Piano Tuning
Call A Piano Tuner Professional
The piano is one of only a half dozen instruments that are not tuned by the player every time it is used. Violists, Cellists and Guitarists do not have to call a tuner, but pianists, piano owners and piano teachers have to find a tuner / technician to maintain their instruments.
The piano tuner professional understands the main enemy of piano tuning and overall piano health is humidity / temperature changes, others would be surprised to discover the second enemy of piano health, and longevity is lack of service.
Nobody is playing ~ why have it tuned?
Even if no one is playing your piano, the weather is playing it 24 hours everyday and it should be tuned regularly.
With over 20 tons of string pressure, pianos are designed to be maintained at A440 standard pitch and when a piano is allowed to go off-pitch the curvature of the soundboard changes and the whole structure of the piano shifts. As you can imagine, this bending and shifting is not productive for the health of your piano.
Preventive maintenance is another reason a piano should be tuned, even if the customer doesn’t care how badly and inharmonic the piano sounds when out of tune. Like so many things in life, piano problems often develop over time. The watchful eye of the piano tuner can help to avoid thousands of dollars in repair and potentially avoid losing all value.
We all know people who have “rolled the dice” with their pianos by not having them tuned for years. To take such a gamble with instruments that cost thousands of dollars just to avoid the price of a couple tunings each year seems counterproductive. And certainly only use a piano tuner who is a skilled professional.
From Steinway & Sons:
Tuning is an art practiced by skilled professionals and under no circumstances should anyone other than a professional be allowed to try to tune your Steinway piano.
Scheduling Your Piano Tuner
How often should you schedule appointments with your piano tuner?
Let’s ask the people who make pianos.
Read what piano manufactures say
Piano Tuning Fee
My Price for basic tuning
A basic tuning fee ranges from $105 ~ $140 and although a basic tuning usually only takes 45 to 90 minutes, I recommend reserving two hours for complete service. Please read the following for more insight.
Piano Tuner Price Shopping
Quality is the best economy ~ Similar to other businesses, piano tuners receive phone calls from potential customers shopping for the cheapest price. I wonder if they realize the huge differences among piano tuners. While everyone enjoys a good bargain, the care of your piano should only be trusted to a skilled professional and the piano tuning fee should not be the determining factor in choosing your piano tuner.
For many, there are only three issues that shape customer’s opinion and judgment about a tuner’s service.
- The opinion of the person who recommended the technician.
- The personality of the technician.
- The price ~ fee ~ cost of service.
In regards to price, if a piano tuner / technician’s price is low, many reasons to themselves; “If he is so good why are his prices lower than my last tuner? … or lower than Aunt Susie’s tuner?”
Piano Tuning ~ There Is A Difference
The bargain-basement tuner, believing customers have a hard time distinguishing one level of piano service from another, adopts an attitude of, “Why should I spend time, money and effort improving my piano tuning and servicing skills when customers can’t tell the difference anyway?” More often than not, he underestimates his customers, and is therefore always looking for business.
Not only is that attitude unethical, but the bargain-basement tuner seems totally unaware of the “WOW” factor. When an exceptional high quality technician services a piano after following a bargain tuner and the customer sits down to play, many times the pianist responds with; “WOW, what a difference!” When given the chance to compare high quality piano tuning with low quality piano tuning the pianist can, and does tell the difference.
Customers pay thousands of dollars for their instruments and to gamble on the care of such an instrument just to avoid a small difference in tuning cost seems an unwarranted gamble.
Piano Cleaning
Professional piano cleaning
Air compressor used for cleaning pianos
Cleaning the outside cabinet of a piano can be done by the customer, but cleaning the soundboard, under the strings, around the tuning pins and inside the action can only be done by a professional. You will enjoy a clean piano after it has been cleaned by a professional.
Piano cleaning involves:
- Vacuuming as much dust and dirt as possible
- Blowing out the remaining dust with a compressor
- Pulling the action and blowing dust from action and keybed
- Wiping the soundboard with a special soundboard tool made for cleaning
- Wiping down the outside cabinet
Piano Action Regulation
Piano action regulation is an often overlooked piano maintenance.
From the Piano Technicians Guild:
… It’s important to note that tuning is only the adjustment of the system of strings and pins that determines the pitch of each string. Your piano also requires a periodic servicing called regulation…
What is piano regulation and how does it affect my piano’s performance?
Regulation is the adjustment of the mechanical aspects of the pianos to compensate for the effects of wear, the compacting and settling of cloth, felt, and buckskin, as well as dimensional changes in wood and wool parts due to changes in humidity…
… The action is the mechanical part of the piano that transfers the motion of the fingers on the keys to the hammers that strike the strings. It is comprised of over 9,000 parts which require adjustment to critical tolerances to be able to respond to a pianist’s every command…
Regulating a Grand Piano
Every note in a grand piano has more than 35 points of adjustment.
Regulating a Vertical Piano
Every note in a vertical piano has over 25 points of adjustment.
Have your piano tuner regulate your piano every two to five years. You will be surprised at how your piano should have responded all these years.
Piano Repair
Skillful Repair Creates Happy Customers
One advantage of this business is being able to pick between in-home piano services / maintenance and or shop rebuilding. Since being shut away in a piano repair shop all day is not my desire, I have focused on creating happy customers in their homes.
Whatever in-home service or repair your piano requires, I will direct my many years of experience towards creating the most pleasing musical experience possible.
Sticking Keys
If you are having a problem with sticking keys it is a good idea to write down exactly which key is problematic.
The simplest way to record which key is sticking is to start numbering the “C’s” starting from the lowest: C1, C2, C3… etc…
The highlighted keys above would be recorded as D#1, G2, A#3, B5, and F#7
Avoiding Piano Repair Pitfalls
I hope, your piano does not require extensive rebuilding repair. However, if you do need such repair services, I can consult with you about the best approach and help avoid pitfalls.
Piano Voicing
Piano Voice ~ Adjusting Piano Tone
Voicing is the process of regulating and improving piano tone. As pianos age the hammer felt becomes harder and worn, and the strings stretch and ride up on the bridge pins. The strings become wavy, distorted and produce less resonance and the hammers produce brassy overly bright sound.
When a piano is in tune, if you play a mellow soft note with a bright brassy loud note it sounds inharmonic. Many times I have followed piano tuners who have done a decent job tuning the customers piano, however the customer was complaining. After examining the piano, it became apparent the problem was poor voicing and not poor tuning. A piano that is in poor voice will sound oddly inharmonic even with good tuning.
Technically, any adjustment that alters piano tone is voicing, such as brushing the hammers, stretching, straightening and seating the strings or needling the hammers. When the topic of piano voicing is discussed, usually the conversation is about adjusting the hammers. If you Google “Piano Voicing” you will find many results and tuners offering hammer needling as voicing. However if you Google “Piano String Voicing” the only page you will probably find is the one you’re currently reading. I am aware of only a handful of piano technicians ~ the best in the United States ~ who incorporate string voicing into their service.
I have known of customers who have purchased new pianos or purchase expensive modifications to their pianos when a good string voicing along with hammer voicing would have accomplished the same result and they could have saved thousands of dollars. I include string adjustment in my piano voicing routine because it has a wonderful affect on the resonance and clarity of piano tone.
String voicing restores the resonance and removes most of the waviness and distortion, and hammer voicing evens out the tone. It is truly amazing how much better a piano sounds after it has been voiced.
Piano voicing involves:
Restoring the resonance and clean tone to piano strings
( Can be preformed on vertical pianos but usually on grands )
( Must be preformed before tuning )
- Stretching, straightening and seating the strings on the bridges
- Leveling the strings around the agraffes and capo
Restoring the evenness of piano tone by adjusting the hammers
( Preformed on either grands or verticals )
( Must be preformed after tuning )
- Softening overly hard hammers
- Brushing hammers
- Needling to remove inconsistent and uneven tones
What is my piano worth?
Topic Series Notes: Piano Value
The most popular article in this series is “Which Piano Brand is Best?” ~ the most well written and best thought out article “What is my piano worth?”, used by permission, was written by Bob Conrad of Conrad Piano Services ~ a piano owners guide to determine the value of your piano.
The following is used by permission from Conrad Piano Services
What is my piano worth?
Two pianos of the same make and model, made the same day at the same factory, can have very different values in a relatively short time resulting from a number of factors.
I do not buy and sell pianos. I have always thought buying and selling pianos, while at the same time selling piano services, would constitute a conflict of interests. My goal as a piano service professional is to be as honest, forthright, and objective as possible with the piano owner regarding the condition of their piano.
There are basically 3 levels of pricing for a specific piano at any particular time.
- Retail value: a piano dealer’s price if the piano was in their store.
- Wholesale value: the price a piano dealer would pay for the piano if the dealer were going to buy it.
- Individual seller’s value: the price you or I may be able to obtain by advertising a piano in the paper, listing it on line, or leaving ‘For Sale’ signs on bulletin boards at churches, offices, etc.
The first step is to call your piano tuner / technician.
The piano owner should have been having the piano serviced regularly or at least had it tuned sometime in the past. The piano tuner who has serviced it may know the piano and should be your first call. Your regular piano tuner could have some helpful/useful information about your piano.
Ask the piano tuner if they know of any significant problems (delaminations, cracks, loose pins, design, etc) that would take your piano out of the mainstream of similar pianos or if it has any special features (an upgraded or special cabinet, finish, autograph, some other feature, or ‘story’) that puts it above the mainstream of other similar pianos.
Ask your tuner the brand and model (spinet, console, consolette, studio, upright, grand, etc.) of your piano. Your tuner may not have the serial number in his records, but may be able to help you locate it on your piano. The age of the piano can be determined by the serial number.
( Online piano age request form can be found here )
You will want to know the size of your grand piano in feet and inches rather than ‘baby’ or ‘large’ or ‘living room” size. (Grand piano size is measured from the very ‘front’ of the piano – the piece of wood just below the keys – to the farthest point on the ‘tail’ end of the lid).
Your tuner should be able to tell you how your piano compares to others regarding the overall condition of the case, wear and tear on parts, etc. and give you an idea as to selling price. But try to remember what you paid for it. What you paid for it can often be a good starting point. Remember when you purchased it? The salesman had to convince you to pay what you paid for it. If you can get close to what you paid for it now you are doing well. (Try getting your purchase price back by selling your refrigerator, or your sofa, the golf clubs, the boat, or the Mercedes.)
If you have a piano model that is still in production, and the price of the new ones have gone up, this does not mean your piano has necessarily appreciated in value. The fact that pianos like yours are still in production is worth more than the increase in price. Age does not make a piano more valuable.
If you don’t have a tuner (or can’t remember who tuned it last, lost his number, etc.) maybe you have a friend or relative who has worked with a tuner they know and trust. Call them. Or, you can call me. I would be happy to talk with you. However, the only way an experienced piano tuner / technician can really give you an accurate appraisal is to take a look at the piano inside and out, and perhaps tune it.
Just make sure the piano technicians you talk to – or listen to – have sufficient piano service experience and piano judgment that you will be able to respect. Music teachers, piano teachers and piano salesmen, though knowledgeable, are generally not skilled in the technical aspects of piano service and maintenance. So even though they are professionals at what they do and will be someone to talk to, make certain you talk to an experienced piano service professional as well.
The 2nd step is to visit your local piano dealers.
The next step in determining the value of your piano is to visit your local piano store and look at used pianos about the same size, age, brand, model, cabinet style and finish as yours. You really don’t want to omit this step. Even though you will not find an exact match to your piano, if you look at enough used pianos, you should get a general idea as to what dealers are asking for a good used piano similar to yours.
Keep in mind dealers will be able to get considerably more for a good used piano than you or I ever could selling them out of our home. But they should get more. Before selling the piano, the dealer will have already moved the piano to their store, and likely done any necessary cleaning, fixing, repairing, tuning and service. More often than not a store warranty is included with the piano – which has value and can be an appealing safety net for used piano buyers. The dealer can also deliver the piano, take a trade-in and even help buyers with financing. They also advertise on a regular basis, and have knowledgeable piano sales professionals to assist buyers in their purchase before, during, and after the sale. Dealers generally provide an in-home tuning after the piano has been delivered to the new owner.
The dealer may even have a consignment plan you might want to investigate- they may be able to sell your piano for you. They may be able to sell it more quickly and with less aggravation than doing it on your own. They have walk-in traffic – people go there looking for pianos. You may even end up with a higher price too. Maybe you will see another piano or an electric keyboard you might want to own. Maybe they would take your piano on trade for it.
You might also want to ask the dealer what he thinks your piano is worth, but there is where he becomes conflicted. If you want to know for insurance purposes, he may be able to talk replacement costs with you. But once you ask them about selling your piano, you become competition. After all, they are in the business of selling pianos too, and they are the professionals. (The better question would be to ask him how much he would give you for your piano.) Because they are professional, they should be helpful and courteous
Another thing to do while visiting the dealer is to see what he has for sale in the same price range you are thinking your piano is worth. Remember, the dealer has all sorts of added values (described above) which are included in the price of his pianos. A visit to your local dealers will be a very informative experience when it comes to determining the value of your piano.
The wholesale ‘value’ is the value the piano store pays for their pianos.
Generally, you and I cannot buy pianos at the wholesale level, even though we sometimes think we can. More often than not, there are good reasons why pianos are sometimes given away. “Nothing” is generally what they are worth – if not less.
You really should call an experienced piano tuner BEFORE accepting or picking up a ‘freebie’ piano. I can’t tell you how many people have called me after they have spent money and time (and friends who will no longer speak to them) because they lugged a freebie piano home from a friend’s, relative’s, friend of a relative’s, relative of a friend’s, off the street, or out of the basement of a building or church, etc.
You may think you are getting the deal of the century, and maybe you are, but the odds are probably millions-to-one against. Before doing this, call me or call someone else who may be able to talk sense to you. The phone call could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
The best economy is quality, not junk. The last thing you want to do is end up with a piano that will be a constant service headache, will never sound right, will be an eyesore in your home, and not really worth fixing even if it could be fixed.
Even if the exterior case is something you think is special, if the inside is full of broken rusted strings, cracked bridges, loose tuning pins, failing glue joints, brass flanges, etc., let it go. More often than not, before the piano gets put out on the street or is given away, all the other avenues of getting rid of it have been tried. No one likes having to pay to get an old worthless piano hauled off. If the dealers don’t think the piano has value, you shouldn’t either.
The value of your piano will be somewhere between the wholesale price and the retail price.
Another consideration in determining the value of your piano is your local piano ‘market’. Different parts of the country will have different figures. Remember, I am NOT a piano dealer. Only the dealers know what their costs are, and with prices changing all the time, only they know what their retail prices of new and used pianos are at any given time.
After you have talked to your tuner, gone to some local dealers and review ‘pianos for sale’ in the classified section of the newspaper and maybe even gone to see a few, you will have a fairly good idea as to what your piano may be worth in your area.
I hope you have found this read helpful. Once you start the process you may find many varied opinions. But if you keep at it, do your homework and try to find knowledgeable professionals in the piano business who will talk with you, the smoke will eventually clear and you will end up with a reasonably good idea as to what your piano is worth.
After you have done your homework you will still be subject to whatever the demand or market is at the time you try to sell it. In the end, your piano is worth what someone else will pay for it.
I want to thank Bob Conrad for his fine article ( What’s my piano worth? ) used by permission above.