By: Michelle Curry

First off, let’s establish what tuning a piano really entails. Piano tuning is the act of making tiny corrections to the tensions of the strings of a piano to properly support the note intervals between their pitches so that the strings of the instrument are all in agreement (Collins Piano Service).  In other words, tuning a piano means to properly adjust the intervals of the strings to prepare the instrument for a beautiful sound. Cooper Piano states that, “Your piano will sound its best and give you and your family the most pleasure when it is tuned regularly and kept in proper playing condition.”

The rule of thumb when tuning a piano is...

to tune it twice a year, once when you turn on the heat in the winter, and once when you turn it off in the spring.  Both of these are times of the year when humidity changes have the most significant affect on your instrument.  However, this is not the only dynamic that affects the strings of your piano.  Tuning your piano may be necessary more often, or less often, than you think depending on a few key factors:

   1. The age of the piano plays a sizeable role when determining how often your instrument should be tuned.  If your instrument is an older piano, chances are it needs to be tuned more often than a fairly new piano; however brand new pianos need to be tuned exceptionally often because of the instruments new strings.  According to Collins Piano Service, “It is normal for a brand new piano to require extra tunings its first year to compensate for the stretching and settling of the new strings.”

  2. Humidity and temperature levels also influence the strings of a piano and can have a negative effect on the pitch of your instrument.  According to Concert Pitch Piano Services, changes in humidity trigger your pianos wooden structure to shrink and swell causing the instrument to drift out of tune.  Cooper Piano states, “Your piano contains materials such as wood and felt and is subject to change with climatic conditions. Extreme swings from hot to cold or dry to wet will cause pianos materials to swell and contract affecting tone, pitch and action response.”  Cooper Piano recommends locating your instrument away from windows and doors that are opened often, heating and air vents, fireplaces, and spaces that are vulnerable to direct sunlight.  Placing your instrument in a safe location reduces the chances of negative climatic effects.

  3. While tuning your piano, the required act of stretching the strings and turning the pins inside the piano, can also manipulate your instrument.  Tuning your instrument requires you to carefully turn the pins that stretch the strings within your piano, and the less often you do this, the more often you will have to do it in the future. “The more often a piano is tuned the easier it is to tune and the closer it remains between tunings” (Collins Piano Service).

  4. The amount you use your instrument can influence the amount your piano must be tuned.  Many people believe that if you are not using your piano often the instrument does not have to be tuned often.  The truth is that not tuning a piano for years because it has not been played in years can do serious damage.  Tuning your piano often decreases the level of strain placed on the instrument and eases tuning experiences in the future.

The frequency of your piano tunings all depends on the instruments condition, the environment in which it is located, and the musical demands of the owner.

According to Concert Piano Pitch Services, “More than likely, a piano used mainly as a furniture piece will not need to be tuned more than once a year. A piano that is played regularly and is in good condition would be better off with 2 tunings per year, each time the seasonal humidity changes. A piano given a daily workout by a professional or serious student might need to be tuned more frequently, maybe 4 times a year or more depending on the intensity of play. At this level of use, it is really up to the individual musician and at what point the tuning starts to bother them.”

Piano tuning is best left to the professionals. There are many little parts and pieces involved in making a piano create the vibrant sound that it does. Many parts and pieces mean many different ways to break or ruin a piano. Various piano stores offer piano tunings at affordable rates, and many stores send the technician to your home, eliminating the hassle of hauling your piano to the store. It is best to keep up with the maintenance of a piano, reducing the chance of harm to your instrument and diminishing the possibility of paying big bills when you get it tuned.  As long as you keep to a proper schedule, your piano will last a lifetime.

If you live in the Greater Atlanta area and are looking for a piano tuner, contact Cooper Piano at www.cooperpiano.com. They have a wide selection of pianos, digital pianos, keyboards, and organs and perform services such as voicing, regulation, refinishing, refurbishing and piano player installs and repair.