Piano Movers Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula

A piano is not just heavy furniture. It’s a few hundred kilos of timber, iron and around 220 taut strings, balanced on three legs or a set of casters that were never designed to travel. Move it the wrong way and you’re not looking at a scratch, you’re looking at a cracked soundboard, a bent pedal lyre, or a snapped leg with the whole instrument on top of it.

Master Movers has been moving pianos across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula for three generations. Same family, same trade, fully insured with Allianz. More about how we work.

What we move

Upright pianos. Spinets, consoles, studio uprights and the tall old full-size uprights. Depending on the model these run anywhere from around 150kg to over 300kg, and the weight sits high and toward the back, which is exactly why they tip if you handle them like a wardrobe.

Grand and baby grand pianos. These come apart before they go anywhere. The lid is secured, the pedal lyre and legs come off, and the body goes onto a piano board on its side, strapped and padded. It’s a different job to an upright and it takes a bigger crew.

Digital and electric pianos. Lighter and simpler, but the keybeds don’t like being knocked around and the stands are usually the weakest part. We wrap and crate accordingly.

Organs, harpsichords and older instruments. Tell us what it is when you call. Age and construction change how we approach it.

How we actually do it

The gear matters more than the muscle.

We use a piano board for grands, which is the padded skid the instrument is strapped to once the legs are off. For uprights we use purpose-built piano trolleys rather than the standard furniture dollies, because the weight distribution is different and a normal dolly will let the top swing.

Everything gets wrapped before it moves. Blankets over the case, corners protected, keyboard lid secured so it can’t fly open mid-carry. Casters get checked, because on older pianos they’re often seized or the screws have worked loose, and a caster failing halfway across a room is how floors get gouged.

Then it’s about the route. We walk it first: doorway widths, the turn at the bottom of the stairs, whether the veranda step will take the weight. Most piano damage happens in the three metres either side of a doorway, not in the truck.

Stairs, and why we ask about them first

The first question we’ll ask you is how many steps, and whether they turn.

A straight run of stairs is manageable with the right crew size. A staircase with a landing and a 90-degree turn is a different proposition, because the piano has to be pivoted in a space that usually isn’t wide enough for it. Sometimes the answer is more people. Occasionally, on a genuinely impossible staircase, the answer is a different route entirely.

We’d rather work that out at quote time than have four blokes standing in your hallway on moving day deciding what to do next.

Tuning after the move

Expect your piano to need tuning after it’s moved, but don’t book the tuner for the same week.

The movement itself knocks a piano out less than people assume. What actually shifts the tuning is the change in humidity and temperature between the old room and the new one. The instrument needs time to settle into its new environment, and most technicians suggest waiting a few weeks before tuning so you’re not paying for the job twice.

Where you put it matters too. Away from direct sun, away from a heating or cooling vent, and ideally on an internal wall.

What it costs

Piano moves are quoted individually rather than off a standard rate. What we need to know:

• Type and rough size, upright or grand
• Stairs at both ends, including how many and whether they turn
• Access, so driveway, doorway widths, lift or no lift
• Distance between the two addresses
• Whether it’s a standalone piano job or part of a full house move

If we’re already moving your house, the piano usually costs less than it would as a separate booking, because the truck and crew are there anyway.

Quotes are free. For anything involving a grand or a difficult staircase, we’d rather look at photos or do a quick video call than quote blind.

Where we go

We move pianos across the Mornington Peninsula, the Frankston area, the bayside suburbs and greater Melbourne, and we do interstate piano transport as well. See our full service areas.

Common questions

Can you move a piano up or down stairs? Almost always, yes. The crew size depends on the instrument and the staircase, which is why we ask about both before quoting.

Is my piano insured while you have it? Yes, we carry full insurance.

Can you move just the piano, or does it have to be part of a bigger job? Either. Standalone piano moves are common for us.

Do you take the legs off a grand? Yes. Legs and pedal lyre come off, and the body travels on its side on a piano board. That’s the standard method and it’s how the instrument is designed to be transported.

How long does it take? A straightforward upright on ground level at both ends is usually under an hour on site. Grands and stairs take longer.

Do you tune it afterwards? We don’t tune pianos ourselves. We can point you toward technicians on the Peninsula.

Book your piano move

Call 0439 989 480 or send through the online form. Tell us what you’ve got, where it’s going, and how many steps are involved, and we’ll give you a straight quote.

We also handle full house moves, packing and storage if the piano is only part of what needs shifting. See our moving services and what our packing service covers.