So I was trying out the pano mode on the Spark and noticed that the individual photos in the top row of the pano all capture the front props.  Is this normal or is my gimbal calibration off?

Pretty normal, if sun and Spark are in the right positions to each other.
I think, I have on almost every Pano some props shadow. Sometimes only one, sometimes two, sometimes even more

Did you stitch them with DJI GO 4? And do you have the latest version installed? In the last pictures I took the props were fully removed in the stitching process.

I've stitched them in both DJI GO 4 (latest version) as well as Lightroom.  The props appear in both  - see the centre of the sky below.
The gimbal is capable of pointing above its horizontal position, and I guess the pano is comprised of shots that look up rather than just forward and below. Easily removed in LR - just wanted to check that my Spark wasn't doing anything unusual.

No, it is absolutely ok. With the new Pano option DJI has kind of inadvertedly revealed that the Spark Gimbal is not limited to 0° as described in the specs, but that it can move above horizontal if they allow it to do so . And the DJI GO App has an inbuild function to remove the propellers from the pictures but is not always fully successful. As mentioned above, it apparently depends on lighting conditions and position.

Bright light =fast shutter =props.

If you will be taking pianos often, get an ND filter to slow the shutter, making the props invisible.

I have just been editing out the props. Due to their positioning, they usually end up over a section of sky which makes removal easy. Setting the initial camera position lower can prevent props from showing up as well.

Thanks guys.  Consider me reassured!

Easy fix in post and yes, you see it a lot around here.

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-9-9 11:30
Easy fix in post and yes, you see it a lot around here.

As I am a total beginner in shooting/editing, can you please advise how is it an easy fix? What feature should I look into?

Usually it is just in the sky. That can be fixed in Photoshop with the clone tool. But starting lower with the gimbal seems a good solution.

petty would of been a great shot

Thank you for the excellent info. Did my first pano and had props. Assumed I did something wrong.

This might have been because of wind correction... was it windy at all?