Missing keys? Broken strings? Scratches or chipped finish on the case? Before you think about putting your beat up old piano out to pasture, you should check out the fascinating art of piano restoration. My old Steinway L that I had since I was a child had gotten so badly abused from heavy pounding over the years that it was completely unplayable. Think tattered teddy bear with missing button eyes, missing limbs, and half of the stuffing gone from rips and tears all over - my piano was worse. After the Cunningham Piano Company worked their magic on it, I couldn't believe that the gleaming, pristine instrument had once been that tattered teddy bear, looked and sounded even better than when it was brand new! (They were able to fix a scale inharmonicity that was the result of a bad original frame design).

You can watch an episode from the Science Channel that was filmed at the Cunningham Piano Company, showing the art of restoring pianos.