Here the answer is a resounding and emphatic – NO! You should absolutely hire piano movers for the job.

Trying to move your own piano can result in injury to yourself and your instrument. This attempt to save time and money can easily backfire. Both your and your piano’s medical bills will be more than the cost of the piano movers! All joking aside, this is one area where hiring a professional crew is imperative.

Why? Primarily because of the size, shape, and weight of the piano. These unwieldy instruments can easily top a thousand pounds. Add to that their awkward shape and you have a recipe for an accident waiting to happen. Plus, the weight of a piano is not balanced – with the keyboard side being lighter than the rest.

Piano movers make the job look easy, when in reality they have the right tools, skills, and experience to pull the move off without a hitch.

My advice? Leave this job to the piano movers and cut corners on another, more easily handled, aspect of your move.

Obviously there will be a large variation in the amount that piano movers will charge. The smartest thing to do is to get several quotes and size them up based on each other. The charge will depend on the reputation, reliability, and experience of the company involved.

Here are some guidelines as to how piano movers determine their charges. Some piano movers will charge an hourly rate – this is consistent with the way standard furniture movers determine their charges. Other piano movers will charge a flat fee.

This price is calculated by looking at many items that will influence the difficulty of the move. First, they will look at the brand and style of the instrument itself.

Then the piano movers will examine the trip and how far the piano is going. The conditions at the origination and destination will also contribute to the difficulty of the move. Are there a lot of stairs and tight corners? That type of thing.

Based on the perceived difficulty, piano movers will need to decide how many people they will need on the crew. Obviously, the more people the greater the cost.

Finally, the time of year or the timeframe in general will have an impact on the overall cost as well. Busier times and tighter schedules will carry a higher charge.

If you are moving a piano, it is important to consider all your options. Remember that while dedicated piano movers may charge more, correcting damage to your instrument caused by inexperienced and inexpensive movers may cost you more in the long run.