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Thomson Lawrie Piano Technician - Complete Piano Service since 1979 905-536-0565 1-800-387-7215
Frequently
Asked Questions
How
Often Should I Have My Piano Tuned?
This is
the question that I am asked the most frequently. I usually tell
my customers "once a year for the piano, twice a year for your
ears".
Tuning a
piano once a year will maintain the instrument at concert pitch.
This is good enough for the instrument but it may not be good enough
for the person playing the piano. A piano will go out of tune as
the humidity swings from summer dampness to winter dryness and back
again. The wood in the piano expands and contracts when its moisture
content changes with indoor humidity changes. What some people hear
as small changes may be intolerable to someone with a really good
ear for pitch.
I find that
most pianos will be closer to the pitch that they were last tuned
to, near the anniversary of that tuning. They may sound worse six
months after the tuning than they will a year after that tuning
when the humidity cycle brings about similar conditions. The problem
is, a lot of people can't live with the sound of their piano before
the anniversary of the last tuning.
It is especially
important to tune your piano more than once a year if you are trying
to train the ear of piano students. Although there may be hopeless
cases, most of us can develop a sense of pitch and tone through
training. This becomes almost impossible if students are practicing
on an out of tune piano every day. They are more likely to train
their ear to accept the sound they are hearing all the time, even
if it is slightly sour.
There are
times when pianos sit idle with no one playing them. It may be hard
to justify the cost of tuning at those times. Still, if a piano
is left for many years without tuning it may take several tunings
to get it stabilized at concert pitch again. If it is tuned at least
once every two years it will avoid damage to the soundboard and
bridges that can occur when the pitch drops and there is no longer
enough downward pressure from the strings.
Should I place my piano on an outside wall?
There was a time when this was more true than it is now. If you are living in a modern house with good insulation and vapor barrier in the walls, then it doesn't make much difference if the piano is placed on the outside wall. But if you place your piano on an outside wall sooner or later someone is going to tell you that you shouldn’t have it there. They are just repeating what their mother or grand mother used to say. But what was true back in the 1920's is not true now, unless you are living in a house that was made back then that hasn't been upgraded since. Just remember, pianos don't like humidity and temperature changes. Placing a piano near a heat source or a south window where it bakes in the sun every day will do a lot more damage than the outside wall.
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