A Stroud-based musician is developing a radically redesigned piano that is lighter, takes up less space and could help revive the area’s historic connection with piano manufacturing.
Sarah Nicolls, a pianist and founder of First Light Pianos, has developed an upright grand piano with a carbon-fibre frame instead of the cast iron used in conventional pianos. The design is intended to retain the character of a grand piano while giving it a smaller footprint.
From playing inside the piano to changing its shape
Sarah said she began rethinking the instrument through her work with contemporary composers. She has performed music by Oliver Knussen, Philip Cashian, Larry Goves and Claudia Molitor, including pieces that require performers to pluck or strike the piano strings.
That experience led her to explore the inside of the instrument and the difficulty of reaching its strings comfortably. “The piano is like a huge resonant cave really, so I started to explore that cave and I thought, I want to play these sounds more, but it’s very uncomfortable leaning inside a grand piano so I thought, ‘I’ll change the shape of the piano and put the strings going vertically up from the keys.’”
She first experimented with a “hacked” upright piano in 2008. In 2014, she converted a grand piano into an upright by turning the keyboard through 90 degrees.
“We literally cut the keyboard off and stuck it back on at 90 degrees,” Sarah said. She explained that people immediately recognised the result as a possible space-saving grand piano, while she was also interested in whether modern materials could reduce the weight of an instrument that has changed comparatively little over time.
Carbon fibre replaces cast iron
According to Sarah, every piano traditionally uses a cast-iron frame. First Light Pianos has now built what she describes as the first prototype of a carbon-fibre-framed piano.
“Every single piano in the world uses cast iron and eventually this year, we have finally built the first prototype carbon fibre framed piano and this is with my company First Light Pianos, and I think it’s kind of exciting from a Stroud perspective,” she said.
The prototype is being developed in Stroud, an area Sarah says was once known for piano production. The Bentley Piano Factory was based in Woodchester, while other piano brands also operated locally.
Sarah said piano making is now an endangered craft in the UK. She also highlighted the industry’s long history, noting that Broadwood became the world’s first piano manufacturer in 1726.
Research and development continues
First Light Pianos has proven the technology with its first prototype and is entering a further research and development phase. The next work will include finalising the piano action, which Sarah says contains 9,000 moving parts, and refining the design.
The company is planning to take its first orders next year. Prices have not yet been finalised, but Sarah said they will be published on the First Light Pianos website next year.
The business is also considering how it will operate commercially. Initially, the pianos are expected to have the same pricing, although the company may either concentrate on producing larger numbers or offer customised and personalised instruments alongside its standard designs.
