Does your piano sound too loud for the room?

A piano played normally with no accents is around 60-70 decibels, when played fortissimo the volume will spike to in excess of 90 to 100dB.Unlike their electric counterparts acoustic pianos do not have a volume button. Some upright pianos have a middle practice pedal, which can be pushed down and slid across to lock it in place. This causes a piece of felt to come between the hammers and the strings and dampen the sound. The Una Chorda (left pedal) again support play for quiet sections, but have you considered the environment. Carpeted floors, curtains and other soft furnishing absorb the sound and reduce the amount the sound appears to ping off things like pictures.

After removing carpet in the music room, I found the piano a little loud and resonating off things. So I cut foam down (a memory foam mattress) to fit between the verticals at the back of my piano. It reduces the total sound loudness (volume) by encapsulating the sound and not allowing it to fully escape from the back. The sound is projected towards the front, not towards the wall behind. Overall will sound a little muffled, as you may expect. I have avoided using any fabric covering on this to reduce the appeal for case bearing moths which can be catastrophic if they attack the felts within your piano.