Piano Tuning

How often should a piano be tuned?

All pianos should be tuned at least once a year. More often if the piano is used for public performances, or if the piano is new.

A piano that hasn’t been tuned regularly will go so far out of tune that extra time and cost may become necessary to restore it to proper tune.

If the piano is neglected for many years, the tone can be permanently damaged.

David and Chris, work on preparing our new pianos and also our range of rental pianos to ensure that they are performing at their best.

Tuning and Humidity

A piano goes “out of tune" because of changes in temperature and the humidity. More than any other reason.

Moving a piano affects the tuning just as playing with a “ heavy hand “ can affect the tuning, but humidity and temperature changes affect the tuning more than any other factors.

Thus, even if a piano is not played or moved, it will go out of tune.

Tuning Defined

Tuning a piano, involves changing the pitch of each string by increasing or decreasing the tension, or tightness, of the string. Although most pianos have 88 notes, there are approximately 250 strings. The first 15 lowest notes have one string each, made up of a very heavy gauge steel wire wrapped with two layers of copper winding. The next 20 notes have two strings each, smaller in gauge with one thinner copper winding.

Each of the remaining two-thirds of the notes has three string steel music wire with no copper winding. Throughout the entire piano the gauge, or diameter, of the music wire is decreased every few notes. Not only must the notes of the piano be correctly tuned to each other, each of the strings for a particular note must be precisely tuned together in unison.

We use and recommend you use a Piano Tuner from the Piano Tuners and Technicians Guild of Victoria.

To find a qualified Piano Tuner in your area, visit www.pianotuners.asn.au