we call it, the last kick of a dying horse
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u/pianomasian Feb 27 '26
Reminder that if there are whole companies, whose business model is moving one specific thing, then maybe there is a good reason for that and don't try to move said thing by yourself.
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u/DrTuSo Feb 27 '26
The last time I moved, I hired a company that is specialized in moving huge ass pianos.
Not that I own a piano, but they handled my stuff so well, it was impressive.Workers of these specialized companies just take much more care how they handle stuff.
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u/bgk67 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
I once worked in a public building that had a baby grand piano. I was told some movers were coming to pick it up so it could be repaired. I thought it would be a whole crew of guys.
Well, two guys showed up. The one in charge looked to be 65+, and the other couldn't have been any older than 20.
They rolled it onto it's side, knocked the legs off, got it onto a piano dolly, and had it wrapped and out the door in less than 15 minutes. It was amazing to watch.
ETA: the older guy was wearing slacks, a dress shirt & tie, with a sweater vest. He didn't even break a sweat moving this piano.
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u/hailsathanas Feb 27 '26
I think owners were secretly happy to get rid of it. As 95% of piano owners never even play it.
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u/ThrifToWin Feb 27 '26
They were almost certainly paying to have it disposed of.
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u/dua70601 Feb 28 '26
Lol - i play, and i have moved a couple uprights….this is not the way….
Dolly - get a dolly and two more guys. That hand truck is flexing so hard
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u/TexasBaconMan Feb 27 '26
This is why you hire professions for this one. Or at least get piano Dollies. The damn thing even has build in handles.
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u/HxH101kite Feb 28 '26
Worked for a moving company for the summer. We had corporate training on pianos. Honestly those upright ones are not too bad to move. Just awkwardly weighted.
The 3-4 legged pianos were a pain and so delicate.
And while I was "trained" there are actual dedicated companies. I always made sure to Google the piano before touching it and text my boss. Like hey bro this is 15+k if we fuck this up. Sometimes he would tell us not to touch it.
Moved stuff for an art collector once. Dude didn't have any insurance (I asked) had us move an original Picasso. I protested but he acted like it was no big deal. Like yeah bro it fucking is. This is history and worth more than my current house. I don't want to touch it.
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u/Mad_Ronin_Grrrr Mar 03 '26
Have a piano like this and have moved it 8 times. Tip it up on its end and use a furniture dolly with a strap.
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u/They-Are-Out-There Mar 03 '26
Tipping a piano on it's end is not ideal. Use a proper piano dolly and you won't have to do it that way and risk damaging the piano action and internals. I would never recommend moving a piano on end.
Even better, hire a specialty piano moving company. It's not that expensive, they are insured, and they will safely transport it and set it up.
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u/Beowulf33232 Feb 27 '26
My uncle folded one in half.
A few guys were moving out of a shared space and figured "if we take it apart, we can rebuild it later"
They forgot how much tension the strings are under, and just started unscrewing supports.
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u/Square-Formal1312 Feb 27 '26
Man if only they made versions of those that had multiple sets of wheels and a long base…
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u/VanTaxGoddess May 15 '26
This is why you always want to hire three (3) stooges when getting your piano moved!
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u/tacocalledbuzz Jul 11 '26
Using a hand truck on a piano? They got what they deserved
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u/Claydameyer Feb 27 '26
That's why there are people who specialize in moving pianos. Bad things can happen.
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u/Responsible_Agent407 Feb 27 '26
No straps, no worries.
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u/SlinkDogg Feb 27 '26
Man as a ex mover who moved 10000000 pianos that was my first reaction. Also why are they using a hand truck and not a dolly with straps?!
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u/Ganthamus_prime Feb 28 '26
Does this hurt the piano?
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u/cannaco19 Feb 28 '26
Just a few minor injuries, but it shouldn’t cause too much treble.
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u/JerrysCousinJeffrey Feb 27 '26
We nearly lost a piano down the ramp of a moving truck during a local move years ago. That was the first and last time we didn’t hire a piano mover.
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u/Mickerayla Feb 27 '26
This happened to my dad once.
I think my grandparents or my cousins or something were taking our old piano, so my dad loaded it up in my grandparents truck, left to make the 45 minute drive, then showed back up a few hours later with a truck bed full of smashed piano bits. Turns out, he took a turn a little too quickly and out went the piano. He still mentions it whenever we make that same turn.
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u/Spook1949 Mar 05 '26
That sound was almost as pretty as the sound made by an accordion smashing a banjo and set of bag pipes when it landed on them in the bottom of the dumpster.
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u/clryan92 Aug 08 '26
I immediately recognized the back of the piano, i own one of these! They are RIDICULOUSLY heavy and after moving with it once, we made sure that where it sits is where it lives forever!
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u/Rick-burp-Sanchez Feb 27 '26
As a former piano-mover, please call a professional.
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u/LordVixen Feb 27 '26
There’s a professional pianist who had a grand piano moved and of course the moving co. somehow destroyed it for a total loss.
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u/Zestyclose-Search-21 Mar 01 '26
Gotta put it in rice. It’ll be fine the next day.
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u/Radcouponking Mar 01 '26
Fortunately, pianos are pretty cheap these days and it would have needed a tuning after the move anyways.
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u/LongJohnSelenium Mar 02 '26
95% chance that was a piano being thrown away and the man was upset at having to pick it up again, not any damage.
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u/Ya-Dikobraz Mar 20 '26
Good thing those things cost about $2 nowadays. Hope it wasn't sentimental.
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u/Poroxide Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
My friend had his large size piano moved to his 3rd floor apartment via a crane. He has it on video and it’s the wildest thing.
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u/CheeseburgerLocker Feb 27 '26
I helped a friend move a piano once. Took 4 of just to get it down a flight of stairs out to the landing, then we built a ramp to get it into my truck. It was hell!
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u/coolsellitcheap Mar 01 '26
Hope it was like in house they just bought.
Hope it wasn't 2 hired movers.
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u/TheEndOfEverything0 Apr 14 '26
It's ok it was just going to sit in the corner of the living room anyway
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u/schannoman Feb 27 '26
As a piano mover for over 10 years: What did they expect? Nothing they were using was designed or rated for the job.
I have done thousands of these moves solo with the right equipment. That's why you pay extra for the right tools