This is the prettiest mute I have seen, with rosewood veneer along the length, ivory, celluloid, and veneer laminations for a handle, and a solid leather muting wedge. It looks to be made by an experienced craftsman for personal use. The voicing tool on the right has a similar laminated ivory-and-wood handle.

Ivory laminate handmade upright piano string mute, and voicing tool.

A side view, showing laminations and solid leather wedge.

Old leather and wood split mutes. The slot off center on the lower mute is not a mistake. This was done to take up varying spaces between strings.

Wooden stick mute, possibly unused, and “Made in Germany,” with an uneven split. Note the transverse grooves: either for a better gluing surface, or more likely, for use without the buckskin. Although the mute looks new in this photo, it probably predates the East/West division of Germany.

From “Practical Manual for the Piano and Harmonium Tuner,” published by Pinet, 1913, by Nugues, Pouget, and Martin.

I made these mutes from Macassar ebony and deerskin, inspired by the excerpt above. I used ones like these daily.

Double cane mute, and wood and shoe leather grand mute. British.

Tuning mute for upright pianos (make it yourself) from “Piano Construction Tuning and Repair,” by Paul N. Hasluck, published 1908.

Myriad upright piano string mutes of various woods, shapes and sizes.

An assortment of old mutes, a few with finish, but most without a finish. They are made of maple, beech, ebony or mahogany. Many shapes are represented from very narrow to the wide spoon shape in the foreground, which I’ve only found useful for muting at the end of sections between the plate strut and the string.

Close-up of solid leather wedge on fifth mute from the top.

Wire mutes. The old ones often had threading on the tips to insure a secure attachment inside the rubber wedge, a small detail which is missing in later wire mutes.

Early wire string mute. From Kunst des Klavierstimmens, p. 68, by Giorgio Armellino, publ.1881.

Erlandsen’s wooden stick mute, as sold in the 1905 Schley Catalogue. Also marked for H.S.& Co.

J.H. Papps, Pianomaker of Southsea, Patent “Tuning Dampers.”

Papps’ Upright Piano Treble Mute, “redwood,” from Tuners’ Supply 1953 Catalogue.

Papps’ tuning wedge, “the fastest muting wedge in the world,” according to Fletcher and Newman Ltd. John Henry Papps (of Papps and Son, piano makers , Portsmouth, UK) patented this tweezer-type mute in 1886. It is used for uprights to stop any two strings of a trichord from sounding, utilizing outward pressure from the spring action. This tool does make quick work of muting strings while tuning. The old Papps’ mutes were made from very light colored hardwood, until switching to nylon in the 1960s. Thanks to Bill Kibby for this information.

Papps’ mute as advertised by J.H. Papps, of Southsea, and George Buck at 242 Tottenham Court Road, in “The Musical Times,” vol 29. p. 262; 1 May,1888.

Papps’ Patent Tuning Damper was originally conceived for the purpose of surmounting the difficult task of tuning Victorian upright pianos with the overdamper action, predominant in Britain at the time. The thin tweezers were useful, then and now, for muting off the undesired strings, all the while contending with the considerable obstructions of the overdamper action. Papps’ treble mutes, indispensable for ‘bird cage’ actions, would also prove useful for modern upright underdamper actions. This is why the Papps’ Patent Tuning Damper is still mass produced in the U.K. as well as China.

Dale Forty & Co. overdamper type upright. As you can see, the action covers almost all the string area, limiting access for servicing. Dale Forty was established 1872 in Gloucestershire, England. Photo by Matthew J. Richards.

G.F. Baker’s simplified version of the Papps’ Tuning Damper with wooden hinge and deerskin ‘spring,’ stamped in ink with “Provisional Patent.” Surprisingly, it works.

Tuning wedges, cane, lead, rubber, Papps’, and Baker type.

About Martin Shepherd

Photo by photographer Steve Hollis Johnson, May 2017. Taken as part of an upcoming book about people who work with their hands for a living

Inner workings of pianos would fascinate me as a child, when I would lift the piano lid and observe the action movements as I played. In my early years, I began working on pianos, and completed the Piano Technology program, headed by the late Frank Hansen, at The New England Conservatory of Music in 1980. NEC had a piano technology program in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and then again from 1978 to the 1990s. Following NEC, I continued on as a student at the University of Massachusetts and graduated with a B.A. magna cum laude, in June, 1982.

In the Fall of 1982, I joined the piano technical department at Steinway & Sons in New York City. This was a full time unionized position. I worked at Steinway for four years, primarily at Steinway Hall. During this time, I joined the Piano Technician’s Guild, and received certification as a Registered Piano Technician from the Piano Technician’s Guild in 1984. While at Steinway, I participated in the factory course, taught by Joe Bisceglie (1922-2022), and the concert course, taught by Franz Mohr (1927-2022). But the ongoing mentoring I received from Masuru Tsumita, who subsequently became the Chief Piano Technician for Juilliard, was my most significant influence.

Photo by Steve Hollis Johnson. Removing the action in preparation for stringing. Piano is a 1920s Steinway model “M.”

In 1986, my wife and I moved to the San Francisco Peninsula, where we have raised our two children. I established an independent piano-service business, which has included a number of long-standing accounts with familiar universities, concert venues, and schools in the area. This has also included well-known musicians both here, and earlier in New York City. But it is not my style to drop names, so I will leave it at that. The majority of my work, however, is tuning in the home and in private teaching studios. As a “Business Affiliate” Member of the Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC), I worked closely with a number of piano teachers on the Peninsula.

Photo by Steve Hollis Johnson. Photo of mostly specialized tools for piano action work within a leather tool roll. For daily use.

‘

Since the introduction of this website in 2005, I have written extensively about historical hand tools made for the piano industry. These webpages have resulted in requests for publishing articles for periodicals within the piano technology field as well as in the historical hand tools/woodworking area. Much of the reason I have mounted this presentation of antique traditional hand tools used in piano work is to make some record of this particular vocation: it’s part of a world that is gradually being left behind.

19th century voicing tool made by J.D. Weickert in Leipzig, Germany, a world-class felt manufacturer. Piano is an old 7′ 4″ Grotrian grand that I restored in the late 1990s. Lowest tenor damper was displaced as part of the original design, in order to clear the large plate strut.

18th century tuning hammer, harpsichord era. Here is the historical context for calling modern tuning levers, ‘tuning hammers.’

During the 40 years that I have serviced pianos, from the most modest spinet to world-class concert grands, it is always the person playing and/or studying the instrument who is most important to me.

Pulling the restrung Steinway “M” piano up to A440. Photo by Steve Hollis Johnson.

I have now fully retired. Thank you for your support over these many years. Wishing you all the best.

Warm regards,

–Martin S.

Contact

contact@mshepherdpiano.com

This email has been added in 2023 for other antique tool collectors, researchers, and trade historians who may have some information to add, regarding a particular tool, or tool maker. Also, if you are a descendant of any of the tool makers or tool making families covered here, and have some information or photos to add, please contact me.

If you are a piano customer, I will gently remind you that I am fully retired, and am not doing any piano work. No exceptions. If you wish, you are welcome to send a personal message. Thank you kindly.

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Mutes; About Me; How to Contact

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