Need your piano cleaned and tuned? I can help with that.
Use the form below to schedule a tuning session. Need more information? Check out the rest of the page for answers to the most common questions I get.
Full Tuning
I’ll tune the entire piano to A440* using a combination of old-fashioned mark 1 mod 0 ears and electronic tuners.
Pest removal
The bowels of pianos are a favorite for spiders and other pests. I’ll evict those unwanted visitors.
General Cleaning
I’ll make sure any dust bunnies are dealt with, as well as wipe down the soundboard and give the piano a basic cleaning.
Minor Repairs
Sticky keys, broken strings, stuck pedals can be dealt with. If I can’t fix it, I’ll let you know up front and provide direction on how to get it fixed.
*Dependent on the condition of your piano; rusty strings or old pianos may not be able to be tuned up to A440. In this case I’ll tune all strings to a lower frequency than 440 as tolerated
What to Expect
Here’s how this works
If you’ve had your piano tuned before, great, you know the drill. If not, here’s how this process works. Start to finish, expect about 3 to 3.5 hours.
Clean up
The first step is basic clean up. I’ll go through and do a basic cleaning, removing any dust, pests, and lost treasures.
Check up
After clean up, I’ll check the piano for basic functionality and any obvious issues. If you know of anything, now is the time to let me know. I’ll let you know if it can be tuned or repaired at this point.
Tuning
The longest part of the session, I’ll start with the middle octave and get it tuned electronically. From there I tune each string for the entire upper register, using both the electronic tuner and listening for resonance.
I’ll finish with the lower octaves.
Try out
As I tune I’ll play different chords and scales to listen to how the strings sound. The best way to tell though, is to play it and hear how it sounds naturally.
f.a.q.
Got Questions? I’ve got answers
Still have questions? Check out below for answers to the most common questions I get. Not here? Fill out
this form and I’ll get in touch.
Session Preparation
Simply make sure the piano itself is free of any personal belongings and I have room to work. If I need to take out the action (keyboard), I will need a large area with padding to set the action down on. If possible,
I’ll also need an outlet for a vacuum to remove pests and dust from the bowels of upright pianos, and to help remove dust from grands and baby grands.
While this should make sense, I’ve had this asked. Yes. It needs to be relatively quiet. I can work with quiet conversation and some background noise, but since I’m using my ears to listen for unison…silence
is a virtue.
Nope. Sorry, but if a string breaks or I have to get the action out, it is too time-consuming. Drop pianos have each key individually tied in so that the piano can be compact, and to remove the action requires untying
all 88 keys.
You’ll probably be able to tell just by looking at it; if the back of the piano is lower than the music stand top, it’s most likely a drop-action type piano. If in doubt, open the top lid and look inside. In a regular piano pressing a key transfers the energy directly to the hammer via a jack and wippen assemby, while in a drop-action piano you’ll notice the action is actually lower than the level of the keyboard and is literally tied to the keys; the ties transfer the motion of the keys to the wippen, which in turn moves the hammer. For a video of this, see here.
Repairs
Broken strings, sticky keys, misaligned keys, stuck pedals, etc. In general, most issues can be fixed without too much trouble. That being said, some problems are too complex for me to work on. I’m self-taught,
and not a trained piano repair technician. Cracked sound boards, warped or cracked pin blocks, or broken pin hitches are things that are best left to a trained service technician.
It depends. I have the most common size treble string with me usually. That being said, if you’re piano uses different sized strings or a bass string breaks I’ll have to order the part. Bass strings will always
have to be ordered, as I have to order the string with a specific sized wrap and length. The return cost is simply the string cost plus $20/hr. I can usually replace a string in about 20 minutes.
Again, it depends. Most keys can be fixed without too much trouble, but for a key that is really broken, I may need to try and find a new key from a piano parts supplier. Again, most pianos will use the
same basic type of action, so as long as the piano is not too unusual I can probably fix it.
Usually. Many parts used on pianos are “somewhat” universal. The hinge pins for one piano will often work with other pianos, and in general most pianos are similar across the board when it comes to hardware. Higher-end pianos typically require more specialized attention, but the typical Yamaha, Baldwin, or Kimbal pianos I run across can often be repaired fairly easily.
Tuning
When I refer to a unison, I’m talking about the multiple strings that are used to make the sound for one key. Most keys, starting somewhere around F3 and above, have 3 strings that per key while the bass keys typically have 2 or 1 wound strings that produce the voice for a key. When a string is out of “sync”, or doesn’t vibrate at exactly the same frequency as the other strings for a key you’ll hear this as a vibrating resonance. The goal when tuning is to get all strings for a key to the same exact vibrational frequency, eliminating any resonance for one clear, amplified sound.
The simple answer is that the winding allows us to employ a much shorter string than would otherwise be required to achieve the low voice you hear with bass notes. Pianos have been made without windings, and can be upwards of 18 to 20 feet long.
In some cases a piano may be so far out of pitch that I’ll pull the strings twice, or a double pull. Usually when I’m tuning the strings are fairly close to tune; I just need to tighten them slightly and make sure the unisons are tuned. Older pianos, or pianos that have been moved recently, may be so far out of tune that the act of tightening the strings loosens the strings that are already tuned. Typically, in this case I’ll go through and do a quick tune to the frequency I’m aiming for and do a real quick and dirty unison tune. Once I’ve gotten the unisons at least relatively close, I’ll go back and do a fine tune. Since the act of tightening the entire action by a large amount will inherently cause changes in the tension of strings already tightened, it’s easier, and more efficient, to do a quick pull up and then fine-tune.
Payment
I can take payment via credit card, check, or cash. If paying by card, you’ll receive an invoice within 24 hours after the session.
If invoiced payment is due 7 days from the date of invoicing.
