How often should I tune my piano?

This question is already answered in the FAQ page of this site, but lets expand on that simple answer.  

 

Your piano is an investment in your future. It can bring you and your family a lifetime of music, adding immeasurable joy and beauty to your home. Since it is also such a large investment, it should be maintained with the utmost care. Regular servicing by a qualified technician (that's us!) will preserve your instrument and help you avoid costly repairs in the future.

 

Because your piano contains materials such as wood and felt, it is subject to change with climatic conditions. Extreme swings from hot to cold or dry to wet cause its materials to swell and contract, affecting tone, pitch, and action response or touch. You can reduce the severity of these effects by placing your piano near a wall away from windows or doors that are opened frequently. Avoid heating and air conditioning vents, fireplaces and areas which receive direct sunlight. Your piano will perform best under consistent conditions neither too wet nor dry, optimally at a temperature of 68 degrees F and 42 percent relative humidity.  Having said that, how many of our homes are kept at 68 degrees F and how, in Arizona, do we keep a room at 42 percent humitidy?  Its nearly impossible, contributing to teh fact that your piano will go out of tune. 

 

While pianos generally fall into vertical and grand model categories, each manufacturer selects its own materials and utilizes its own unique scale and furniture designs. Every piano requires a different level of maintenance, depending upon the quality of materials used and the design and level of craftsmanship. Manufacturers can provide general advice on tuning frequency but your technician (that's us...hopefully) can give specific recommendations based upon your usage and locale.   Nearly every manufacturer suggests a new piano be tuned four times in the first year and then a minimum of twice a year after that.  

 

A piano is tuned many times during its manufacture and before it is shipped to a dealer.  However, changes in atmosphere and tempuerature and the nature of its construction with constantly conspire to bring it off pitch.  To bring tuning in perspective, concert pianos are tuned before each performance and studio recording pianos are generally tuned three or four times a week.  As a contracted technician for many of teh Las Vegas casinos, we made our way to teh stage between late night performances to pitch the piano to perfection before the midnight shows.  The more you play, the better you become as a piano player, the more you will want your piano tuned properly.  

 

Your piano, l;ike those in homes and on stages throughout the world, is an instrument of extraodinary promis which can bring you and your family a lifetime of enjoyment.  To ensure its performance over that lifetime, it is important to have your piano serviced regularly. Complete piano service should include periodic regulation and voicing in addition to tuning. we willbe happy to consult with you to recommend a maintenance schedule customized for your instrument.