Links to Learning

► How often should your piano be tuned
► The benefits of regular tuning
► Facts and fiction
► Frequently Asked Questions
► Piano care and cleaning
► Piano action diagrams, Grand & Console
► Piano action diagrams, Drop Action & Upright
► The Piano Tuning Temperament
► New Pianos

How often should my piano be tuned ?

How often a piano should be tuned depends on how much it is used and for what propose it will be used.
As a general rule if you practice your piano every day or have a student who practices every day you should have your piano tuned 2 times a year.
If you seldom or never use your piano you should have your piano tuned once a year
Churches and institutions should have their pianos tuned at least 2 times a year.
If your piano is used 5 to 10 hours a day by several different people you may need to tune your piano 3 or 4 times a year.
If you are a professional musician or music teacher you may need to tune your piano as much as 3 times a year.
New piano’s may need to be tuned as many times as 4 times in the first year after delivery.

Benefits Of Regular Tuning

Why tune your piano more often (Ex. 2 times a year rather than one time a year.) ? A piano goes out of tune (pitch) about 8 percent in 6 months and 16 to 20 present in a year. The farther out of tune your piano goes the more settling that will occur. Liken it to a 10 foot ditch in your yard. If you fill it with dirt and it rains it will sink and will need to be filled in. When a piano is closer to pitch the technician can spend more time perfecting the tuning and setting the notes so they stay in tune. A technician must allow a limited amount of time to do each tuning and arrive on time at the next appointment. A piano that is further out of tune requires more time getting the notes to their relative place in the scale. Pianos played several hours a day or in instructional settings may require from 3 or 4 tunings a year.
 

Fact & Fiction

Should a piano be placed against an outside wall?

While inside walls may provide some extra protection for a piano, because there are no windows or doors, today’s homes with insulation are usually safe for putting piano’s against an outside wall. Years ago homes with no insulation let a lot of moisture through walls. There have been some instances of walls icing. This kind of high moisture did serious damage to older pianos.

Does a new piano warrantee cover all problems with a piano working correctly?

If you read your warrantee, it probably will not cover any problem caused by changes in humidity . Most manufactures will not cover this because they can not control the humidity in your home. You should acquire a humidity measuring device and place it near your piano.
Ideal humidity should be, stable, around 43 to 45 %. Also a piano warrantee usually does not cover Voicing of the hammers to satisfy individual taste. The manufacturer and the music store presume that you chose the piano voicing (tone) when you purchased the instrument that satisfied your particular taste.

Constant temperature does not have a stabilizing effect on a piano if the humidity is not constant.

“I have air conditioning and a heat pump.” This will help but everyone is tempted to open their windows to get fresh air in the spring time. Try to open windows farther from the location of your piano. Avoid opening windows that will allow a cross breeze over your piano.

“My piano never stays in tune. It is a waste of money to have it tuned”

There may be some cases where a piano is so old that the pin block is dried out , or the pin block is cracked due to dryness where a piano will not stay in tuned. If it is a valuable piano you can have it fitted with a new pin block. But in most cases this is due to the fact that the piano does not get regular tuning. If your piano is not tuned regular, at least one or two times a year. (EX. every 3 years) The tuning will settle in a very short period of time, sometimes a day or a week. Think of it like a 10 foot ditch in your yard. If you full it with dirt and it rains it will probably sink a little and you will have to level it off with more dirt. This is very similar to what happens when a piano is left un-tuned for sever years. After all, the object is to sit at your piano and find it in reasonably good tune every time you play. This can only be achieved through regular tuning. If you wait to tune it for several years, you may need more than one regular tuning to achieve consistent tune, or you may be wasting your money,

Frequently Asked Questions

► Why do pianos go out of tune ?
► How often should my piano be tuned ?
► Why does the piano tuner hit the keys on my piano so hard ?
► New Piano’s; what are the most common problems that happen with new piano’s ?
► I recently purchased a new piano and it went out of tune in a small period of time (or my old piano stayed in tune longer) is there something wrong with my piano. Should I ask for a refund?
► Why do the strings in the treble 1/3 of my piano ring more than the other notes when I release the key and the sustain  pedal?
► Is there a better time of the year to get my piano tuned?
► How do I clean my piano?
► Where can I find a piano tuning temperament (pattern)?
     What are the parts inside of my piano action called
► console and grand piano actions
► drop action spinet and upright piano actions
► Do you know any good books on pianos and tuning?

Why do pianos go out of tune ?

There are many reasons that pianos go out of tune I will list some of them.

1 HUMIDITY: The number one reason pianos go out of tune is changes in humidity. Ideal humidity should be constant and maintained at approx. 43 to 45 %. High humidity causes swelling of the sound board this pushes the bridge up and causes the strings to stretch and the pitch to become higher. When humidity goes down in low humidity the sound board shrinks back and lowers the pitch. This swelling and contracting causes the strings to settle unevenly. This causes changes in the tuning.

2. USAGE: The more hours a piano is played the sooner it will go out of tune. A piano being played a half hour a day usually will not go out of tune as soon as a piano that is played several hours a day. When you strike a key it causes the hammer to strike a string increasing the pressure on the string and sending it into vibration, eventually the string will gradually slip out of the position it was placed during tuning.

3. FORCE: There is a difference between playing a piano loud/hard and banging on the key. Excessively hard blows on a key can cause the tuning pins to be forced out of the place they were set during tuning. Piano technicians use a technique called setting the tuning pin which involves striking the key with a sharp blow while tuning attempting to lock the pin, causing it to slip into a set position. This is done so when you play loud/hard the pin will not slip out of tune. Excessively hard blows (banging on the keys) may compromise this set.

4. QUALITY: Instruments of higher quality/workmanship and sometimes price generally hold a tuning longer. Some higher quality instruments employ different engineering such ac lathed tuning pins with small hooks in the threads to prevent slipping or pin blocks with a greater number of laminations just to name a few that improve tuning longevity. Also more expensive pianos will get more tunings at the factory and will hold better during the first year of use.
 

How often should my piano be tuned ?

How often a piano should be tuned depends on how much it is used and for what propose it will be used.
As a general rule if you practice your piano every day or have a student who practices every day you should have your piano tuned 2 times a year.
If you seldom or never use your piano you should have your piano tuned once a year
Churches and institutions should have their pianos tuned at least 2 times a year.
If your piano is used 5 to 10 hours a day by several different people you may need to tune your piano 3 or 4 times a year.
If you are a professional musician or music teacher you may need to tune your piano as much as 3 times a year.
New piano’s may need to be tuned as many times as 4 times in the first year after delivery.

Why does the piano tuner hit the keys on my piano so hard ?

This is called setting the note. Sometimes when a note is tuned the tuning pin or the string will tend to settle or move a small amount if not locked in the when you play the piano hard. By hitting the key hard the tuner is getting the tuning pin to lock into tune, so it will not be easily moved when played.

New Pianos; what are the most common problems that happen with new pianos ?

Sticking keys. The tolerances in the joints of new keys are very tight. Piano manufacturers must take into consideration that many pianos will end up in a place where they get a lot of use, 8 or 10 hours a day. So the tolerances in joints must be tight so that the instrument does not ware out to quickly. The average piano player practices about an hour a day. If the piano encounters high humidity ( higher than 43 %) it starts to swell the joints of the moving action parts and keys. In a low use situation the parts, especially the keys will atrophy (stick). Many times symptoms will start in the higher or lower notes that do not get used as much.

I recently purchased a new piano and it went out of tune in a small period of time (or my old piano stayed in tune longer) is there something wrong with my piano. Should I ask for a refund?

New pianos take about one year after getting in a home before the tuning will stabilize. This is due to the facts, that the new strings are still stretching, that it is acclimating to the climate in your home. And it has had at least one major move where all of the weight was shifted. Try to keep in mind that pianos have between 30 to 60 thousand foot pounds of pressure on the cast iron frame and weigh between 500 and 1200 pounds. Many manufactures recommend 4 tunings during the first year. This is to deal with the settling issue. Your piano should hold tuning much better after a couple of tunings and about a year. There is nothing wrong with your instrument.

Why do the strings in the treble 1/3 of my piano ring more than the other notes when I release the key and the sustain pedal ?

Because the strings in the treble end of your piano are very short about 4 to 6 inches in speaking length they do not ring as long as the longer strings in the rest of the piano. Piano manufactures do not put dampers on these strings to stop the ringing when you release the key or pedal.

Is there a better time of the year to get my piano tuned?

No it does not matter what month of the year or season you get your piano tuned. A piano can go out of tune any time of the year if the humidity changes about 20 %. In some cases this only takes about 2 weeks. Also how hard a piano is played is a determining factor on how long a tuning will last.
 

How do I clean my piano?

Piano Cleaning and Care

Keys : Use a soft cloth, spray some window cleaner on the cloth and use it to wipe off the keys of your piano. Do not spray anything directly on the keys.
If there is glue or any sticky substance on the keys you can put a little turpentine on a cloth and use it to wipe the white keys. (Black keys only if they are plastic.)

The keys should be cleaned with window cleaner when finished.

Cabinet: Cleaning the cabinet of your piano depends on the kind of finish you have

Wood exterior cabinets can be dusted with a soft cloth and furniture polish.
(Use caution of extremely old or cracked finishes.)
High gloss polyester exterior finishes con be cleaned with two soft towels one damp the other dry or some window cleaner. To remove some of the surface scratches on high gloss finishes, use McGuire's Cleaner Wax (for Autos) us as directed use a detail or paint brush to get dried wax out of corners.

Cleaning of Grand Pianos

To clean around the tuning pins use a paint brush and a vacuum crevasse tool, brush toward crevasse tool while vacuuming.
It is not recommended that you try to clean the sound board under your strings. But if you own a vacuum such as an Electrolux, that you can attach the hose to the back of the vacuum so that air blows out of the hose, use the crevasse tool to direct the air and blow the dust from on side of the piano to the other. This only works on newer pianos where the dust has not been matter down by moisture.

Dampers can be cleaned with a cloth that has been sprayed with some kind of wax like pledge.
The iron frame and areas of the sound board that can be easily reached you can also dust with a cloth.

Piano’s with extremely dirty sound boards can be cleaned with a plastic yard stick with a hole about 1/2 inch in the end. You can put a cloth through the hole and fasten it with some string. A string may be attached to the other end of the cloth about 3 feet and worked across the soundboard under the strings toward the treble end from the base end. The string and the yard stick can than be used to drag the cloth across the sound board. CAUTIONS: use only a plastic yard stick metal or wood wont bend enough or may scratch the sound board or rim.
The lid of the piano should be removed. It is advisable to use a dry or lightly sprayed cloth to get out the dirt first, than use some vinegar (White) water to clean the board. If the vinegar water is use with to much dirt on the board it will stain it with dirt sinking in. This procedure may take as long as 3 hours.
 

The D Temperament

Tune F33 wide by 7 beats/sec. To a 440 tuning bar or fork.
Tune A37 wide to F33, 7 beats/sec. (A more accurate 440 can be obtained by matching these beats with those with the fork)
Tune D30 narrow to A37 ½ beat/sec. Test this 5th, verifying DF beating just slightly faster than FA.
Tune octave D42 to D30, eliminating all beats. Test this octave, seeing that DF (minor third) beats the same as FD (major sixth). Check the fourth D42-A37 beating one beat/sec.
Tune F#34 wide to D30, 29 beats in 5 sec.
Tune A#38 wide to F33 (.8 beat/sec.). Compare FA and F#A# (consecutive thirds); with F#A# slightly faster. This completes the first set of bearings (DF# - F#A# - A#D), with slow, medium, and fast beats (A#D = 9 1/4 beats /sec.)
Tune D#31 narrow to A#38 so that D#F# beats slightly faster than F#A# (the fifth test again).
Tune octave D#43 beat-less to D#31, seeing that D#F# = F#D# (octave test).
Tune G35 to D30 (.66 beats) such that D#g is faster than major third DF#. Test fifth G35 - D42 (also .66 beats).
Tune B39 wide to F#34 (.83 beats) with major third GB beating slightly faster than F#A#. Test the second set of bearings. Now complete.
Tune E32 narrow to B39 with minor third EG faster than major third GB. Check fourth E - A (.74 beats).
Tune octave E44 beat-less to E32. Test minor third EG with major sixth GE. Also test fifth A - E (.74 beats).
Tune G#36 wide to D#31. Verify the six consecutive major thirds (DF#, D#G, EG#, FA, F#A#, and GB getting faster as they ascend). Also test fifth G#36 - D#43 (.7 beats).
Tune C40 wide to G35 (.88 beats). Test consecutive thirds GB and G#c. Also test fifth F-C (.59 beats).
Tune C#41 wide to G#36 (.94 beats) such that major third AC# (8.73 beats) is faster than G#C (8.26 beats).
Tune octave F45 to F33 and perform octave test to complete this last set of bearings. If bearings sound OK and consecutive thirds get consistently faster, the temperament is now complete.
 

New Pianos
 

Tuning

Generally more expensive pianos receive more tunings at the factory. One way of bringing down the cost is less tuning. This means that you can expect a longer time of acclimating in your home.
Pianos usually improve, mature over the first 3 or 4 years you own them if they are played regular and receive regular service. Piano manufactures recommend 4 tunings the first year. You may be able to get along with 2, if humidity is fairly consistent. (40 to 45 percent)
 

Regulation

The most common problems with new pianos are sticking keys and squeaking pedals . 90 percent of all service calls are related to these problems. Usually these problems only take less than 5 minutes to correct.
 

Grand and console piano actions

Drop action spinet and upright piano actions

Do you know any good books on pianos and tuning?
 

Piano Tuning and Allied Arts; By William Braid White, Mus. D.
Theory and Practice of Piano Construction; William B. White (Dover)
Pianos and their makers; Alfred Dolge (Dover)
Piano Servicing Tuning & Rebuilding; Arthur A Reblitz (Vestal)
Rebuilding the player Piano; Larry Givens (Vestal)
The American Reed Organ; Robert F. Gellerman (Vestal)
On the Sensations of Tone; Hermann Helmholtz (Dover)
A Textbook of Sound; A. B. Wood (Bell)