Piano Tuning & Repair
For eleven years, David Detrick worked for Walter Piano Company in Elkhart, Indiana, where he learned tuning and piano technology. For the past four years, he has been self employed in teaching, piano tuning and repair.
Like many other things, pianos require regular maintenance. Regular tunings--at least once a year and preferably every 6 months, will prevent more costly maintenance down the road. Pianos that are played more often or played harder will tend to become out of tune more rapidly. However, even a piano that is never played will not hold the pitch indefinitely. Pianos with stable pitch characteristics will often be more out of tune in the middle of the keyboard, where most of the music is played, while the lower and upper ends may show relatively little change.
Every year that passes by without maintenance, the pitch drops further and further away from where it should be, and it becomes harder to pull the pitch back up to its proper frequency. Pianos generally go flatter during the winter months than during the summer. Air conditioning in a home will definitely help to stabilize the tuning of the instrument.
Tuners have to raise the tension of over 200 strings, which puts around 39,000 lbs. of pressure on the piano’s structure. It’s impossible to raise the pitch so far and have a stable tuning in one pass. So what we have to do is first raise all the strings to a calculated value above their pitch. This is called a “pitch raise.”
A pitch raise requires more time and effort than a regular tuning. Also, keep in mind that it is usually necessary to have the piano tuned again within the next six months after a pitch raise. If the piano is maintained regularly after this, a future pitch raise will not be necessary and the tuning should remain stable.
In addition to tuning, we can address common problems with your piano. The action of the piano is a very complex mechanism with each key having a number of points of adjustment which need to work together in order to play properly. A full regulation of the piano will bring all of the parts of the action into proper adjustment. This will ensure that the pedals work properly, and there are no sticking keys, uneven feel, and noises like squeaks and clicks.
Like many other things, pianos require regular maintenance. Regular tunings--at least once a year and preferably every 6 months, will prevent more costly maintenance down the road. Pianos that are played more often or played harder will tend to become out of tune more rapidly. However, even a piano that is never played will not hold the pitch indefinitely. Pianos with stable pitch characteristics will often be more out of tune in the middle of the keyboard, where most of the music is played, while the lower and upper ends may show relatively little change.
Every year that passes by without maintenance, the pitch drops further and further away from where it should be, and it becomes harder to pull the pitch back up to its proper frequency. Pianos generally go flatter during the winter months than during the summer. Air conditioning in a home will definitely help to stabilize the tuning of the instrument.
Tuners have to raise the tension of over 200 strings, which puts around 39,000 lbs. of pressure on the piano’s structure. It’s impossible to raise the pitch so far and have a stable tuning in one pass. So what we have to do is first raise all the strings to a calculated value above their pitch. This is called a “pitch raise.”
A pitch raise requires more time and effort than a regular tuning. Also, keep in mind that it is usually necessary to have the piano tuned again within the next six months after a pitch raise. If the piano is maintained regularly after this, a future pitch raise will not be necessary and the tuning should remain stable.
In addition to tuning, we can address common problems with your piano. The action of the piano is a very complex mechanism with each key having a number of points of adjustment which need to work together in order to play properly. A full regulation of the piano will bring all of the parts of the action into proper adjustment. This will ensure that the pedals work properly, and there are no sticking keys, uneven feel, and noises like squeaks and clicks.