We'll make your piano smile and sing again!
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.
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”.