Unfinished Business

The Piano Man Can

Nov 26, 2023

Chuck Behm of Boone, Iowa and his labor of love.

Chuck Behm knows that life on the streets can be rough. First and foremost, there's the rain, sleet, and snow. Iowa's heat and humidity also can be tough to endure, and winter's icy blast often is worse. Based on his lived experience of seven decades, he'll tell you that it's best to be prepared. After all, shelter isn't always available.

Behm has traveled throughout Iowa and Minnesota for the past 49 years, tuning an average of 15 pianos a week for churches, retirement homes, and other customers. He isn't ready to slow down anytime soon. In fact, you might describe him as a man on a mission.

During the last week of November, somewhere in the railroad town of Boone, Behm plans to conduct a test lift-off of this mission. He'll wheel out his labor of love, and launch it on a course to fulfill its destiny on the streets.

"In 2015, I started reading about street pianos," he says. "They were commonly old, cast-off pianos, colorfully painted by artists, but there were no modifications to make them last outdoors. After getting rained on the first time, they were done for."

Behm, who is passionate about old pianos, hated to see them ruined almost overnight. The retired English teacher spends three days a week in his shop restoring vintage pianos. He strips them down, works on their century-old cast iron plates, strings, and keytops, and typically reapplies a mahogany finish. His client base is primarily out-of-state individuals who cherish the sentimental value of their instruments.

In 2016, he began to look for ways to modify a piano to survive on the streets. Behm, a member of the Central Iowa Piano Technicians Guild, also set his sights on achieving this musical accomplishment to benefit his community. He convinced about a dozen other Guild members to spend three Saturdays in his shop modifying an old Wurlitzer.

This piano was placed outside the Dutch Oven Bakery, the first of about 36 outdoor locations in Boone. "It lasted about three summers, rain or shine," he says. "People had a lot of fun with it."

He tuned the piano about once a month. "The wooden keys are the main problem," Behm explains. "The felt bushings on the keys get wet and fall off, and then the keys jam. I tried using plastic bushings, but after a rain, the wood would swell, and the keys still stuck."

Come Rain or Shine

Then Behm had an idea. He received a call to get rid of an old upright Kohler & Campbell in the basement of the Catholic Church rectory. "It had to be taken apart to move it up the stairs," he says. "Its cabinet and legs were fancy, so I dismantled it carefully." Before long, another Boone resident called, wanting to donate a small 1980 console Wurlitzer from the Mamie Doud Eisenhower birthplace.

Behm removed the working parts of the smaller 1980 Wurlitzer, placing "the innards" (back posts, soundboard, cast iron plate, keys, and strings) inside the larger 1903 upright, creating a hybrid piano. "The advantage of setting the Wurlitzer inside the larger upright cabinet is that it creates more ‘breathing room,’ " he says. He joined the two pianos together using spacers and bolts.

Behm removed the front panel and music shelf, replacing it with clear glass so that the hammers and strings are visible. He sealed the backside of the piano with a thick plastic to protect the soundboard.

Next, he set to work on the keys. He experimented using aluminum as well as liquid plastic. " I spent a lot of time going down blind alleys," he says. Finally, he had the idea to use a commercial 3D printer. He used CAD to create a design prototype, and with help from Mid-West 3D Solutions in Boone, waterproof, durable keys were moIded and printed in five bright rainbow colors. Three parts combine to fit over each original key, like puzzle pieces. "The keys will be the only portion of the core piano exposed to outside weather," he says.

Climate control was the next hurdle. He devised a system for circulating warm air. Two small heaters drop down from the piano bed in the top portion of the piano, and are regulated by thermostats. A small car vacuum below is triggered to turn on when the air has been heated so it pumps warm air up through the keys, bringing in fresh air and creating circulation. Behm installed plastic tubing near the piano pedals, connected to the heaters. "It will keep things warm in the winter and cool and dry in the summer," he says. The piano requires access to an electrical outlet.

Behm also innovated a drainage system. He weatherproofed the key bed beneath the keys, and drilled drainage holes. Sheet metal beneath the key bed allows water to melt off the keys, and drain out of the piano through a sheet metal spout on either side of the piano (think field tiles).In cold weather, air is funneled up into the space between the sheet metal and the underside of the key bed, so snow will melt off the keys and drain.

He also installed a sound system, including two speakers, an amplifier, and a microphone. His work truly is a marvel of science and engineering!

Behm equipped two 4 x 4s with wheels to move the piano into place, and now owns a flatbed trailer to transport it between the downtown, Des Moines Area Community College, Sacred Heart School, multiple nursing homes, and other locations. He plans to tune it four times a year. "It took a lot of work to make the keys perform like piano keys," he says. "It's not a concert piano, but it'll play ordinary, contemporary pieces."

Playing It By Ear

Behm worked on the outdoor piano for about three years. He's not aware that anyone else is doing similar work. "I belong to two international piano technician Facebook pages, with about 7,000 members," he says. "No one said, 'You stole my idea.' "

Behm says he's seen outdoor pianos "weatherproofed" with a tarp. "But in Iowa, you can't always keep a close eye on the skies, or get to the piano before it's soaked," he says. "I wanted a piano that could stand out in the middle of the field, get poured on, and not be affected."

Alhough his goal is for the outdoor piano to survive a minimum of five years, he points out that it's still in the experimental stages. He's reasonably certain that it should work fine in the spring, summer, and fall. "Its air circulation system will be put to the test outdoors," he says. "The whole question is will it warm up enough to melt snow on the keys?"

"It was a lot of work," Behm admits. "My wife wouldn't be happy but if I ever build another one, I'd chose a Yamaha P 22 instead of the Wurlitzer. It's a quality piano with a big sound, and I'd document the entire project."

The cost of the 3-D materials for the keys ($3,600) was paid for by donations, and sponsor names were imprinted on the keys. Boone Bank of the West has established the Boone Outdoor Piano Fund to provide for the piano's future maintenance.

Striking a Common Chord

Outdoor pianos began appearing in public settings in the early 2000s. The idea is to make the arts more accessible to everyone, and create more opportunities for social interactions and connections. There's a reason these pianos sometimes are called "smile generators".

Today Americans can access music in more ways than ever before: computers, cell phone ring tones, and TV shows like The Voice. But technology has changed the ways we relate to music. It's often enjoyed in isolation, using headsets or Airbuds, with a set playlist. Fewer people under age 35 play music – we're becoming a nation of passive listeners.

We no longer need to make our own music. But I love the idea of bringing people together to sing or perform at an outdoor piano. After all, music is the universal language.

Here's my abbreviated play list for the Boone Outdoor Piano's first season: "Let It Snow, Stormy Weather, Singin' in the Rain, Hot Fun in the Summertime, Walking in a Winter Wonderland, and Takin’ It to the Streets". In today's war-torn world, I'd also like to add, "Let There Be Peace on Earth".

I learned to play on the upright piano that my grandma received from her parents for her 16th birthday in 1894. My mom and her sister played it, and kept their popular sheet music in the piano bench. My sister and I often sang these songs during family gatherings at Grandma’s, and sometimes Mom would join us on our own. This vintage

piano sets in my home today, alongside a newer console model.

For the past 32 years, Boone has brought music lovers together for the Iowa Municipal Band Festival on the second Saturday in July. Behm is aiming to add a new musical tradition to his community. "I'd like to make Boone the outdoor piano capital," he says.

It won’t be an easy lift. But if anyone can do it, Boone’s Piano Man Can.