Inside a piano, the bass strings are wrapped with copper wire. This helps make the sound deeper without needing super long strings. But in 2004, a 15-year-old named Adrian Alexander Mann had a big question: “How long would the strings need to be without the copper wire to get the right notes?” He asked his piano teacher, but the teacher didn’t know. So, Adrian decided to find out on his own!
First, he bought some piano wire and set it up in his backyard. The wire was about 22 feet long, and the sound it made was amazing! That’s when he had an idea—why not build a giant piano to hold strings that long and keep that incredible sound?
Over the next five years, Adrian faced many challenges. It wasn’t easy to build such a huge piano, and he had to figure out a lot of things along the way. But he didn’t give up. Finally, in 2009, all his hard work paid off. He finished his creation—a massive piano that was 18 feet and 9 inches long and weighed over a ton! He named it the “Alexander Piano” after his great-great-grandfather.
A longer string doesn’t change the pitch of the notes, but it makes the sound richer and deeper. The tones are fuller, with better harmonics and stronger projection. Adrian was only 20 years old when he finished his masterpiece, and the first person he invited to see it was his piano teacher. “I couldn’t believe it,” said his teacher. “It sounded incredible!”
It didn’t take long before Adrian started holding concerts with his piano. Musicians were amazed by its sound, and it traveled to many places for performances. Adrian even dreamed of having Sir Elton John play it. Sadly, that couldn’t happen because Elton John is contracted with Yamaha and can’t play any other brand in public. Adrian was a bit disappointed but understood the situation.
Today, Adrian works in his own piano restoration workshop in Dunedin, fixing old pianos and bringing them back to life. In 2017, he decided it was time to bring his beloved Alexander Piano home. He still holds concerts with it and enjoys playing it himself whenever he gets a chance.
But Adrian isn’t stopping there! He has more ideas for the future and hopes to build another piano someday. Who knows what this brilliant mind will come up with next? We’ll just have to wait and see!
What do you think about Adrian’s amazing journey? Let us know in the comments below!
