How to choose a piano lamp? 4 steps to consider in 2020

Most of the pianos are placed against an inner wall or dim lit parts corners to avoid sunlight exposure, which helps maintain their overall condition. Although no evidence shows that reading in dim light will worsen eye vision, our pupils expand to bring more lights to our eyes in a dark space, which causes eye strain in the short term.

Bad lighting will affect piano practices as you can’t see the notes or piano keys clearly. To solve this problem, having a piano light is necessary. But you may wonder “how to find the best piano lamps for my upright piano?” or “does the piano floor lamp work for a grand piano?” Don’t worry, this article will walk through these questions and provide 4 steps to consider. Here’s a look at the finished hack.

What is a piano lamp?

A piano lamp, also called a piano light, is designed specifically to light up the sheet music and the keyboard. A good piano lamp usually has an eye-care hood that prevents glare and helps reduce eye strain while you are reading the sheet music. In addition, a desirable lamp can balance ambient light and reach a suitable lighting level (lux).

Q: What is lighting level and how much lux do you need?

A: The lighting level, also called illuminance, is the amount of light measured in LUX. Here we provide a few recommended lighting levels for different areas:

What is a piano lamp?

Why do you need a piano lamp?

If your children often play the piano or look at the sheet music for a long time, they might have eye strain. Here we provide some symptoms of eye strain:

Increased sensitivity to light

Red or dry eyes

Blurred or double vision

Headache

Sore neck, shoulders or back

Difficulty concentrating

Cannot keep your eyes open.

Extensive Reading 1: Four things you need to know about eye strain

Extensive Reading 2：Computer eye strain: 10 steps for relief

4 steps to consider when buying a piano lamp

To select the best lamp for your piano, use the following steps:

Understand what type of piano you have

Decide on a type of your piano lamp

Determine the color temperature of your piano lamp

Choose a piano lamp with lighting certification

Step 1: Understand what type of piano you have

Keep in mind what type of piano you are wishing to light up is the first step to select the best lamp.

What are common types of pianos?

Common types of piano can be broken down into three categories: Grand pianos, Upright pianos, and digital (electronic) pianos. Each of these pianos have their own unique features:

Step 2: Decide on a type of the piano lamp in the current market

To figure out which light is right for us, we need to distinguish the features of the lamps so as to fit our pianos.

6 types of piano lamp:

Floor lamp

Cordless lamp

Clip-on lamp

Banker’s lamp

Table lamp

Desk-style lamp

Lamps for upright piano

In general, for upright pianos, we tend to pick a desk-style lamp. A desk-style lamp could be placed on top of an upright piano and light up the sheet music and the keyboard at the same time.

However, the illuminance won’t be even and wide enough if you pick any desk-style lamp. Therefore, you should probably consider the one specifically designed for the piano.

Lamps for grand piano

In the current marketplace, a clip-on lamp or a floor lamp should be more suitable for grand pianos. But the two types of lamps that serve part of a piano lamp should compete.

Although a clip-on piano lamp can light up sheet music, its illuminance can’t reach the keyboard. On the other hand, a piano floor lamp can brighten up the keyboard but its illuminance won’t be enough for the sheet music.

Lamps for digital piano

For digital (electronic) pianos, a desk-style lamp or a floor lamp seems to be a better choice. But once again, the two types of lamps won’t be able to light up both the sheet music and the keyboard evenly.

Step 3: determine the color temperature of your piano lamp

The unit of color temp is Kelvin. Each color of lighting has a number of physical and psychological benefits. For example, cooler light (5000K~6500K) helps people keep long-term concentration at work, while warmer light (2700K~3000K) makes people more creative.

The following are the recommended light temps for different spaces:

Living Room: 3200-4200K is perfect for reading, watching tv, relaxing.

Bedroom: 2700-3800K.This beautiful range makes cozier interiors.

Kitchen: 3600-5000K. In kitchens, this range promotes our feelings of cleanliness and reliability to food impressions.

Step 4: select the piano lamp with lighting certificate

Having a lamp with lighting Certification reduces eye strain and enhances productivity at work. For example, IEC-certified lamps help filter the blue light that might damage our retina and therefore cause permanent vision loss.

Below are five common lighting certificates:

• IEC/TR 62778
IEC/TR 62778 is the certification that assesses the blue light hazard of all lighting products in the visible spectrum (380 nm to 780 nm).

• IEC/EN 62471
IEC/EN 62471 is the standard designed to ensure our eye safety concerning the LED hazards.

• IEEE1789
The purpose of IEEE1789 is to assess the high-brightness LEDs so as to reduce the health risk for viewers.

To Conclude

Buying a piano lamp is not an impulsive decision making. As piano lamps can look in different forms and can function differently, It really takes time to find the best piano lamp.

In this article, we have listed 4 steps to consider before choosing a right piano lamp, including their types, color temperature, and certificates. Now you are ready to contemplate these tips and start your musical journey! But If you still don’t know how to choose the best lamp, we encourage you to find more about lighting at our Knowledge Center.

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How to choose a piano lamp? 4 steps to consider in 2020

What is a piano lamp?

What is a piano lamp?

Why do you need a piano lamp?

4 steps to consider when buying a piano lamp

Step 1: Understand what type of piano you have

Keep in mind what type of piano you are wishing to light up is the first step to select the best lamp.

Step 2: Decide on a type of the piano lamp in the current market

To figure out which light is right for us, we need to distinguish the features of the lamps so as to fit our pianos​.

Step 3: determine the color temperature of your piano lamp

The unit of color temp is Kelvin. Each color of lighting has a number of physical and psychological benefits. For example, cooler light (5000K~6500K) helps people keep long-term concentration at work, while warmer light (2700K~3000K) makes people more creative.

Step 4: select the piano lamp with lighting certificate

Having a lamp with lighting Certification ​reduces eye strain and ​enhances productivity at work. For example, IEC-certified lamps help filter the blue light that might damage our retina and therefore ​cause permanent vision loss.

To Conclude

To figure out which light is right for us, we need to distinguish the features of the lamps so as to fit our pianos.

Having a lamp with lighting Certification reduces eye strain and enhances productivity at work. For example, IEC-certified lamps help filter the blue light that might damage our retina and therefore cause permanent vision loss.