FAQ

How much does it cost to tune a piano?

Most piano tuners charge around $100-175 for a full tuning and service. Sometimes, if the piano is very old or hasn't been tuned very much the technician will need to have it tuned for 1-2 more sessions. Feel free to give us a call if your piano needs to be serviced.

How Often Do Pianos Need to Be Tuned?

Most experts recommend tuning a piano at least four times in the first year while it is still settling. After the first year, pianists can switch to scheduling Piano tuning and cleaning once or twice a year. Pianos also need to be tuned after they are moved to a new house or studio since they are typically exposed to temperature and humidity changes even when handled by professional piano movers.

Should I tune my own piano?

The typical piano has 230 strings, each of which is placed under around 200 pounds of tension. These strings can’t all be tuned to Concert pitch, so it’s not just a matter of putting in the time and work. Tuning a piano requires a refined ear and the kind of experience that can’t be learned from a book. That’s why professionals typically undergo a Piano tuning Apprenticeship prior to setting out on their own careers.
Not only do piano tuners need to alter the pitch of over 200 strings, but they also need to accommodate different pianists’ styles and instruments. No two pianos are the same and even the same piano might sound different in a new environment. To complicate things further, the human ear perceives higher pitched notes as flatter than mid-range notes.  

How to Tell a Piano Is Out of Tune?

Even relatively tone-deaf people can tell when a piano hasn’t been tuned in years but subtle changes in pitch are more of a challenge to detect. Unfortunately, even a difference in frequency of one or two Hz can impact a piano’s tone, so serious pianists need to pay attention to their instruments’ pitches.
Slight alterations in pitch can cause a phenomenon known as beating. This unusual sound, sometimes associated with honky-tonk music and venues, is caused by interference between sound waves that are close together in frequency but not quite the same. The only way to eliminate excessive beating is to change the strings’ pitch to eliminate the difference in frequency.

 Why won't my piano stay in tune?

There are a few reasons a piano may not stay in tune. Problems like fluctuations in temperature and humidity can be resolved by moving the piano away from windows or wood stoves or installing a dehumidifier, so rule those out before calling a repair technician.
The most common mechanical issue that causes pianos not to hold their tuning is an issue with the tuning pin block. Tuning pin blocks are comprised of several layers of wood with holes drilled into them. The holes are supposed to be slightly smaller than the piano’s tuning pins so that they create adequate friction to accommodate up to 200 pounds of pressure per string.
When tuning pins become loose in their blocks, they will slip and won’t be able to keep the strings in tune. In most cases, a Piano repair technician can simply replace the worn out tuning pin block or blocks to resolve this problem.