There’s a piano for everyone at Somerville, no matter what your musical experience.
Access to pianos in College is limited to members of Somerville College. By using any piano in college, you are agreeing to the terms/hours as outlined in our guidelines on this page.
To be able to use the Chapel Steinway and Kawai in the Dining Hall, please complete this form. Please note that these applications are generally only processed during 0th week each term. If you apply in 1st week or later, you may need to wait till the start of next term to be able to use college pianos. Once you are an approved user of the restricted instruments, you will be able to obtain the keys for unlocking these instruments from the Lodge.
If you have requested access to the restricted instruments, the Director of Chapel Music will contact you by email if this is granted. You will not receive a response if not. The Steinway is only granted to experienced pianists who satisfactorily explain why their anticipated piano usage requires these particular instruments. However, the college has multiple other pianos, many of which are playable at any time of day by any member of college
Somerville Piano Directory
| Venue | Instrument | Hours of Access | How to Book | Is Booking Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapel | Steinway Model B Grand piano | 0700-2300 (2 hours max per booking per day) | Only approved users may play this instrument. Please note the guidelines below this table. Book the chapel via Outlook as instructed here. Each individual booking slot is limited to 2 hours. Those on the approved list can retrieve the piano key from the Lodge. | No. However, if you are practising without a booking, you must vacate the Chapel on the arrival of those who have booked the space. |
| Park Music Room | Bluthner Grand piano and additional upright piano | 0800-2200 (2 hours max per booking) | Book the Park Music Room on Outlook as instructed here. Once booked, keys are retrieved from the Lodge. | Yes |
| Flora Anderson Hall | Kawai Silent piano | Weekdays: 1730-2200 Weekends: 0800-2200 Outside of these hours, Silent mode must be used | This room cannot be booked and reserved. | n/a |
| Brittain-Williams Room | Brittain-Williams family piano | Weekdays: 1730-2200 Weekends: 0800-2200 | This room cannot be booked and reserved. | n/a |
| New Council Room | Steinway Upright piano | 0800-2200 | This room cannot be booked and reserved. | n/a |
| Dining Hall | Kawai GX-2 Grand piano | Outside of meal services | This room cannot be booked and reserved. | Only approved users may play this instrument |
| Chapel | Electronic piano | 0700-2300 (2 hours max per booking per day) | Book the chapel via Outlook as instructed here. Each individual booking slot is limited to 2 hours. | No. However, if you are practising without a booking, you must vacate the Chapel on the arrival of those who have booked the space. |
| Mary Somerville Room (SCR only) | Grand piano | Weekdays: 1730-2200 Weekends: 0800-2200 | This room cannot be booked and reserved. | n/a |
Guidelines for using the Chapel Steinway
The Steinway Model B in the Chapel is the most valuable and fragile of the college pianos, and therefore must be looked after by following the guidelines below. Access to the instrument could be revoked if you fail to adhere to these requirements:
- The protective black rug underneath the piano must remain under the piano (i.e. with all of the wheels on the rug) at all times. This purpose-made rug is essential to ensure that the instrument is not affected or damaged by the underfloor heating. The simplest way to ensure this is the case is to not move the piano unless for public performance, and even then, the rug must be placed first, and then the piano moved onto it – nb this requires physically lifting the piano!
- The only lock that needs to be used is that for the keyboard cover clamp, under the left side of the keyboard. You only need the key to unlock the mechanism. To lock it, simply push the cylindrical lock back into the clamp. If you are the first person to use the piano after it has been tuned, you may find that the tuner has locked the lid as well. If so, please go to the lodge and ask for the large Steinway key to unlock the lid. Please do not lock the lid when you finish practising, but please do relock the keyboard cover clamp as usual.
- If you remove the cover when playing (recommended), then please fully replace it afterwards.
- Please do not use an eraser on the music stand of the piano, or the erasings will get into the keyboard and cause issues. The same should be said for leaving bod cards/pencils/etc. on the piano. If things end up inside the piano, it requires a technician to visit to retrieve them, as the design of all Steinways means you can’t easily remove the keyboard lid. This could result in having your ‘approved user’ status revoked, and you may also be charged the expensive cost of retrieving your lost item. There is a table nearby upon which you can lean to make/erase markings, and where your personal items should be placed.
