Piano Tuning

I began learning the trade of a piano tuner from the age of just 8 years old (1976) thanks to my Father teaching the trade to me very early on, but I actually started at 3 years old dusting down piano parts in my Father’s workshop, in my Father’s words “to give me something to do” (before iPad).

Pianos need tuning from as much as three times a year for the heavy used pianos and as little as once a year for the lesser used pianos. Kawai pianos are by far the most popular new pianos I tune the most these days, but in days gone by in the 1970s and 80s I was tuning mainly 1930’s pianos Bechsteins, Bluthners and a whole host of other long gone names. My main time was taken up with tuning school pianos, as we had the County Council contracts for Dorset, Hampshire and in the 1990’s West Sussex but then Government ended contract works for piano tuning.

How it works.

Very often we can make sure your piano will be tuned to A440 Hz concert pitch which is important mainly for accompaniment, on the odd occasion pianos may need multiple tunings if it has lost its tension to concert pitch and is as much as a one tone flat. But most common is between 30-40 minutes one tuning which will not be required again for a further one year.

During piano tuning we can also check for any other defects that may in time effect the playing and tone and may accelerate any extra wear and tear, there for we would be able to save you money and stress later. This aspect is important during piano tuning as every now and again we are called out to a piano that is very much beyond any help due to being neglected over the years with no tuning or competent technician in attendance.

Fine tuning.

Fine tuning is something we have always done routinely, and it essentially means we “set the pins” which is not always taught to piano tuners and thus many tuners if not all have very little knowledge on this in our local Dorset area. Setting the pins means we tune in a specific way as to secure the pianos tuning to last and stay in tune over a longer period.

Advise.

Most modern pianos these days deal quite well with heated homes, under floor heating is something that no piano handles very well and pianos in these homes need an extra eye kept out on them. The main reason for the 180lb tension on each string losing its tune is humidity or dryness, and over a course of a year in some older properties this can vary greatly. For modern homes with double or triple glazing you need to keep an eye on the humidity with an actual gauge, and you need to keep as close to 40%-60% humidity as possible. A real fire/wood burner in an average size house is fantastic to draw new air in and circulate during the winter months to stop the modern heating just drying out the atmosphere.

We travel all over the South for piano tuning and charges do vary depending on distances, please get in touch for a quote.