Standard pitch

The standard of all instruments; making harmony together.

Why Does a Piano Go Out of Tune?

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Tuning of a Steinway on Stage for a concert

We get this question now and then.

A simular question is:

“How often does a piano need tuning?”

Another thing is that people often say:

“Oh but I hardly played on it this year. Does it really need tuning?”

Pianos are stringed instruments, and even though they can be protected by certain things like:

temperature-controlled rooms;

humidity-control environments;

or even just standing in a place away from any external elements, “wind, rain, sun, etc.”

They still go out-of-tune eventually.

And no … it’s not necessarily true that a piano that has been moved across the room, needs tuning.


Why Does a Piano Go Out of Tune? full Post

Is my Piano Worth the Repairs and How Would I Know?

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Ring … ring … the phone rings.
Customer: “I have an old piano that hasn’t been tuned in years”…
Piano tuner: groan “Ok?”

Background

You have just inherited your grandmother’s piano or you found a piano on-line but you aren’t really sure how long ago it’s been since it was tuned.

Piano Keys Fading into the Distance

Customer: “It probably just needs a tuning. It still looks good.”
Piano tuner: “Maybe, but what about the inside?”


Is my Piano Worth the Repairs and How Would I Know? full Post

Humidity in Your Piano

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I’ve been to quite a few different towns recently, and had to do a bit of pitch-correction on some of them.

What does this mean?

We usually tune pianos to standard pitch, “A440”.

But if the piano is flat or sharp, we first need to do a pitch-raise or pitch-lowering, and afterwards a fine-tuning.

   With all the rain lately, the wood of the soundboard and bridges on the soundboard, where the strings cross over, swells, making them to stretch, and therefore, raising the pitch.


Humidity in Your Piano full Post

How Often Does my Piano Need to be Serviced?

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Few people actually ask this question, and although we know that pianos need tuning from time to time, pianos are mechanical instruments, consisting out of many tiny parts.
From tiny pins and screws, to large parts like the soundboard, pin block, and the steel frame.
All of these play an integral part in your piano’s ability to bring you enjoyment, and need to be maintained.

Over the next few articles or posts, I will give a brief synopses of the different parts of your piano that you should keep maintained.
If neglected, or over time “with age” these parts can get worn and old, and may need replacing, reconditioning, or may get to the point where “ due to cost”, may not be worth repairing.


How Often Does my Piano Need to be Serviced? full Post

Influences the Weather can Have on Your Piano

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So does weather play any part in my piano’s tuning stability?
The answer to this question is YES.
Depending on where your piano is stationed, the weather can affect the pitch of your piano quite drastically.
Not only cold or hot weather, but the amount of humidity too.
If it is too dry, or too humid, it affects the moisture content in the wood of the soundboard and bridges, and also, to a certain extent, affect the strings over time.
The warmer it gets, the flatter the tone gets;
The colder it gets, the sharper the tone rises.
I see it quite often.
When I come to a piano which isn’t tuned and serviced regularly, it will need a pitch adjustment.
There is an article on pitch-adjustment on this blog you can go read up on;
But basically, if a piano is left to fend for itself in the hot and cold weather, dry or humid, over-time, the strings will respond accordingly:
Some will stretch tighter, and others will loosen up.
The end result:
A piano which is all over the place.
So when I come to the piano, it would be quite impossible to just do a simple fine-tuning.
It’s like taking your car in to the mechanics, which you haven’t maintained for a few years, and maybe stood in a garage somewhere, without being used.
And now you want it to work again.
It’s going to take time and effort to get it up-to-standard again, “if possible”.


Influences the Weather can Have on Your Piano full Post
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