Anybody ever experienced/heard of this happening. We were practicing on Saturday for band at church, and we heard a 'crash', thinking maybe a violin string had gone or something. We stopped, and it turned out one of the strings from the F 2 8ves below mid.C had snapped! Nearly hit me (celloing) in the head, apparently
SO does anybody else know of this kind of thing occurring? just out of interest.

One of the recordings of Martha Argerich playing Rachmaninoff 3rd concerto has a bass string snapping in the first movement. The engineers obviously thought it worth while to leave in!

It does happen from time to time though!

it would be with Rachmaninoff, though!

ok. well that's good to know that this wasn't such an unusual thing - it's just not common and we'd never come across it. thanks for the quick response, Scarpia!

I've never been present when it's happened, though I've played the occasional grotty piano where it obviously has. Does the temperature and/or humidity vary a lot in the church?

I don't think the temperature varies to too great an extent, and the humidity is always pretty much the same. It's a Yamaha (?make); used to be electric and was used by the BBC etc. for concerts. electrics now taken out so it's a plain grand.

My sister broke a string on our upright with Brahms. And I've come close on our school piano with Dohnanyi! (went hideously out of tune...)

I've never come across it, but the thought of it makes me cringe...

Did it happen while it was being played, or just spontaneously? I have known both to happen.

Twas being played. The lid was open and i was sitting next to it...
Glad to know others have had the same experience.

EDIT: not glad..cause that's bad for them...but....glad 'cause...oh, i'll shut up!

I remember it happening with fairly frequent regularity when I was younger, practising on the piano at home.....once we'd had the whole piano overhauled it never happened again........... thankfully!!!

Occupational hazard for piano tuners?

My old piano teacher once told me that this pianist she knows regularly breaks strings on his Steinway...

I heard that Bobby Crush (yes, he's still around!) broke a bass string on a Yamaha grand on a cruise I was on once.

I know a pianist who regularly breaks piano strings. (Needless to say, his style of playing is horrible .. to my ears anyway!)