Abstract: To obtain a smaller piano having a larger piano sound, there is constructed a piano having a modified construction in reference to its sounding board and the means for mounting it. Instead of being provided with the usual eight to ten strengthening ribs on its back side and having all of its four edges entirely secured to the piano case, the sounding board in the modified construction of the invention is mounted so that it has, in effect, a greater opportunity to float, in that it has at least one opposed pair of edges which are at least in major part, if not entirely, unconfined, and there are used to maintain its crown some lesser number, such as three or only one, of strengthening ribs, major reliance for maintaining the crown being placed upon a centrally situated wood or metal wedge member.

Abstract: A soundboard tension adjuster for a piano having a rim, a belly rail, a soundboard, plate, bridges and strings, the soundboard tension adjuster being interconnected between the rim and bell rail and including a beam member and adjustment means for varying the length of the adjuster to change the tension applied to the soundboard and modify its crown.

Abstract: A soundboard for a piano comprises three plies of wood bonded together, the front and back plies being of substantially equal thickness and the center ply being of a thickness greater than the sum of the thicknesses of the front and back plies. The center ply comprises a plurality of elongate boards each having a preselected curvature from side-to-side, these boards are bonded together edge-to-edge with the curvature of each board in the same direction to form a composite board having a substantially continuous curvature, concave on one side and convex on the other side. Consequently, the assembled, three-ply soundboard has a curvature imparted thereto by the center ply.