How hard is it to snap a piano string?

[Hardbopjazz]

I am at the Rufus Reid show. The pianist warming up snapped the A sting an octave above middle C.  He wasn’t even hitting the keys that hard.  Now the wait for Steinway to come replace the string. 

I wonder if the new string will stretch like a new string does on a guitar? 

[Hardbopjazz]

https://ibb.co/j1xvwe

 

 

[lipi]

Neat. And, yes: you need to re-tune new strings a few times during the first year, but I suspect that a professional instrument is tuned way more often than that regardless.

Small aside: the A5 (the A above middle C) has more than one string on (almost?) all pianos. I wonder whether they all snapped or "just" one.

[Hardbopjazz]

There are 3 strings. Just one snapped.  That’s all that was replaced.  The Steinway tech tuned it a slight semi tone sharp to allow for stretching.   

I guess a string breaking is fairly common.  The tech was saying he was replacing a string at another venue before coming the Jazz Standard.  

Edited September 17, 2018 by Hardbopjazz