All instruments require regular maintenance, in fact, every time a guitarist picks up a guitar, they tune a few strings. We recommend tuning your piano once a year at a minimum, preferably every 6 months or more frequently.
How often should you tune your piano?
Pricing
Tuning: $220
Pitch-adjustment: Add $50
Do you tune by ear?
My tuner said my piano can’t be tuned, what does this mean?
Why does a piano go out of tune?
Music has a standard pitch (A440). It allows a pianist to play along with a guitarist, the radio, or Spotify. From the day the piano is manufactured, the strings are pulling against the pin holding them in place. This causes a minute unravelling of the string. The soundboard and bridge also sway with humidity stretching the strings. This unravelling, and stretching changes the speaking length of a string.
A shift in the speaking length of a string creates a variation in pitch. At first this shift in pitch is mild, and creates what some describe as a chorus effect. Now, if the strings remain close to each other, the sound is still pleasant, however, the further away they are from each other the more noticeable the difference.
When you notice unfavorable waiving between notes, it is time to tune your piano! (Or when the pitch starts to drop less than -5 cents from A440)
We just moved, how long should I wait before tuning my piano?
After many years of suggesting “wait 2-3 months” I now have a more comprehensive answer.
- If the piano was tuned regularly before moving and sounded good, then wait 3-6 months, no more.
- Should the piano sound very out of tune, say you purchased it from a private seller who was not playing for multiple years. In this case, go ahead and get it tuned straight away if it’s stopping you from playing, and get it tuned within the next 6 months. It may not stay in tune as long, but now you can play straight away.
Noisy pedal?
Do you have a noisy pedal? It might be possible repair yourself with the right product. Here is a link to a product that can be used for lubricating the pedal joints.
If you’d like our help let us know when we tune your piano.
Cleaning service
Does your piano need a good dusting? We offer grand and upright cleaning services, including under the keys, under the strings, and pedal polishing. We advise cleaning your piano every 10-15 years. If has been multiple years, we can provide a deep clean.
Tuning
With regular tuning you can ensure your piano sounds clean, clear, and responds correctly.
Regulation
Regulation is the process of adjusting the moving parts to make the keys respond as they would new from the factory, or if the piano is older, as close as possible.
Voicing
Voicing is the process of softening or hardening the hammers, to make them more pleasing to the ear. This service can be carried out after the piano has been tuned.
Is your piano too bright?
Hammers are made from lambs wool. At the factory a liquid hardener is applied, which makes the felt harder, as they are generally soft sounding when new. Over time the sound can become brighter, a brash unpleasant sound. Hammer softener can work in some cases (see the video on the right), in other cases detailed needling work is required to soften the hammers with more detail. Needling is recommended on higher end pianos with German Abel or Renner hammers.
Humidity
By maintaining a constant humidity in your home, you can help your piano stay in tune for longer. It may be worth running your AC unit reflecting humidity more than simply heat. If you use a Hygrometer, you can measure the amount of humidity in a room, some more modern devices can keep a record for the rooms humidity over time, avoid high fluctuations!
Tuning after climate shifts
Have your piano tuned after the climate in your city shifts from season to season. As the piano will adjust a few weeks to a couple of months into a temperate change.
Install a lifesaver system
A lifesaver system is a device that reads the humidity and adjusts the environment inside the piano automatically. If the humidity shifts higher than a healthy amount a heat bar dries the air inside the piano. If the humidity drops, water is evaporated safely into the piano. It will help adjust larger swings, however, does not eliminate humidity change entirely. Professional institutions regularly install these as the large rooms are expensive to run AC units constantly. They can be installed at home too!
Some of our clients
Marmo restaurant, Charles Hausmann (UH music lecturer), Birdy (British alternative singer), The Mercantile Montrose (restaurant), Levy Purchasing (working on behalf of Texas A&M)