Why does my piano need to be tuned regularly?

It all begins with the design specifications of your piano, and how your piano was built. For over 70 years pianos have been structurally designed to be at A-440, which is the internationally recognized standard pitch. Pitch is measured in hertz, and to set the pitch on any piano we start by measuring the pitch of the A above middle C and setting it to 440 hertz, and then we proceed to tune the rest of the piano around that hertz in progressively lower hertz for the bass and higher hertz for the treble. 440 hertz means the strings will vibrate 440 times in a second.

All together the 230 strings exert, approximately, 18 to 20 tons of weight on the soundboard and the cast iron plate. Your piano was designed, structurally, to be at this tension. The strings designed to be at that certain stretch. The soundboard, bridges, and cast iron plate designed to support this tension. Regular piano tunings are primarily to keep this carefully designed tension up on your instrument. The other reason is, of course, because it sounds much nicer when in tune!
Have kids in piano lessons? Keeping your piano regularly tuned will help your children develop an accurate and healthy sense of pitch. Children are still forming their perception of pitch and tone and what notes sound like, and this crucial step helps them develop an accurate sense of pitch.

How often does my piano need to be tuned?

All manufacturer’s agree that a new piano needs 3-4 tunings within its first year of life outside of the factory, as the new strings will stretch out and go out of tune more quickly as they settle. Wooden parts will also settle within the first year or so - this is all very normal, and it just needs a bit of extra attention to keep sounding its best until everything settles. Every piano is individual, but generally 1-2 tunings per year is adequate after the piano has settled.

Why does my piano go out of tune?

Pianos primarily go out of tune due to seasonal humidity changes. Humidity plays a very significant role in this, since the soundboard, along with 80% of the other piano parts, are made of wood.

When the humidity goes up, the soundboard crown (your soundboard was made with ‘crown’ which is a slightly rounded shape, which gives the piano it’s vibrant sound and tone.) increases and swells, causing the strings to stretch and go sharper. When the air is dry and humidity is low the soundboard crown decreases and the string tension also decreases, causing the strings to go flat. These changes cause the piano to start sounding dissonant, since pianos do not go out of tune evenly. As the weather and humidity fluctuate, small changes happen to the strings over time until the piano needs to be tuned.

For this reason your piano needs to be tuned yearly, even if no one is playing it, thereby preserving the correct string tension, which preserves the tone, and the value and health of your piano.

Unfortunately when this regular maintenance is neglected soundboards lose their crown, and the piano can need extra tunings to get it back up to pitch. The flatter the strings get, and the higher the likelihood of string breakage gets. Strings can get replaced, but it is generally more affordable to keep your piano in tune. However it is not hopeless by any means! Even if it has been a long time. I have successfully tuned pianos who hadn’t been tuned in up to 40 years.

Which counties do you service?

If you don’t see your county, please reach out - I am happy to take on new counties. If you end up being outside of my service area I will be happy to help you find someone who is closer to your location than I may be. If you are a fair distance, and also have a friend who could arrange a piano tuning on the same day as you, I am happy to split the extra mileage cost between the two of you.

Alamance

Cabarrus

Caswell

Chatham

Davidson

Davie

Durham

Forsyth

Guilford

Harnett

Johnston

Lee

Montgomery

Moore

Orange

Person

Randolph

Richmond

Rockingham

Rowan

Stanly

Wake

Yadkin

What is Regulating?

Regulating is, in essence, bringing all 12,000 moving parts of the piano into alignment so that they do exactly what they should, exactly when they should, all exactly equally. It is a fine art of making lots of very minute adjustments until the piano is performing at it’s most optimum level.

Pianos, like cars, need ‘tune-ups’ - and not just the musical kind. As the piano is played and as it experiences season after season of humidity fluctuations, things start shifting. It’s generally gradual, but a lot of the time isn’t noticed until something stops working properly. Regulating your piano also helps parts to age better, as they are not being worn or improperly stressed. We make small adjustments here and there as we tune your piano and notice things that aren’t quite where they ought to be, but all pianos need full regulations as part of a regular maintenance schedule. For some, every 20 years is sufficient, for others, such as pianos used for churches, every 5-10 years may be more appropriate, and some instruments, like concert instruments, are regulated before every performance and kept in perfectly pristine condition, to keep up with the high demands made on them.

Every piano and every customer’s need is a little different. If you have more questions about regulation or would be interested to know if it’s something your piano needs, reach out and schedule an evaluation. We can also do this evaluation at your regular tuning appointment, IF discussed in advance to allow the appropriate amount of time to review and discuss your piano.

Why Do You Charge Sales Taxes?

As of 2017, we are required by the government to collect sales & use taxes and pay them back to the government quarterly. Each county has a different sales tax rate - when we schedule your appointment, I’ll be able to let you know what your county’s rate is and how much your taxes will be. Sales tax for a regular tuning is typically between $11.00 - $15.00.