Piano tuning & maintenance
As It Should Be
Servicing North Central Ohio
About
Meet your Tuner/Technician, Joshua Reeves
Ever since my grandmother got me a small Casio keyboard when I was a kid, I've had a fascination with the instrument; while I didn't always play, it was never too far from my mind. I toyed with the idea of tuning for a while, but never took the dive because it seemed like a lot of an expense that might not be worth it in the long run.
Fast forward to Dec 2024, after looking long for enjoyable and fulfilling work, I came across a video called How to become a professional piano tuner from ThePianoDoctor (whom I had been watching for multiple years at that point) outlining his story, as well as the benefits and "requirements" of being a Piano Technician. After thinking on it a bit, I realized it was something I could genuinely do and enjoy. I enrolled in The Piano Technicians Academy a few months later, and have since completed the course (not that there's ever a shortage of new things to learn).
Really glad I came across that video, since I've greatly enjoyed working with pianos; looking forward to working on more soon.
Informational
How often should a piano be tuned
At least twice a year
In the first year, the National Piano Manufacturers Association recommends that you have your piano tuned four times. This is a period of environmental adjustment and settling for a new instrument, and proper attention is important.
After the first year, the piano should be tuned at least twice each year, depending on the frequency of use and atmospheric conditions.
If it's been a while since the previous tuning
Multiply tunings will be needed
Not only does an infrequently tuned piano not sound as nice, it also takes more work to get it to hold a tuning, even in relatively stable environmental conditions. For this reason, it is common practice to tune a piano in this state more than once, about a week apart (the first "tuning" to get everything close, commonly referred to as a "pitch raise", and the 2nd "fine tuning" to get it sounding as it should; though sometimes more than 2 are needed depending on the condition)
Where should a piano be placed
Away from areas with high environmental swings
You can reduce the severity of environmental conditions by placing your piano near a wall away from windows or doors that are opened frequently. Avoid heating and air conditioning vents, outside walls, fireplaces, and areas which receive direct sunlight. Your piano will perform best under consistent conditions, optimally at a temperature of 68°F (20°C) and 42% relative humidity.
What can make a piano fall out of tune
Environmental changes, playing, moving
Environmental conditions are the largest contributor to a pianos sound and performance, even a piano that has been recently tuned (within a month, or sometimes even a week) can noticeably fall out of tune with large environmental swings.
However, even with a controlled environment, regular, and especially intense playing will cause a tuning to shift; pianos also naturally lose tuning over time when not being played.
Moving a piano, even just to the other side of the room, will also cause the tuning to shift (though not as noticeably in the latter case, of course). It's generally recommended when moving residences to allow a piano to acclimate to the new environment before retuning, though 2 weeks is usually a sufficient duration.
For more information on pianos, you can visit the Piano Technicians Guild website at
https://www.ptg.org/piano
