Aural Tuning for ANY Piano

A standard tuning is a complete fine tuning of your piano from lowest note to highest. It typically takes about 2 hours, but more if a pitch raise is needed. I charge the same amount for a concert piano as I do for a practice room or student piano. My commitment is to get your piano sounding the very best it can! Everyone deserves a beautiful sounding instrument!  

If your piano is more than 10 cents flat of A440 (10% of a half step), a pitch raise will be needed. A pitch raise is basically two tunings in a single visit. It is an initial “quick pass” tuning to raise the tension of your instrument followed by a standard fine tuning to keep it at A440. If your piano is 100 cents flat or more (an entire half step), a second visit will be required to perform a third tuning about a week later. The most stable piano is the one that is frequently tuned and cared for!

While it is possible to tune the piano “in place” if it is flat, this is only a good idea if the strings are very old and/or rusty, or if there is other significant damage to the instrument. If possible, a pitch raise is a good idea! Pianos were made to be played at standard pitch and sound the best at that frequency.

Stability is the word used to describe whether or not a tuning will ‘hold’ or remain consistent for a period of time after the tuning is complete. It has been said that, “the piano starts to go out of tune the minute the tuner walks out the door.” While this is technically true, many factors contribute to stability (including the skill and care of the piano tuner), but most importantly, consistency of humidity and temperature. You should strive to keep your piano between 40%-50% relative humidity year-round. I have unfortunately seen many pianos rendered un-tunable and in permanent disrepair because of neglect during the cold, dry winter months. Don’t let it happen to you!

It is a VERY good idea to keep the humidity and temperature of your piano room (wherever it may be) as consistent as possible. A humidifier for the winter months is a necessity for Western NY (as well as New England, Northern NY, etc). If your home has air conditioning, you may need a humidifier year-round. If you own a grand piano, a Dampp-Chaser dehumidifying system may be an option. 

Each time a note is played on a piano, a complex mechanical sequence takes place to transform the intention of the pianist into a physical realization of sound. This is called the piano “action.” There are more than 9000 parts in a piano, and they must be coordinated in a very precise way to meet the requirements and demands of pianists and the repertoire they seek. If your piano feels sluggish, or notes keep ringing when they shouldn’t, Regulation is the process of adjusting these thousands of internal parts of the piano action to critical tolerances. A complete regulation can take between 8-10 hours, or more. Most small issues (e.g. hammers double-striking or sticky keys) can be addressed in a shorter amount of time, usually 1-2 hours.

Some repairs are relatively minor, and others aren’t. The occasional broken hammer is a minor repair, whereas restringing a piano or replacing a cracked pinblock is a time-consuming and expensive affair. Please get in touch if you think something might be wrong and I will be happy to take a look. 

Before the appointment, please clear off any decorations from the lid of the piano and be sure to schedule any lawn service, garbage disposal repair, or birthday parties for a different date. 😀 Tuning requires intensive concentration and a quiet environment is needed to do the best job possible.

Unfortunately, I do not service digital pianos. However, I do service vintage electric pianos and organs such as the Wurlitzer Electric Piano, the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and the Hammond Organ. I have been a jazz organist for nearly 30 years and out of necessity have learned how to service and maintain Hammond Organs. If you have a B3 or A100 that needs some love, don’t hesitate to get in touch!